I've been the victim of the latest winter storm... All work week we were looking at single digits, which made it hard to spend any appreciable time in the unheated shop. Now my weekend is here, and all the roads south to my Fiance and other house are either iced over or in a blizzard. The upside, is that once it started snowing the temp got up to about 25, which makes it bearable to work in the shop.
Decided to tackle my rear control arms.
Attachment:
Arm jig.png
Started off with a couple strips of scrap wood to center the tube. Used a thin strip in between and under the tube to get it to the right height on the bushing. Had to get out a couple business cards to get the height right.
Attachment:
Centering method.png
The three wood screws did an adequate job holding the bushing sleeve. I noticed some play after the first one and just made sure to snug the tube to the sleeve so it couldn't move that direction. Seemed to do the trick.
Attachment:
Bushing End.png
Something about making parts that is extremely satisfying, time to work on the other end.
Attachment:
Insert End.png
These inserts are for 1" tube instead of 7/8" but the thin wall on my tube made it an almost perfect fit. Used a die grinder to get rid of the seam, and they slid in like butter.
Attachment:
Ready for Weld.png
I used this bolt to clock the insert threads so that they will all start in the same place. I know the most I could have been out of is 90 degrees which comes out to be only .0125" but hey, it's something I can do. Once I had the ends clocks I plug welded the holes in the tube. Then I removed the bolt and finished welding around the end.
Attachment:
Test Fit.png
Here the driver side arms are test fit. They turned out well. Although with about 3in of bump they interfered with the body. So I will most likely move axle mount out about a quarter inch on both sides. I do plan on limiting the bump to 2-2.5" but if the other side was in droop I want to cover my bases. I only have two rod ends right now, as I order a couple cheapies from Amazon to hold me over until my order from Kinetic came through.
Attachment:
Rotisserie.png
Here is one side of the rotisserie that I threw together. I'm using lazy susans for the bearings. Lets just say that this is most likely a single use. I will keep the frames and build a rolling work bench out of them post rotisserie, but if I build another frame I'm going to have to look at installing something like pillow blocks.
Attachment:
Frame Ready for Welding.png
That being said I pulled the engine and axle out and got the frame mounted. We'll see if I get to welding tonight, I also need to tidy up the shop as I have to consolidate to half the space by the end of the month.
I was really hoping to have a rolling frame to take with me to Southern Oregon, but it's getting to the point that I need to get it welded up and on a trailer.