Thread: 39 Ford (Coast to Coast) Rebuild

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Originally Posted by daveS53

My guess regarding the sway bar brackets is insufficient threading in the frame. Someone may have just drilled and tapped the thin frame material. Internal nut plates are needed. Threading the frame works for small brackets for hoses and tubes, but not much else.

You can get nuts that are round and can be welded into an oversize hole.

Dave, you seriously think someone's going to drill & tap a nominal 1/8" thick frame rail for a bolt of that size carrying that kind of load? I expect it's a 7/16 14, or maybe even 1/2 13 which would yield less than two threads for a high stress load of a sway bar? I guess I can't say they didn't do it, but if the original builder tapped a frame rail for that service I'd question every nut & bolt on the car.

Originally Posted by rspears

I'd question every nut & bolt on the car.

At this point, I am. If this was my car, it would be ripped down to the bare frame and reassembled again. I told the owner that I would have it done by Spring, so that's the only thing stopping me. I'm a very detailed oriented guy, so it's hard for me to look at rusty control arms and just leave them. I know what this car could be, but the owner just wants a driver. I respect that, but I'm still checking every bolt.

Justin

Yes, I do think that it's possible that someone tapped the frame. It's just a thought. Nothing to get excited about. There's certainly no reason to weld the mounting bracket to the frame. If some fool would do that, they'd tap the frame too.