Steel alloys used?
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tbirdtbird
BANNED
Pretty sure it is more than mild steel.
I just straightened a decently bent slant frame (from a car accident- the car flipped on its L side-nasty) (L front frame rail dipped down quite a bit) using a heavy bar below the frame, 1/2 inch chains on each end up to the frame, portapower from bar to frame. It took many attempts to 'walk' out the damage, with slight shifting of the ram each time; had to use some heat.
The heavy solid steel bar is 1.5" thick, 4" wide, and 3 ft long. I have used this bar for straightening, etc, for over 40 yrs. It is indestructible....or so I thought...
When we were done we noticed the bar itself was now bent slightly!!!! If I had not seen it, I would not have believed it.
Why do you want to know ??
I just straightened a decently bent slant frame (from a car accident- the car flipped on its L side-nasty) (L front frame rail dipped down quite a bit) using a heavy bar below the frame, 1/2 inch chains on each end up to the frame, portapower from bar to frame. It took many attempts to 'walk' out the damage, with slight shifting of the ram each time; had to use some heat.
The heavy solid steel bar is 1.5" thick, 4" wide, and 3 ft long. I have used this bar for straightening, etc, for over 40 yrs. It is indestructible....or so I thought...
When we were done we noticed the bar itself was now bent slightly!!!! If I had not seen it, I would not have believed it.
Why do you want to know ??
Last edited:
Bruce Lancaster
Member Emeritus
There is a Ford Metallurgy text from the Henry Ford Trade School, printed in 1935, that covers a lot of Ford practice and lists many of the steel used both in the car and in the tooling with basic alloy contents and some info on heat treatment...I believe that most of what is shown is Ford formulas and not standard SAE stuff, as Ford was definitely the leader in casting and forging and controlled its own steel supplies.
Some will correlate with things you can see, like the EE and AA found on front axles correlate with special steels and special heat treats...
Most of the book is basic intro to chemistry and foundry procedures, but at the end there is a lot of more easily applied information on Ford materials and practices.
There is also good info in the very easy to find Ford Shop Theory book.
Probably your library can borrow you a copy of the Metallurgy text...Shop theory is very common and easy to find because it was reprinted in huge numbers as a text during WWII.
Some will correlate with things you can see, like the EE and AA found on front axles correlate with special steels and special heat treats...
Most of the book is basic intro to chemistry and foundry procedures, but at the end there is a lot of more easily applied information on Ford materials and practices.
There is also good info in the very easy to find Ford Shop Theory book.
Probably your library can borrow you a copy of the Metallurgy text...Shop theory is very common and easy to find because it was reprinted in huge numbers as a text during WWII.
Marco Tahtaras
Well-known member
For the frame, one piece of old literature stated the steel to be N0. 9 U.S.S. gauge hot-rolled open hearth steel, pickled and "limed". The steel had an elastic limit 42,000 lb. per sq. in. The Brinell hardness was held to 131 minimum.
