10/30/99
Here is a view showing the Winter's 9" aluminum housing and
axle tubes with gun-drilled axles that I bought used. I've added the wide-5 hub and
tire to check where things should mount.
In this view from the rear you can see where the 27x14" tire
sits. The tire is out farther than I had wanted but still lines up nicely.
In this view from the front you can see where the 27x14" tire
sits. I need to make room for additional travel of the wheel up into the fender.
Let's see ... PortaPower, BFHammer, or Sawsall????
In this view you can see that with the stock frame rails there
is clearance between the sidewall of the tire and the frame rail. The factory rails
skew outward in the back and clearance was questionable. The Winter's wide-5 rear
end I bought was wider (61") than I had planned to use (58") so this moved
the tires out 1.5" per side farther than I had wanted. Oh well, it still works
and I can leave the uni-rails alone.
This is the underside of the frame looking at the lower strut mount
that I've added. I went with brackets that I boxed together to aid in their being
welded in place. The bracket(s) will allow a lot of adjustability both up and down
and in and out for roll center, ride height, and track. The cross member will need
a lot of metal welded back into place to keep everything from flexing.
Here you can see the lower strut rod in place. The other side of
the frame should be easier to build now that I have one side located and have made
plenty of mistakes and corrections.
Here's a side view looking fron the front. The big clamp is the
ground for the MIG. The lower rod is 17.5" long.
Here is the birdcage mount (with nylon insert) that I will use
to locate the axle front to rear. I chose a Z-bar (watts link) design for several
reasons. One, I wanted a fully floating axle. Two, I wanted the axle to move in an
almost vertical line as it traveled up and down. And three, the mounting locations
for the bars worked out easily with the uppers going to the rear of the car and the
lowers to the front. The bars are horizontal at ride height but are also adjustable.
Here is a closer look. It has retaining rings on each side and
grease fittings. The Romex cable mounting strap is temporary.