Thread: Bought a Fat Man M II. What now?

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Originally posted by staleg
But according to some people this is not enough.
Have you heard about this?

The internet is a wonderful thing. Yes, you and I have probably read the same posts, or some repetition of them.

Dave's suggestions are certainly a wise modification if there's any concern. That being said, I have to wonder about some of this theorizing. The lower bolt, for instance, is fully encased in the through tube, unlikely that it would bend without bending that whole tube structure. In a severe braking situation as is supposed in the noted fear stories the forces against the lower control arm would be to the rear, and if the x-member were too weak, rotating upward. Going to the rear would have to "fold" the gusset you described first, and then the crossmember structure. It's conceivable I'll admit, but just doesn't seem likely. In my personal experience, limited I will admit, I've probably known maybe 100 cars with this kind of setup. Never once have I seen such a failure. I think I stay as tuned in to the hobby as much as most folks do, and I've never heard of this type of failure ever happening in reality.............only in theory. Given our surplus of blood sucking lawyers, and the willingness of juries to award rediculous sums of money, if any real world examples of this type failure existed, successful companies such a Heidt's would be HIGHLY motivated to develope a cure.

If there are any real examples of the failure imagined I'd be curious to know if it were really the design of the lower arm mount, or the surrounding structure or workmanship of the installation that may have been more at fault.