Wishbones come in a number of lengths. If you run a Vega style cross steer you want the longest wishbones you can find. If you run a stock location steering box with the drag link parallel to the frame you want a wishbone the same length as the drag link.

The forged yoke with the ball is hard and very difficult to cut. But the bones are easier to finish cut if the yoke has been cut. I'd use a plasma cutter or tourch for this. I have used a chop saw and it is hard on blades. Once the wishbone is in two pieces cut the tube about 1/4" forward of the weld. The best tool for this is a bandsaw. And the next best is a sawzall. Again, a chop saw will also work. An alternative tool is a 7" metal cutting blade in a 7 1/4" skill type carpenter's saw. If you use one of these saws go slow and don't let the saw itself overheat. And wear sdafety glasses!!

The traditional way to attach the split bone to the frame is with a standard Ford tie rod end. Speedway sells bungs with the right thread. A competent welder can pop these in in a couple of minutes.

The tie rod end has a tapered shaft that goes through a tapered hole in the spindle. A ream is available (I think Speedway has it). But you can avoid this expense if you can locate two spindle eyes. These can come from spindles that have completely worn out their bushings and ovaled the holes or from arms that have been cut off and replaced with after market units (more on this in a minute). These eyes will be welded (TIG is best) into a bracket made out of 1/4" or 5/16" flat stock.

The bracket location and shape is established by test fitting the complete axle assembly to the chassis. In the ideal situation the chassis will be complete with wheels, tires, drive train and body in place. The goal is to have the rod sit like it will be driven.

Using the wishbones as levers, the axle is set to six or seven degrees of caster and blocked. Note: Sears sells a magnetic base angle finder that is both cheap and does this job accurately. The bracket you fabricate will drop down from the frame rail with the eye centered on the tie rod end. The brackets should be located at the same point on both sides of your frame and have the same drop. If this is not the case something is out of line. Note: The tie rod ends should be threaded with about 1/2" to 3/4" of thread exposed. This gives you the ability to make adjustments later.

Before you fabricate your brackets step back and take a look. The wishbones should be parallel with the frame. If they look awkward there is a fix. At the front of the wishbone there is another forging, a "C" shape that goes over and below the axle. You can "pie" cut just before this forging as necessary to bring the wishbone to the proper line.

The brackets themselves are an oportunity to express your own sense of style. I have seen brackets made out of 4" wide stock that bolt to the sides of the frame. This is a very traditional way to do it and offer the builder the ability to adjust the location if and when the spring settles and the final ride heigth is set. Other builders weld a bracket to the underside of the frame. And some builders fabricate brackets with multiple eyes. These offer several caster adjustments.

Splitting wishbones does not require a lot of welding but the strength of the welds is critical to your safety. The key to a good job is getting the relationships correct. If you have the right tools and know how to use them you should be able to do the fabricating in your shop and you can have the welding done by a professional.

I am not much of a welder. There s no way I would trust my life to my welds. I have a little 110 MIG that I use to tack critical welds to be finished by someone who knows what they are doing. I also have a 50 amp 220 welding plug in my shop. If I need a lot of welding done my friend brings over his big Miller. Every rodder needs a buddy who welds.

Finaly, a note about the "eyes". If you are running a dropped axle you will need to drop your steering arms so the tie rod can run under the wishbone. The old school way was to heat and bend. But I have never liked this. To many ways to screw up. I like to cut the stock arms off and use after market bolt on arms. Super Bell, Magnum and Chassis Engineering all offer dropped arms. I prefer the Chassis Engineering units because they are forged.

What do you do with the old arms? You use two of the eyes for your brackets and you save the third for your next rod project.

Confused??

Then email me at stevehansen+cox.net (+ = @)