Chassis is ready for final welding. 1 3/4" X .120" frame rails. Will get a 7/8" lower truss. 38 Ford tube axle. 201 N O S Halibrand 2" open tube axle. Parallel rear torsion bar suspension. I like to keep things simple. IE; LF. 5/8" radius rod bolt turned down to mount the 3'8" shock absorber link. RR; 5/8" spherical bearing and 3/8" rod end for torsion bar arm link. Rear shock links, drill one hole. Steering box clamp lower bolt [ threaded rod ] to mount master cylinder. Gusset for lower bolt. A good place for brake pedal pivot. K I S
Nice! I'll be watching this one. Can you shoot a picture or two of the front axle and spindles? I'm getting more ideas to plaigerize! Between you, Marty Strode and a number of other people, I've gotten so many great ideas for the Whatever project and others.
Spindles are 42-48 Ford car. Sprint car hubs were made for F150 P U spindles. I made a sleeve for the inner bearing. I found a seal that fits the hub and fits the spindle. Axle hanging. That's the reason for crazy shackle angle. I did not like the angle of the front hairpin. I like the looks of the 2 piece R F radius rod. Ross steering. 4 perfect Halibrand kidney bean wheels. 8 " retreads in back. Ribs in front.
1/4 " magnesium front engine mounts. Will powder coat for protection. Add a 1/4" spacer to the crankshaft.
That's so nice... that RF radius rod looks good, probably easier to make as well. Since you mentioned KISS, I took a second look at the suspension. Dead perch, no track rod needed! But I wonder, will the LR torsion bar arm attach without the shackle arrangement like the RR attaches to the birdcage plate with?
This may be a clueless question, however I'm curious about something. You are using a Ford v8-60 tube axle with a hairpin on one side and a single bar on the other, similar to what I have on the Whatever project. By the way really nice looking batwings. The hairpin is hooked up using clevises, which seem to me cause some binding. Do you consider that a problem, or does the batwing have some movement on the spring perch bolt? I might be overthinking this, and I replaced the clevises with rod ends. What's your considerable experience opinion on this?
Finishing the welding. Installing the lower frame truss. 7/8" OD x .095" 4130. Kept the 1/4" thick magnesium torque plate in place to prevent disstortion from welding. Frame would be flimsey without the torque plates front and rear. The engine block is a structual member. Off to the powder coaters real soon.
Ya Dave that was standard practis on circle track cars with parrallel torsion. The circle track car I built in 1964. Parallel torsion. Panhard bar in front because 10" arms. 14" arms in the rear but I used a Watts link on the rear of the 3/4 ton Ford rear end. No Q C's allowed. 6.66-1 R & P. I used a Panhard ba r on my recreation #97.
Hey guys. Help me out. Tell Dave what you think about Dave's question about bind when using clevises on the R F radius rod.
Thanks Dennis. I'm a retired professional engineer who spent the last 35 years doing mostly r&d stuff. And while I was a millwright for 10 years before college and raced ne dirt modifieds, that's pretty much all I know about. Since I retired and started on the Whatever project, I've learned so much from all of the real builders here, like you and Marty Strode and all of the rest of the guys doing phenomenal work.
I sanded all the tubing before installing so I won' t have to sand blast the frame prior to powder coating. I hope. 88 years old with a tremer it's hard to lay welding beads like I used to. The torsion mounting tubes stayed in perfect alignment. That's important. Dave. I consider myself an engineer. Self taught.
Yes, so do I. My friend, driver, and mentor, Jim Langenback, was a fabricator like you, and also like you, a self taught engineer. I met Jim when I was 19 years old, and he was around 37. And had been building and racing up here in the northeast since 1962. I learned most of the stuff about dirt cars from Jim. Over the years we collaborated on a number of cars, including a couple of research chassis for a hybrid hydraulic vehicle being developed in the 90s. I did a basic layout of the chassis, and left most of the design and fabrication to Jim. And they were quite successful, albeit the hydraulic aspect was illconcieved. But we won't go into that part. I've known many book trained engineers over the years, and quite a few like you and Jim. I've always learned something from guys like you two. And I've just walked away from a lot of the book educated engineers, fast! And we wonder why modern structures fail. Too much dependence on the computer output! Oh well, as is the saying these days, "It is what it is". 'Nuff said... Thanks
Welding is done. Re-sanded where ever possible. Wire wheeled also. Local powder coater moved. Won't be set up until March so I guess I will have my friend paint it. Made some quicky attachments front and rear for my friends Whilly-Jig. [ engine stands.] Will have to make one cut to remove the rear one.
This is so nice! Unfortunate that the powder coating guy is down right now. Regardless it'll be nicer than what I do. Rattle cans! I hate painting...
I used to do all my own paining. Back in Wisconsin I had the shop next to mine shot blast this frame. It was very rough. I painted it anyway thinking the paint would smooth it out. No way. I took it to a sandblaster about 25 miles away. Sandblasted the fresh paint off and smoothing the metal out. I painted it the second time.
Assembling a dummy engine. Wieand intake. Straight linkage on the left. Arms facing down to clear Aeroquip coolant line. Evans marine he ads. I believe the outlet at the rear will improve cooling.
Have to put sprint chassis assembly on the back burner while I build sprint car front suspension for the 32 roadster Maxi Taxi for my 9 year old grandson.
So how big is the Maxi Taxi? Sounds like a fun diversion for you. And please post a picture or twenty of it along the way. Speaking of pictures, could you post a picture or two of the front suspension components before you reassemble it? As they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. And I'm known as the great plaigerizer. I'll let you connect the dots.... Thanks, and looking great!