Thread: My From-Scratch project

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This is gonna sound harsh, but I think it is the truth....

Tractor links have no business on a car. They will get sloppy really quick. 4x4 guys have tried them and wasted them on the first use.

As far as all of the mounting brackets go. You should have researched other people's work. It would have saved you some re-work.

your lower shock mounts are pretty much guarrantied to fail....and will damage the link mounts when they do twist off.

The top links should angle out and mount on the frame rails for simplicity and structural integrity. the stepped crossmember you drew would need to be braced pretty well with diagonals (front to back) to handle braking and acceleration loads.

Copy somebody elses proven designs.

Originally Posted by Flipper_1938

This is gonna sound harsh, but I think it is the truth....

Tractor links have no business on a car. They will get sloppy really quick. 4x4 guys have tried them and wasted them on the first use.

As far as all of the mounting brackets go. You should have researched other people's work. It would have saved you some re-work.

your lower shock mounts are pretty much guarrantied to fail....and will damage the link mounts when they do twist off.

The top links should angle out and mount on the frame rails for simplicity and structural integrity. the stepped crossmember you drew would need to be braced pretty well with diagonals (front to back) to handle braking and acceleration loads.

Copy somebody elses proven designs.

Sure it sounds harsh, but it's very helpful, and it's exactly the kind of things I want people to let me know if they have an opinion about it. So thankyou .
as for the shock mounts, I had doubts about them, but another guy that lives by me that builds cars looked at them and insists they should be okay. (I still had doubts though). I think that I'll be putting a second piece of angle on the backside. I may redo the front lower bar mounts on the side of the frame too. I don't think I like them, and I need to move them back about 1 1/2 inches anyways. I already did the cross member, and have re-enforced it alot. I have a picture of what I did here in this post. I may put a couple bars at an angle from the top, back to the rear bar of the frame. I may be changing the top rear bar mounts too, so there is more travel available....maybe use 2x4 instead of 2x3 and raise the ends of the bars about an inch.
I wont be off-roadiing with this, and I wont be drag racing, so I'm not sure the links will be a problem. I know a couple guys that have 4x4s and they beat the crap out of them. I'm not an engineer, and you may be right though. It's something that I can change if I have too. Most of this stuff, I have copied from other people though, like the spring mounts, 2x3 mounts for the 4 bars, upper shock mounts, and some other things
I ran out of welding wire , so I can't do any more until next friday when I get another check. Thanks again for your looking at this and your comments.

looking at it again, I may put a couple 8"x8" triangles for gussets at the front of the lower crossmember bars, horizontally, to the bottom rail of the frame.

Sam

here's what I plan to change...that's what's nice about "from scratch"....can always change it if needed
sam

I started some of the body. It will have the running boards, and I started the platform that the body sits on and mounts to. The main body should be about 54 inches wide. With the runninng boards, it will be about 74 inches. It wont have a tool box and battery box on the side. It might have the tool box but it will only be about 4 or 5 inches deep so no room for the battery. Still havent decided if it will have one spare tire on the back or 2 on the sides. Depends on if it turns out to be a Phaeton style, or a roadster style. I can get 12 foot 1x2 tubing for $8 each, but I cant get any 1x1 cheap so I have to see what I can do. Also, I need to look for some sheet metal. I may have to wait until I get home from work in December. I think I said before, that I work in the nuclear energy field, so I have to work in Nebraska at a couple nukes from 11Sep to 05Dec and then i'll have the winter off again. I think I'll be getting the engine rebuilt this winter too.

Sam

Another thing you might want to do is take the springs out so you can raise/lower the suspension through it's full range of motion. Check for binding and make sure the pinion stays at a consistent angle throughout the suspensions travel. Better to find out now if you have the geometry right before you get too far along.

Also, if it were mine I would build some adjustment into the 4 bar mounting brackets so you have the ability to adjust IC, just in case the static setting you have there needs tweaking.
just my 2 pennies.

Originally Posted by pro70z28

Also, if it were mine I would build some adjustment into the 4 bar mounting brackets so you have the ability to adjust IC, just in case the static setting you have there needs tweaking.
just my 2 pennies.

Thanks for the 2 pennies. I'll do that just to make sure.
Sam

I think I want to do something like this. These are model SSJ duesenbergs. There was only 2 built (these two). They were the only ones that were originally supercharged from the factory, even though of the 10 SJ's that were made, a couple more had superchargers added later on. The red one was driven by Clark Gable, but Gary Cooper owned his (the 2-tone silver one). Clark Gable was loaned his to drive for publicity.

Sam

I found a seat that works perfect today. I found it in the back of my suburban. I've never used the third seat, and it's always in the way sitting in the garage, or in the way when I want to haul something, so now it comes in handy. I might change the hook type brackets on the bottom, or I may just keep them so I can remove the seat when I need too. The steering column from that '51 ford will work too, but I'll have to lengthen the arm that goes from the gear box up to the U-shaped steering bar up by the front wheel. It should work good as long as I can make it so it doesn't interfere with the exhaust.

Sam

Good start, keep them pics and posts coming.

You know windows and a body are really over rated! Just start her up like that and go for a cruise! Get that open air motorcycle feeling, without any helmet laws to interfere with the outdoors experience!

here's another pic of what i did today. got the drive shaft tunnel in, so I could set the seat where it has to be. It's up 6 inches from the floor. I think I will lower the tunnel a little in the front though. I think I might be able to lower it about 2 inches. got the hoop around the back of the seat and the rear door jams in. will work on the curves from the hoop back to the rear tomorrow maybe. have to stop and do some thinking though to figure a couple things out.

Sam

If your goal is to have triangulated four-link that doesn't need a trac-bar, you should take a good look under coil-sprung GM cars....... A difference that I notice is that while your upper bars angle inward to the differential (as they should), you lower bars also angle inward from the chassis to the axle tubes. I think the lowers should mount more inboard on the frame and angle outward toward the ends of the axle tubes.

Originally Posted by AzDon

If your goal is to have triangulated four-link that doesn't need a trac-bar, you should take a good look under coil-sprung GM cars....... A difference that I notice is that while your upper bars angle inward to the differential (as they should), you lower bars also angle inward from the chassis to the axle tubes. I think the lowers should mount more inboard on the frame and angle outward toward the ends of the axle tubes.

I just looked at the pictures that I have posted, and the lower bars do look like they're angled, but it's just the pictures make them look like that. They're actually perpendicular to the axle/parallel to the frame and each other. the balls in the links swivel a few degrees each way for side movement of the links, but the top ones are mounted at an angle that makes all four balls on the top ones swiveled to their maximum angle, so there isnt any movement. also, when I push sideways on the frame, there's no movement. There is good up/down movement and no binding that I can see for the movement of the springs/shocks/links. I'm hoping that means it's okay.
Thanks for your thoughts, and if you think I might be wrong in my reasoning, please let me know.

Sam

The mounts on the top bars should be angled to keep the "ball" centered in it's range of motion.... BTW...Looks like they are implement type swivels???? Might want to consider losing them in place of some urethene bushed rod ends.... The solid swivels are very noisy, wear quickly, and require constant attention to keep them clean and lubed.... Also, the rear shocks will work much better when mounted at an angle of 15 to 25 degrees, and the lower end of the shock mounted as far outboard as possible.... Vertical shocks and coilovers are best on drag cars where the ride is not a consideration.....