TheSamba.com :: View topic - rail experts, please help me ID this frame

Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:45 pm

Purchased last week, am trying to ID the frame. I get the feeling its not a Berrian but I could be wrong. If it is, I get the impression its an older model...thoughts?

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Fri Feb 27, 2009 7:09 pm

kinda looks like a chenworth to me Im no pro by any means though !

Sat Feb 28, 2009 1:24 pm

I have tried to find others to compare it too but cant find a thing.

Anyone have any input at all? Thoughts?

Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:19 pm

i second the chenoweth guess. as far i i know mine is also a chenoweth. and aside from a few braces it looks pretty similar.

don't currently have a better pic of the rear but trust me it looks a lot like yours

hope this helps

Sun Mar 01, 2009 1:34 am

Neither of those pictured above are Chenowth built or designed frames. Chenowth's web site is no longer in service. This is a picture from their website of their Chenowth 4LWD chassis sold from the early 70s until just recently.

There are certain features which Berrien and a number of others copied from Chenowth, such as the double bottom center tubes.

The frame in question MAY be an older modified Berrien, or may be a one-off copy, or one built by some other lesser-known builder. The motor mount saddle IS Chenowth, but not the rest of the frame. If it WERE Chenowth, the lower frame rails would curve upward to meet the beam and the uppers would curve to a more vertical angle than shown here. This frame they do NOT. The roll cage would have 2 side members rising from the top frame rail and becoming side roof bars which meet the mainn roll hoop inboard of the top bends. This has a front hoop with roof bars tying the front and rear hoops together. The rear bumper cage attaches like a Berrien.

The red frame is just like one I owned in the 1970s which was (IIRC) a Sand Toys design. It has a short back end and was much of the design inspiration for the early Berrien Warrior frame. That red frame design was built by many different builders over the years. It was kinda the "Meyers Manx" of tube frames in that everyone seemed to make them.

Sun Mar 01, 2009 2:23 am

That Chenowth is one nice rail!

Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:28 am

heres my chenowth frame. my frame has a id tag w/ name/ seri. # spot welded to the frame. bottom drivers side tube right before rear torsion tube. i dont know what model it is though. i believe late 70/80's

Sun Mar 01, 2009 8:21 pm

Just a guess but it looks like a long back Sand Toys. There were a lot of "copies" of frames being done in garages. Looks decent though.

Mon Mar 02, 2009 2:47 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I contacted the makers of Sand toys and sent them 4 photos to see if they recognized it or actually had made it. In the long run it really doesn't matter but its interesting to know what you own, I guess.

Mon Mar 02, 2009 3:53 pm

looks like the johnny speed and chrome i used to have.

Mon Mar 02, 2009 4:23 pm

Looks to be like the rail I have

I know that this frame was customized my the previous owner, family member, at the windshield area to make it easier to get in and out of.

Otherwise though, it looks pretty similar, I just don't know who the maker is!

Mon Mar 02, 2009 4:28 pm

By kbwakesk8, shot with SV-AV25 at 2007-06-12

By kbwakesk8, shot with SV-AV25 at 2007-06-13

pick of my old rail

Tue Mar 03, 2009 6:08 am

Look real close to my Chenowth

Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:42 pm

I took 15 minutes and studied mine today, if its not a Chenoweth, its made to look like one, in several ways.

Also, found a stamped serial # on the shock mount brace behind the drivers seat.

Thu Mar 05, 2009 12:58 pm

One thing that is a god ID is how the windshield is angles into the main tube frame. Most better ones have the windshield tube close to verticle and one bar all the way to the pan level with no bends.

Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:43 pm

Anyone know what this one can be? thx

Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:15 pm

Mine is an unknown style also. Any suggestions from those in the know?

Thu Mar 05, 2009 9:25 pm

I hate it when people hyjack a thread but I will just have to live with myself. I would like some information on the two cars in this thread that have windshields mounted in the cage. How do you guys do it? Did you weld a flange on the tube or is there a moulding made for doing this?

Fri Mar 06, 2009 7:03 am

this is what i used on my rail. auto glass company used urethane to glue rubber in and it has a slot to hold the winshield in the rubber. never had a problem with it. towed it on a trailer backwards with no problems. another word of advice. you can see in the pic that i have posted earlier that i have the blue tint at the top of my windshield and i cant stand it. dont get it with the tinted strip. it blocks your view specially at night.

http://www.appletreeauto.com/windshield-mounting-rubber-pr-466.html

Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:29 am

It is a older model warrior