My favorite part, too. I enjoy chassis and suspension fabrication.:D:D
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My favorite part, too. I enjoy chassis and suspension fabrication.:D:D
I used 3/4" schedule 40 black iron pipe to make the front radius rods. I made mine about three feet long, although the exact length does not matter at this point, as the mounting brackets are not welded to the frame yet.
I started by cutting four lengths of the pipe. The upped pieces will be straight. I cut the lower pieces a few inches longer than needed. They will be trimmed to length later. I then put a bend in each of the upper pieces (Roughly 45 degrees.) using my Harbor Freight pipe bender. I used a tape measure to check the amount of each bend, to make it more consistent from one piece to the next. I then cut the lower pieces to the correct length, and notched them using a saw and a grinder.
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For the threaded portion, I am using 1/2 inch fine thread "rod coupling nuts". These are available at mcmaster.com, among other places. I ground the nuts down enough so they could slide inside the black iron pipe. I drilled 4 holes in the side of the pipe, I welded through the holes, as well as all the way around the nut, to make the joint even stronger. After I was finished welding the nuts, I ran a tap through each of them in order to fix any distortion caused by the welding.
I then made up a jig, using a piece of plywood and three bolts, to assemble, and weld the radius rods together.
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I then made a pair of radius rod mounting brackets for the frame. I cut out a couple of 2 1/2 inch long pieces of 1 1/4 inch angle iron. I rounded off the corners to make them look nice, and drilled a half inch hole in them. I then mounted them to the frame, using c-clamps to hold them in place, and I installed the radius rods. I measured everything carefully, making sure that the front axle was square to the front frame cross member, and the the mounting brackets were an equal distance back from the front of the frame. I tack welded them in place. I will finish welding them the next time I have the frame upside down.
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Just a point to bring up for clarification.
1/2" - 13 thread is coarse, 1/2" - 20 thread would be fine.
for someone reading this and not familiar.
I'm guessing that you "rough-set" the caster and can fine tune it later, using the radius rod's rod ends.
Looks like your doing nice work and have the patience to do so.
"There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do,once you find them"
Jim Croce
The Chevy Van that my front axle come off, had the tie rod assembly behind the axle. It needs to be in front of the axle on the T-Bucket:D. I unbolted the steering arms from the spindles, and swapped them from side to side. The only problem with doing this is that the part of the steering arm that connects to the drag link would now be on the the passenger side instead of on the drivers side where it belongs :eek:.
So I cut off that part of the steering arm, and will have to fab a new one for the drivers side spindle. I am going to use the stock Chevy tie rod assembly. I replaced one tie rod end that was rusted up, I will reuse the other one.
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Sorry Steve, but I think you will have to rethink the whole steering set up as you will have that all wrong if you continue on this path at the moment. I would suggest making your own arms to have the tie rod behind the axle some how whether above the frame or below.
I know very little about steering but I've always been told it's best to have the tie rod behind the axle as well, just what I've heard.
Take some time to read and understand the principles of Akerman's Steering Geometry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackerm...ering_geometry
Good advice above.:rolleyes: By merely moving the arms to the front (by switching side for side) you have created "reverse Ackerman". That means every corner you drive around will be scuffing the front tires. A lot of builders, especially first-timers, do this and get away with it, but it isn't a good or desirable situation. It can make handling kind of unpredictable under some conditions, especially wet pavement or intersections that may have dirt or sand on the asphalt.:HMMM:
On my roadster I used an Econoline axle similar to your Chevy van axle. I kept the arms on the back side by heating and bending them down to get necessary clearance. On one of my previous C-cab builds and on the Deuce I am building now I fabricated my own steering arms so that I could get the necessary clearance and still keep proper Ackerman angles.:cool: I know it's another big step and a pain in the arse, but worth it in the end.;)
Having said all that, you can go ahead and get the rest of the chassis fabrication done and come back to the steering arms later, preferably before you drive it.:3dSMILE:
Thanks for the heads up on this guys. I know what Ackerman is from my stock car racing days, but for some reason I didn't even think about it on this project. :rolleyes: I'll have to rethink the steering arm situation.
I'm thinking about possibly leaving the tie rod on on the front, but bending the steering arms out as far as possible. I'm not sure yet. I've been away from home the past ten days, I haven't had a chance to actually look at it and think about it.
I'm working on finding the exact location for the radiator, engine, and body. There is a lot of stuff to fit in a small space!
Question, how much clearance do you guys think I need to allow between the transmission and the firewall?
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I only left about 3/4 of an inch. Just enough to loosen the bolts at the bellhousing for me. Once they are loose I can lower the crossmember and sneak the bolts out to remove the trans.
