Projects The modified crossmember is done. .

I probably don't understand a lot of things, but I do know that neither Pete & Jake's or Welder Series kit instructions tell you to weld the bolts. You seem set on defending what you did and dismiss any input to the contrary. My issue is that when your car fails it has the potential to put another nail in the coffin of the home built hobby many of us really enjoy. Maybe we save it by adopting a technical inspection like Australia, maybe we loose the hobby. I am not in favor of such regulations, but if it saves the hobby from the type of workmanship you want to put out there, I guess that's better than not being able to build cars.

 

Frig the Whales... Save the Rods!

 

What the heck are you talking about?? You are getting way out there. My bolt fit into the bracket just like normal. I built up metal around the bolt. Then connected the bolt head to the built up metal. No overheating . .the bolt is still there. As I said, I have no real issue grinding away the filler metal ( that is all it is ) to expose the bolt. But you stay with us here and not some rant that goes nowhere.

 

Pete, how many old Fords have you built?

 

Whats old? I do restorations. I 'm using a part that many have used, sold and made by at least two manufacturers, but everyone wants to argue about something that is tried and used. Why?

 

Old is pre 1948.

Just asking cause you seemed to be trying REALLY hard to remake a part that should be simple. Maybe you were bored with the tried and true. Like you'd already done it a million times.

I like to use old Ford forgings anywhere I can. I'm not smarter than Henry Ford, and don't have access to better materials than he did. Granted, if I need something to be lower, lighter, fit differently or somesuch, I'll modify Henry's parts. But rarely do I think I can fab a bracket better than he did.

 

If some is good, more is better to off road with.

 

I would have never have welded and molded the bolt, the part is not designed to work that way.

 

No, I build a lot of vehicles, do Automotive restorations, rust repair, paint, etc. I have built many modified trucks and motorcycles. So, many times I try for a certain look. I didn't want the ubolts for clearance. I saw a couple kits to replace them . . it seemed it would work well with my modified crossmember, giving me some extra clearance on top.

 

anybody that say's they have never welded the head of a bolt or a nut when building a hotrod from the groundup is either lying or has dementia. i'm not saying this is right or wrong but i've seen far worse thing's done

 

Everyone seems to be picking on poor Pete. His setup saves a few bucks.

 

Maybe what the folks are really asking is if you understand HAZ when welding?

Ever seen a weld break along the weld? No

Ever seen metal break along side the weld? Yes

 

Sure, weld a stud in place/etc. For a critical part of the suspension though?

 

I weld bolt heads to the frame...
3/8"-16 bolt for the negative battery cable and 1/4"-20 bolts for grounding my lights, electric fan, blinkers...

 

no all i've done is heat red hot and bend steering arm's,pitman arm's, cut and weld different end's on pitman arm's and steering shaft's and weld a few steering joint's, all stuff that i'm sure should not be done.

 

Compare the driving load placed on a spring mount, vs a steering arm/shaft.

Hey...no issue, you can run along side of him.

 

While I don't think that's the spiffiest looking clamp in the world, the only thing it is doing is holding the spring up into the cross member. The cross member is carrying the load of the vehicle. The most load the clamp would carry is when the front tires clear the ground. How abruptly they left the ground would probably maximize and concentrate the load. (Physics students?) The clamp also goes across a very short and flat chord of the arc of the spring. If you wanted to test for fit against the bottom of the spring you could torque the clamp bolts with the wheels hanging down and then check how far the bolts rotate to attain the same torque with the full weight of the car on the spring.

 

Wasn't trying to save a buck, I want to gain clearance above the crossmember since I raised the center.

 

So the whole tab is virtually built up from weld? Nope, not for me good enough because the cross member itself I don't think is strong enough to keep from flexing at either side of the spring center bolt leading later to possible fracture.

 

Correct in that the crossmember is carrying the load.