Looking for oval elliptical chassis tube | FerrariChat

Looking for oval elliptical chassis tube

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by Ptggdudley, Jul 19, 2020.

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  1. Ptggdudley

    Ptggdudley Rookie

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    #1 Ptggdudley, Jul 19, 2020
    Hello Ferrari chat family.
    Had a run in with a concrete chunk in the road and it damaged my front crossmember. The rectangle piece sheared off, but is easy to fabricate. The oval elliptical tube is bent in and I want to replace it, but the tube shape is proving harder to find. Have some local Ferrari restoration shops to reach out, to but thought I’d try hear too.
    Thanks in advance.
    PTGGDUDLEY
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  2. turbo-joe

    turbo-joe F1 Veteran

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    romano schwabel
    #2 turbo-joe, Jul 20, 2020
    you may take round material and press it oval
     
  3. Ptggdudley

    Ptggdudley Rookie

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    #3 Ptggdudley, Jul 20, 2020
    Turbo-joe,
    Thanks for your reply. I considered that and may go that route if necessary. It appears to be 3” tube “squished” into a elliptical oval. Other than cosmetics I suspect 2 x 3 rectangular tube would be plenty strong as well.
    PTGGDUDLEY
     
  4. pshoejberg

    pshoejberg Formula 3
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    #4 pshoejberg, Jul 20, 2020
    That was a hell of a bump....! Proformance Metals in UK produces the oval pipe in the size you need. Excellent company and good service. You will need a full bench alignment check on your car before and after you start welding on the car. With that kind of damage your car might be seriously out of shape.

    Best regards Peter
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  5. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 Marcel Massini, Jul 20, 2020
    Which model are we talking about here, please?

    Marcel Massini
     
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  6. Ptggdudley

    Ptggdudley Rookie

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    #6 Ptggdudley, Jul 21, 2020
    Marcel, 1986 Mondial.
     
  7. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

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    #7 synchro, Aug 3, 2020
    Ouch, that looks bad.
    During my restoration of Chairs & Flares Dino 05702 I had a much less intense, yet similar issue to deal with thanks to a prior owner.

    The only place I could locate the material tubing then was Dennis McCann, who had Chassis tubes made up for his personal restoration and he told me I was buying the last 2M remnant, single oval tube left from that lot.

    I reasoned that if it was good enough for Dennis' Dino then it was good enough for mine
    Dennison International then placed my Dino on a laser flat jig, securely connecting the car and measuring the diamond points as the grafted it in. It worked perfectly.
    Nobody can tell the difference, it was that professional of a job and my chassis has no signs of previous jacking dimples.

    I do have under 3' left that is unused but does have a slight mark where it appears to have been clamped.
    Any interest at $250?


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  8. Ptggdudley

    Ptggdudley Rookie

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    #8 Ptggdudley, Aug 3, 2020
    Interesting. Could you tell me the dimensions of the oval? Is it oval or elliptical? If you worked with Dennison are you local to them? I’m about 20 mi North of them in Kent WA.
     
  9. mechaniker

    mechaniker Formula Junior
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    #9 mechaniker, Aug 4, 2020
  10. TTR

    TTR F1 Veteran
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    #10 TTR, Aug 4, 2020
    Perhaps the clamping marks were formed when what appears to be “standard” mild steel round tubing was pressed to oval shape.

    I just can’t see Ferrari or its chassis manufacturer using such materials & methods in their original construction and my personal, albeit quite limited experiences/observations seem to support that suspicion.

    OTOH, I imagine the experience and knowledge of Mr. McCann and folks at Dennison’s far exceeds mine, so my comments and suspicions might be completely unfounded.
     
  11. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

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    #11 synchro, Aug 4, 2020
    I'll PM you the dimensions when we return, we're out of town for a few weeks.

    The photos above show both sides of my tubing - if you can not detect the single mark on that one side, then consider that I am striving for full disclosure.

    Another thought - Why not just ask Dennison since you're so close?
    Darren is exceptional at sourcing metric tubing and they do this every day for Pebble beach winning projects
     
  12. Ptggdudley

    Ptggdudley Rookie

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    #12 Ptggdudley, Aug 4, 2020
    Syncro, I did reach out to the Dennison team. They did not have anything that length handy. They referred me to the restoration arm of T. Rutlands. I’m trying to source locally if possible.
     

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