That's what I do as well. Just give enough clearance to get to the bell housing bolts. If you can afford a little extra room it would be beneficial to work on it but I'm guessing you don't have the extra room.
A miss is a miss. I found with my 348 an old coil distributor was a bit smaller for more room and more time period correct if a person cares. They make kits to get rid of the points so it's similar to the HEI on the inside.
I would drop the dizzy in and use that as a guide also but I am one of those chaps that likes the engine as close as possible to the firewall so that the side on proportions look balanced.Attachment 67955
On a 68 falcon I built, I cut holes in the firewall to access the bell housing bolts, and plugged them with plastic hole plugs like the plugs in a floor pan. Darn if I can remember what they're called.
Anyway, it made dropping the trans a snap.
Good ideas.
I spent some time yesterday mocking up the final mounting spot for all of the major components. I ended up moving the radiator and the engine for ward 2-3" from my original plan. I also moved the body and the rear axle forward by 5 inches.
This is complicated a little bit by the fact that I want to use a mechanical cooling fan for the "old school 50's look". I will have to mount the radiator a couple inches higher than I would prefer to. I spent a few hours juggling things around, up, down, back and forth until I got everything into what I believe is the best looking and most functional setup.
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I made a set of motor mounts out of some 1/4 inch plate steel and some leftover 2"x3" frame rail tubing. I just copied the factory mounts to get the bolt hole spacing right.
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Good progress Steve. Looks very good too.
Nice looking brackets. The little things like that make a nice "flow" to the car.
The only issue I can think of is that by using the mechanical fan is as you have said, the radiator will be sitting higher than desired. That then also by time you add the grille surround over top of the radiator, makes the side proportions look horribly wrong with a nose bleed look from the high radiator. Old style electric fans from an early Jappa from the sixties can look ole'school too you know. I use a very early electric fan on mine and absolutely no one has ever mentioned or commented on it and I built my Roadster to be like early to mid 1960's Hotrod.
One thing to keep in mind is that you definitely don't want the radiator to sit higher than the top of the cowl. This will be very noticeable at a glance when the car is viewed from the side. Your work is looking nice, but get the car in a position where you can back off a good distance and look at it. The proportions will be very apparent when viewed from a distance.
I understand your desire for the mech fan, but the overall look of the car may override that.
There is a very basic issue with radiator height---and it isn't just how the vehicle looks from the side-and its an issue whether or not you use an electric or mechanical fan-----------with a top tank radiator it needs to be well above the height of the engines heads/manifold to insure that the engine has liquid coolant completely filling cooling passages/etc and not a steamy mix------the more modern cross flow radiators with an expansion tank is more modern? but not the visable scene we are looking for in the older cars-------
Take a look at the drive shaft u-joint angles and see if you can possibly lower the front of the engine a couple inches------On most of the early type builds I'd done I usually have the front crank centerline at the height of the upper frame rail------
I will have a go at loading some photo's of T Roadsters so that you can understand what we mean by side on proportions between the top of the cowl and the top of the radiator/grille surround. As you will notice some of these cars have big blocks in them yet are driven long distances. The one named " Blood Shot " is in one of our Car Museum and is one of our top rods from years ago. The orange one is another early sixties New Zealand Roadster that has a Y Block engine and was used to tow the family boat away on holidays.Attachment 68005Attachment 68006Attachment 68007Attachment 68008
Hopefully the last photo is of another early NZ top Roadster named Vandal built by one of NZ's top Rod Builders years ago again using Y Block power and was driven all over NZ to shows and events back in the day. Hopefully these photo's may help you see how well proportioned T Roadster can look with some planning and standing back and checking the " Lines ".
Nice. It looks like there's a couple guys who are about to get wet in the second picture.
Yes, that turned out to be a bloody awful weekend with heavy consist rain but it never stops the annual Beach Hop Event.Attachment 68013
Thanks for the examples.
For now, I have lowered the front of the radiator another inch. That puts the top of the grill shell even with the top of the cowl. I mounted the radiator in such a way that it is very easy to move it up or down, and to adjust the angle of it, in case I change my mind later.
I am using a radiator from a 1966 Mustang. It was only $145 from O'Reilly Auto Parts, with a lifetime warranty.
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I had to cut my Model A grill shell down to size. I also hammered a few dents out of it and notched the bottom to fit around my radiator mount brackets. These old grill shells are made out of some strong material! :)
I then made a couple small brackets to attach the shell to the radiator.
Thanks for looking.
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Now that is cooler looking and can I say thanks for using an early " A " surround as I personally am so over the use of the chopped down '32 surround that lots like using.
Thanks Mark. I saw a picture of a T Bucket with a Model A grill shell and decided I wanted to do that. I stumbled across this one for a decent price at a swap meet in Lakeland, FL last fall.