Well i know it matters but i want to know if what im doing will work or ill end up dead in a ditch 3/16"x3" flat stock. this is what i got for my 4 link brackets. At the store it seemed thick enough, but now in the big ole garage im starting to wonder. here is a quick "paint" sketch i did of what i planned on doing. I wanted to box one end in to make it stronger. And i allso figure it would be easier to weld something like this to the frame while laying on my back. Rather then two tabs, and risk putting them to close or to far from each other. in turn letting the link bar slap around, or not fit at all. But my main concern is the thickness of the metal i have here. what do u guys think? Thanks Bryan
seems like it should be ok,..personally,id prob add some gussets for a piece of mind...may not need them tho
yea i thought about gussets to but i dont think there is any places where i could add them with out getting in the way of the bars movement. all so that thing going thru the black holes would be a bolt holding on the rod end. i kinda confuse my self at times
I would bump up to 1/4". Not crazy overkill but more strength. Most store bought brackets omly use 3/16" if there is a DOM bung to use as the wear point. As in Pete and Jake stuff for example.
Hey you might want to check out this site thry supply alot of brackets mostly circle track stuff. They make a nice product and are pretty cheap. Free Catalog too!! racing@aa-mfg.com
They (A&A) have some great brackets cheaper than you can carve em. A good pal of mine gets several of us together once a year and we all order a bunch of tabs and brackets.
I think the 3/16" will be just fine, as long as they are not sticking away from the frame a long way. The brackets you could buy from Mopar Performance to relocate leaf springs is only 1/8" thick and the mounting holes are 3"-4" from the frame rail. A simple brace across the top (or bottom) would certainly solve any problems, but as long as the center of the holes weren't more then 2"-3" from the welded surface I would not expect any problems (even with out extra bracing.). If they tried to go anywhere they would have to move both pieces, and would likely rip a chunk from the frame first because it probably is only around 1/8" thick too. Gene
1/4 is good but 3/16" will work fine /keep em short in length and do as you drew it up BUT place a top on the peice you sketched. then you can arch cut it for clearance at the open end where the link may come into contact. another trick you could do is cut a 3/4" hole in the "back of what you drew and rosette weld it full to aid it-in holding on! Id set the rod ends at mid thread and install all them to these brackets you are making and mock rear in place and with clean meat for a location spot em in and re check before really finish welding them. the ones you show are for the frame ends of the links-right? you can make some brackets for the rear that encircle the housing for more contact surface and more area to weld on......
yes these would be the frame end. i did plan on using the conture of the axle housing on the others. thanks alote every one for helping me out. and thanks a ton kenny you have had answers for every thing ive asked so far!
I'd agree with the 3/16" being plenty strong. As far as your width spacing concern you can just use the rod ends you'll be using as the spacer when you tack weld tabs to the frame. I've also TIG welded washers (with small O.D.) to the inside of brackets on both sides to add additional clearance for the rod ends and jam nuts, and to spread out the load, sort of a built-in shim.
1/8...too flimsy 1/4...too bulky 3/16...just right. Of course I'm not building for a 8000 RPM launce either. A buddy and I slit the cost of a 4X8 sheet. I'm still cutting brackets out of it.
The Chris Alston drag race oriented 4-link brackets I'm using on my 31 roadster are 3/16" cold rolled. Granted, the roadster only weighs 2200# or so, but these 4-links have 1 1/4" bars and are routinely used on 3000# + cars with way more HP than I'm gonna have....
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