I'm looking for opinions (I know they're like asses, everyone's has one). A few years ago I put my 40 Plymouth on the road and I lowered it using reverse eye leafs and 3" lowering blocks on the back and on the front I moved the spring plate from the top of the A-arm to the bottom and installed areostar springs. It looks good but I'm looking to improve the ride a bit there's only about 1 1/2" of travel till I hit the bump stops and it hits often. I'm thinking of using dropped uprights and moving the spring plate back to get some travel again. I bought a set of cut and welded dropped uprights a few years back from the Cloverdale swap meet but am unsure about using them. The guy I bought them from mentioned that an old time hot rodder from the area made them back in the day (can't remember the name) and from the chipped paint and wear they look like this they've seen road use but I'm still hesitant to put them on and load my family up for a rip down the highway. They're welded with a stick welder and I can see a little slag but having grown up on a farm I've seen and welded stuff that wasn't really pretty but was really tough, the difference being none of that stuff kept the wheels on at 70 mph. So my questions are how does the welds look to you? Any way to check them? Should I use them as is? Add more weld to them? Use the king kin bosses to modify the set on the car now? Hang them on the wall and call Fatman? Though not ticketed I'm a good welder and have a 300 amp MiG, 200 amp Tig or a 600 amp stick welder to use ( not going try to weld it with a 110v MiG). Is it asking too much to tell from the pictures? Opinions? Thanks.
Even if every guy on the HAMB told you they were good, would you still be confident? Either come up with a different plan, or buy some new Fatman ones.
Yes, your asking to much with just photos. The fact they are welded is just that. Well done, I'd run them but how do you know? X ray, Magnaflux or sonic test. That will tell you if the weld is solid but not if it's welded with the correct material. So then you need to do a spectrograph test. Are you a gambler? Let's just say your satisfied and decide to go ahead and run them. Not so fast. You don't have dropped and lengthened steering arms to go with your uprights. So at the best you may get your car to feel good going strait ahead but going around corners is really going to SUCK! Bottom line is that you only have 2 parts of a 4 part package.
Actually, they LOOK pretty nicely done, but like others have said "how ya gonna know". I think your money would be better spent on replacements (forged) instead of the cost(s) of testing, even then, you still would always have it on your mind. It's one thing if it was just you but your familys' lives are at stake, not to mention the rest of the driving public.
Old HAMB thread. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/reversing-the-uprights-on-1940-plymouth-coupe.125109/
Hell, I'd use 'em, but as said above, you're still missing pieces. I've learned one thing about questions like this though: if you're asking if you should use it, you're probably better off replacing it, even if it's just so you'll sleep better at night.
Two words on welded suspension parts: "IT DEPENDS" Thousands of welded suspension parts in every day use with few reported failures. It depends on engineering design, materials and skill. Same for all manner of aircraft/spacecraft and other high load machinery uses. None of this is intended to contradict the cautions expressed in this thread. Only that properly done, welding can be as strong, if not stronger, than the parent metal in the part. Ray
That it not quite correct. I've seen Kingpin Bosses welded into fabricated tube axles. The OP should get it crack tested as recommended. But go one step further and get them "heat treated" by a specialist
Spoken from someone who clearly doesn't understand welding. Takes more than heat and rod to make a good weld. That's why there are actually Schools that teach how to. Buying a machine from Harbor Freight and laying down a fair bead don't make you a qualified welder. Welds are like Women, just because they look good don't mean a damn thing.
Thanks for everyone's input. Fatman's drop spindles are welded construction and I believe require heating and bending the original steering arms so I will have to do that even if I decide these are wall hangers. Would an engine machine shop be the place to have them checked for cracks or is that something a welding shop could do. Who would I look for about heat treating, a blacksmith?
Heating and bending isn't all that's required to correct the steering arms. They also need to be lengthened and ackerman corrected. The end result for steering arms is to keep them at factory angle from inner pivot to same exact mount point from king pin as factory. Most motor machine shops can magnaflux for cracks. Check your phone directory for heat treating. It's common for many things besides springs.
The Aerostar springs are pretty short. Sounds like maybe you need a taller or stiffer spring. Cheap way is add urethane spacer from energy suspension on top of spring to raise it up a little. Many of the 52-59 Ford owners with arrostar springs have done just that.
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