Is there such a thing as an axle bracket goes on a 3" tube without welding? Maybe like a muffler clamp? My tubes are polished chrome and I hate to screw them up. How about shock mounts without welding? Thanks for your help. Tequila Bob
hi bob what do you mean by axle bracket? Stock car people have clamp on brackets for say a panyard bar.They use alot of interesting pieces that can be adapted to street rod type cars. RLS
If you're referring to something like a spring perch that your links attach to, you really need to weld those in. When I took my truck for it's first test drive a few weeks ago, I hadn't welded my perches in place yet because I wasn't sure about some alignment issues yet; when my truck grabbed first gear, the axle rotated on the perches and disconnected my drive shaft. Even if you were to tighten the **** out of whatever you bolt them down with, over time things will come loose and it may come back to bite you. Just my 2 cents.
The brackets need to be welded. On some 50's rearends the axle tubes are only rosebud welded to the differential housings. These welds have been known to break and causing the axle housing to rotate A cure is to have a certified welder weld the axle tubes to the differential housing. There will be discoloration of the chrome when you weld on it. This can be reduced a little by using heat absorbing clay in the area.
back in 65 i mounted the cast iron mounts for the rear spring with aircraft bolts.........with a gasket to stop oil leakage worked on two different rears drill your brackets to stop rotation...... you need to be smart with homemade tools to reach the bolts install aircraft bolts from inside and locking nuts on outside using aircraft surplus you can use bolts as small as 1/8--1/4.... i lapped the brackets to fit housing tubes and with a gasket stopped the slight oil leak...........
There are a lot of clamp on brackets that we circle trackers use - BUT - we usually at least tack weld them to the housings. G***erjohn's method would work too, but I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 5/16 bolt myself.
I'm going to try G***er John's way.It makes a lot of sense and I won't have the heat discoloration in the chrome. At least I can now ise the Frankland QC on my roadster. Thanks for all your responses. I always know I can count on the H.A.M.B. Tequila Bob
also if you arnt going to weld witch I do recommend then maybe use some kind of cross mount that bolts to the diff cover and bracket to bracket. looks good in my head anyway. I would still go with welding though.
Nothing can be bolted to the differential. It's a magnesium Frankland QC. I found some spring perches last night from Pure Hot Rods in Illinois (purehotrods.com) and they mount to the axle tube outer flange.
You could always make the brackets in pieces, weld them from the inside edge instead of the outside, then weld the top sections to the side pieces. Pack the axle housing with something very wet. We used to have *asbestos* in a gallon can that could be wetted with water, then it was almost like a clay. We just globbed in on whatever we wanted to keep safe and welded it. It absorbed a tremendous amount of heat. Then just scooped it off back into the can for later. Probably not available anymore. Wonder if they still make something similar....? Anyone know?
question the tubes are magnesium? Bicknell racing parts have bolt on brackets they have three stores and a web site
Be careful! While race car parts will work as in bolting up, they are engineered as a total system. Yes some parts may bolt to the tubes, but most of the newer set-ups have a long and beefy torque arm that uses the bolts that join the halves of the rear housing and attaches to the frame up under the transmission with a sliding silicone biscuit to absorb the torque shock loads. Also keep in mind most fasteners are safety wired and on the front runnung teams all fasteners are checked, re-torqued and safety wired every week. Mabe max out at 100 laps on a 1/2 mile track. That is a high maintenance suspension system.
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