Another Build Thread - My '32

[Driver50x]

Yes Jim, I read through your entire Track T thread. Lots of good stuff in there. I have already started my own thread.

Low-budget/T-Bucket Pickup

I have seen a considerable amount of concern over using Heim joints for Street Rod suspensions on this and other forums. I think they are very safe. I've seen them used for many years in all types of stock car racing. Those cars get major abuse and pounding on, and I have never seen a Heim joint fail other than in a major wreck.

[J. Robinson]

Jerry - I don't disagree. I use double shear brackets in areas that receive constant stress (my truck arms are in double shear at both ends), but the panhard bar is not stressed beyond the strength of the Heims, bolts, or brackets and I've never had a problem. Maybe I'm living on false security..?

Driver50x - I raced stock cars off & on for 35 years and used a lot Heim ends. I never had one break and some of them took some pretty good hits. I will admit, though, that I generally used 5/8 and 3/4 Heims, not 1/2 inch.

One thing that can be done to make Heim joints safer - put a retention washer on the outside so if the ball somehow slips out of the outer ring it still can't come completely off. In fact, if you put your car through a NSRA safety inspection, they require retention washers on all Heims.

[J. Robinson]

The last of the bracketry needed to finish the rear suspension is the lower coilover mounts. All the ones I found online are too short and would have raised the rear of the car way higher than I want. Also, their shape would have conflicted with my truck arm mounts so they would require modification. The best solution to my conundrum was simply to fabricate my own.

I began with a piece of extra-heavy duty angle iron. It is a scrap that was given to me a few years ago. It is 3 inch x 2.5 inch x 5/16 wall angle. I laid out the shape on the angle and cut it with my 4 1/2 inch grinder with a cutting wheel. This tool is my new best friend for fabricating brackets. For years I have been cutting stuff with a torch or plasma cutter and then spending hours grinding - not any more! In the time it would have taken me to drag out the torch set, cut the pieces, and deburr them for grinding, I already had them cut out and finish ground to size.

Next step then was to drill the necessary holes. I put 5 holes in each one so there is plenty of available adjustment. Combined with the adjustability of the coilover springs, rear height adjustment will be infinite.

[40FordDeluxe]

That's funny. I watched a friend of mine cut his cab to stretch it with his death wheel a while ago. Ever since, I've used up about 2 100 boxes of them. You just have to respect them as he says. Haha Nice work on the brackets.

[J. Robinson]

Finally, I installed the brackets onto the rear axle housing. I set them so the coilovers are tilted approximately 15 degrees from vertical. The finished brackets are turned so the gusset side of the angle is away from the truck arm brackets. This affords enough room between the brackets that I can weld them completely.

I propped the brackets in place with some wood blocks and my welder's angle magnets and used an angle finder to make sure they are vertical both ways. I will roll the rear end out from under the frame later and finish-weld everything. For now, I just put a few good heavy tack-welds on the shock brackets to hold them in place. All that remained was to bolt in the coilovers and remove the wood blocks that have been supporting the frame.

[J. Robinson]

Yes, Ryan, I have watched people use them before, but just never tried it. Boy, was I missing the boat! One thing I did, though, I left the guard on mine. It's easily adjustable, so I just turned it to one side out of the way. As I was cutting it was covering the top part of the blade. It's still an aggressive tool, but at least it won't hit me in the face if the blade scatters.

[40FordDeluxe]

I left my guard on too. I have one pneumatic die grinder with no guard that I'll use occasionally with a face shield and caution with a death wheel. I've seen a few flying past me and respect them.

Nice work getting the coil overs on.

[firebird77clone]

I've not heard the term death wheel before. It's an apt moniker. I've disintegrated many dremel wheels, and partially fractured 4 1/2" discs. Kickbacks are the worst, and probably are the main cause of disc failure and injury. No matter how much I try to avoid kickbacks, they seem to be a calculated risk.

Attention to task is the best prevention, safety goggles and ear plugs are the minimal PPE.

[J. Robinson]

I had not heard the term "death wheel" before either, but maybe it's somewhat appropriate. I have not personally heard of anyone being killed by one of these small discs exploding, but I suppose it's possible. More likely, the flying shards could cause severe cuts or could take out an unprotected eye.

Kickback is generally caused by the blade binding in the cut because either the cutting tool or workpiece moved and caused momentary misalignment. Although it is almost impossible to eliminate 100% of kickbacks, the frequency and strength of them can be reduced if the workpiece is solidly held in place while cutting. I cut these brackets while the workpiece was held in a vise. Cutting thin stuff (sheet metal) is another challenge because it can flex and bind the blade no matter how solidly it is held. Firebird77clone said it right - attention to task and proper safety equipment.

[Whiplash23T]

Sadly I have seen the result of what damage a cut off disc on a guard-less grinder can do. One of the guys in the hot rod club I was in was lying on his back with his head up under the dash of his '57 Chevy trying to cut something when the whole situation turned nasty. The result was the disc and machine slicing down his cheek and neck just missing his eye and deep enough to see the bone structure. Luckily, no major blood vessels hit and we have an amazing air ambulance system here in NZ. But he is not the handsome young man he use to be and has the scares to tell the story.

[J. Robinson]

Wow! That's sad. And scary.

The closest call I ever had was years ago with a 7-inch air powered angle grinder. I was grinding on something for my '31 coupe. It was just below waist level and I was wearing a baggy old tank top. The wheel caught my shirt tail and wound it up all the way to my stomach. Fortunately, the sudden movement jerked my finger off the trigger and the shirt stopped the wheel just as it contacted bare skin. All I got was a raw abrasion about 3 inches long and a half inch wide and a shredded shirt. If it had been the more powerful electric grinder it probably would have disemboweled me. Lesson learned; when I'm using a grinder now I make sure my shirt tail is tucked in or at least not near the grinding wheel.

[firebird77clone]

I've had two minor injuries from angle grinders.
One, the wheel grabbed a piece of sheet metal which I was trying to avoid. Result: a small divot near my wrist. Could have been tourniquet and Emergency Room.

Another time i recal, i was working down low, and the wheel grabbed my coveralls. I got a deep scratch across the knee. Could have been a permanent limp.

Both times were result of a momentary lapse of attention.

My angle grinder is my favorite tool, and probably the most dangerous. I have removed the guard on occasion, but it always goes back on as soon as possible.

[Driver50x]

I've used the 3 inch cutoff wheels on a die grinder for years. For some reason it never dawned on my to try a 4 1/2 wheel on an angle grinder. I tried it a couple days ago, wow what a useful tool. I made a pair of front batwings, one with torches and the second with the cut off wheel. I think the second one took about half as long as the first one. And that was just using a $15 Harbor Freight angle grinder.

I've been fortunate to never have any scary incidents with the cut off wheels. I did however have one of those 3M gasket cleaning pads fly off, and it felt like it neutered me!

One question Jim. How did you cut the inside radius for your coil over axle bracket? Did you just make a series of cuts and then grind it out?

[firebird77clone]

A hole saw works well for such things, but the cut and grind method is almost faster.

Pay the extra $ for stainless steel rated discs
, they outlast about 3:1.

[J. Robinson]

Yes, Steve, I cut as close as I could with the same 4 1/2 inch cut-off wheel (had to finish the last little bit on each cut with a hacksaw). Then switched back to the regular grinding wheel and finished the shaping with that.