as in, I dont have a 220 welder... lets just say I have a decent 110 mig... and a torch set.(not YET at least!) What design, and what methods are available for someone with limited equipment to reliably and safely attach a rear axle to a frame?****ume the frame is already boxed and stepped. Lets leave the discussion wide open, 4 link, coil over, etc. Whatever will work. To qualify this further, lets say the torque involved wont exceed that of a tired old small block chevy, eventually leading to tires no wider than 6-8 inches wide. quite curious. To me, this is the most complicated and troublesome aspect of chassis work. Hell, they did it back in da ol days with less! Thanks, J
Well your welder(or literature with welder) should say how thick the steel is that your welder can weld. For anything over your limit pre-heat the steel with the torch setup. A rosebud tip would work well for this. Having said this, My Brother used a So-Cal ladder bar setup. Please let us not get into a So-Cal bashing post. Any ladder bar set-up can be used or if you are enterprising, you can make your own. All that we had built before this was a mini-bike. The So-Cal setup worked great with the late 60's chevy ten bolt rear. Nick used a model T spring that we located in front of the axle. Coils may be easier to set up, but if you are using an A frame with an A rear cross member, stick to a Model A spring. For Pictures of his Car, see the cover of Old Skool Rodz #2
cool, lemme see if I got this straight, a ladder bar setup is like whats in the back of my 64 chevy pickup? or am I visualizing this wrong? I'll just look at so cals website in the meantime... Thanks, J
Nope, more like half a ladder bar... So, heating up the axle tube, one can sucessfully weld to it with a 110v rig? Adviseable to take it apart first? Adjustable ladder bars adjust what, pinion angle? Thanks, J
Triangulated 4 links are really easy, especially if the rear end is in place already (like with leaf springs so it's perfectly in plaace, leave it ther, weld the 4 link in, then dissasemble the leaves). As for the welder, 110 welders come in varying "abilities", so check out what thickness it can do, bevel both sides of all your brackets, and like was said, heat it up a bit, but be carefull, you can warp a rearend.
Not so much heatimg the axle tubes but heating the ladder bar bracket. If you look at So-Cal's it is pretty thick. Has to be to hold up to the stress.
jason, the so what guys have a setup that mimmics your truck. having seen it, thier idea is about as clean and simple as it gets. pm clark or look through the archives for a picture. if nothing else, i can send you some pictures that i have on my home pc. if i ever decide to ditch the parallel leaf rear on my '31 chevy and install something less bulky, it will be the so what setup. ed
I would not like to see anyone use a 110 welder on any chassis work. Can you mock it up and take the pieces to a welding shop ? You live in California for crying out loud ,go sign up for night welding classes at your college or trade school and use the class time to do it. 110 welders do not put out enough amps to weld my chassis ,and I don't think it would be wise to try. 220 buzz box welders only bring $45 to $75 at the auctions around here ,I can't imagine them being higher than that anywhere. My first welder was purchased with a clothes dryer extension cord by myself and two friends as a partnership deal. We tried to wear that old lincoln out for the next 5 or 6 years. Couldn't do it.
i got a rear end and suspension setup from a 93 buick roadmaster from a junkyard. had em torch out the whole rear frame section, leaving the suspension complete. the buick frame was boxed, so i cut the outer boxing off and trimmed from the inside of my pontiac frame so it would fit, welded it in and added boxing and gusset work for strength. it isn't as bad of a cob job as you'd think, and could have looked alot better were i more experienced. learned to weld primarily from that project right there. migh save ya some trouble, as it pretty easily gave me a factory 4 link sora set up, a fairly strong rear end (with parts readily available) for prety cheap.
i used a 110 lincoln MIG welder for my triangulated four link. its the biggest 110V, but i still wouldnt really recomend it. mine has held up in my 56 ford for about 6 months now, even after pitching it sideways a few times, but i still wouldnt recomend it.
Hands down easiest way to mount a rear end in a car is by paralell leaf springs. The problem is... with coupe and roadster bodies... the rear spring is too long... but with an early pickup... it's a pretty sweet set up. I have seen some guys run trailer springs, they're real short... but I dont' know what the ride is like. WFIW, spring hangers and shackles can be bolted on... Sam.
cool. Yeah Sam, I forgot to ask about paralell leaf... saw somebody's RPU on here with that setup, couldnt beleive how simple that was... Thanks, J
I wouldn't weld onto axle tubes w/o getting the thing checked for straightness when I was done. Ain't seen one yet that didn't warp and warped axle tubes take out axle bearings on a regular basis once you start driving it.
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