I have a Chev handi van axle on my little rail. Well actually just the spindles and king pin parts as I made the straight tube and King pin bosses. A friend gave me some 63 Chev II 5 bolt 13 inch wheels to run and they have done well for 4 years now however I think i want wires. In building a new rail I got into using motorcycle wires on it but since I built the spindles even I made them work that way. I hade to run them brake drum out but I can deal with that easily. I used rear because they are heavier and I dont want any trouble. Wheels were avaialble for $20 or $30 in good condition and were 17" allowing me to run conventional front runner tires if I wish. But that is the new rail . What about putting these wheels on my old one? A couple of days ago I started looking into it. i removed the current wheels and stuck an old wire wheel I have in the shop (My trysie) to see would it work. It will go over the spindle stub but the inner was too deep and the outer too shallow. Today i took a piece of wood and chucked it in my lathe and began making a press in and weld adapter for the inner large bearing. . The wood one being of course the experimental deal to see if it can be done easily. i ALWAYS make stuff in wood first. Here is where I am so far. I have come up with a well supported adapter that presses in where the brake shoes went and uses the old bearing boss outer surface and the machined lip of the drum to center and support it. My goal was to have it desinged so the welding was not the only support but the part would be self supporting anyway. I want it safe. I was going to use R series bearing not unlike the motorcycle originals but in Inch size but I have decided after seeing it there is no reason not to use the Chev handi van bearings. That elimnates the need for a distance sleeve and it will take standard adjustment. I will order a set tomorrow along with a seal and see if I can get it all to work out. So far it is looking good to me. I will buy a chunk of 5 inch aluminum shaft if available or some thick plate if necessary as i have a four jaw chuck just for such inconveniances. Don
As I mentioned above i have decided to use the proper handivan (early 60s chev van)bearings which eliminates the need for a spacer in between and such. It took a bit of remachining but it is working out great. the wooden pattern is done and fit perfect . Here it is with the race installed and the bearing. There is still 1/4 inch to handle the seal installation and it all fits together perfectly , a nice press fit. If i do my machine work in aluminum the same it will be bang on. The spacing is as close to the orignal chev van spindle as the wheel allos it to be. On the outer end the standard bore for the old mtorcycle bearing is slightly bigger than the van bearing but the wheel is wider too so I need to place the bearing inside about 5/8th" deeper and so can just pore the hole for the tapered bearing race to the exact size correcting the distance between the bearings at the same time. There is lots of good solid meat there and lots of room so it will not hurt strength in anyway. Now i can use motorcycle wheels on my chev van axle without modifying the axles. Of course this will work for any front axle set up. Once I am sure all is good I will make the wooden piece from aluminum and press it in place then tack weld it in 6 places to assure it never comes out. It can't anyway but an oz of prevention beats a lb of cure. Maybe it doesnt interest folks but i always wanted a good safe way to use motorbike rims on a standard axle. Now i have it.
I priced aluminum in 5 inch diameter X 1.75" thick and it was pretty high although not crazy. I dragged out one of my old casting experiments. The sand was still good and with a bit of stuff added returned to its shape holding plastic state. I really should have a bit more sand to to a good job but this would work. I am thinking about it. I will sleep on it. It would be neat to cast these and then machine them but it might not be my best idea. I think I have enough aluminum on hand but will check tomorrow. I will compare the weight of the aluminum I have on hand to the weight of the wooden plug. That will give me an idea anyway. Don
http://www.dropshots.com/Dolmetsch#date/2006-11-18/17:37:39 I dragged out my old furnace set up. Here is a video from its first fire up.I was so exctied i misnamed it. The mold stood up now for a whole day . It is staying firm and no deteriation so i think it may be ok. O am aways nervous with molten metal. I think my crucible is getting a much longer handle before I pour this and the furnace needs a minor mod to get the pot in the burners main flame. I weighed the wooden model and it weighed 67 grams . I have over 500 grams of meltable aluminum i think that is enough. I dont know the weight ratio of pine to aluminum but I believe the pine is lighter. Still i have more than enough for one piece. Maybe enough for two. Don
Excellent work - old style hot rodding problem solving... Are you using old pistons for casting material? When a mate of mine made some Duval screen posts he found this to be by far the best stuff....
Yes most of the aluminum came from melted 440 and 400 dodge pistons. A bit is from plugs from my hole saw when drilling port holes for a manifold flange but most is piston material. I am no expert at casting but have had a bit of success. Just enuf to keep me interested. I will give this my best shot. The mold is working well. I can turn it upside down and nothing falls out.
the quality of your work looks great. i question using m/c wheels . if the are 17 inch they are usaully a smaller cc bike. now you plan to put the small spoked wheel under the front of a car. think of when you slam on the brakes, turn hard to either direction. or parrish the thought when you come down off the gas hard. all of the weight slams down on the front end of your car. you will be way pushing these little spokes beyond what the original bike would have punished them. you will have to true them fairly often. and plan on getting a new set of spokes. a few of them will be seized. and when you put in 1 new spoke it will stick out like a sore thumb. there is a reason even motorcycles got away from spokes for the most part. yeah i know dirt bikes still have them. is because a solid rim is better. i also have a non hamb car that has factory spokes they are hug compared to the ones in your picture. at the least they are a pain in the ass to keep clean
I believe that is not so. The NHRA book says spokes must be over .100" These are well over that. I used rear because my Bike buddies told me dirt bike rear wheels are much stronger than fronts. Some 150 # guy driving 50 -60 miles per hour up a slope and flying through the air for 20 or 30 feet slammng to the ground with a bone jarring bump pounding through ruts and over rocks is not as hard as sitting quietly on the front end of my rail spending most first gear in the air and settling gently to the ground on the 1-2 shift going straight on a smooth surface and turning only a few portions of a degree on each run if at all then turning off the track at 15 mph tops? I think they are more than up to the job. 17 inch is standard drag tire diameter. This is not a street rod it is a rail. Perhaps you didnt realize that. Don
I awoke early, Re read Dave Gingrys book on casting and headed for the shop. I dragged everything outside and found the stuff I was missing. Soon the foundry was roaring away like in the video. Dave's book said that he normally took 20 minutes for a cold melt (from start up) he was about bang on because 20 minutes later I had a cupola full of molten aluminum. I couldn't find my handle for it so I made a new one from exhaust tubing while the furnace roared away. Finally the pour. It came out so good I stopped the pour in shock and then caught mysellf and resumed. i shouldnt have done that. My wife was out with the camera taking pictures of this ol fool she married pouring aluminum. She gave me lots of advice too as she is an experienced Chocolate molder. The noise and smoke were wonderful. I waited about 15 minutes for the smoke to stop and then pulled the pieces out with pliers. Was it perfect? No but open molds are always a bit goofy anyway he said in the foundry book. There is however more than enough solid unflawed metal to machine the piece I need with some to spare. It chucked up in the lathe good using the hole at the bottom of the casting. I cut the back or open part smooth then trimed the rim and bored the hole to within about 1/8th inch of its final diameter. The only problem is a flat about .015" on the rim and I will just make that one of the weld spots. Still got a lot of machining to do. Cost so far Zero$. I am having fun, I am learning and I am getting a part you cant buy. I am happy. Dave's book says the best way to learn to cast is to cast. I already know a couple of things i did wrong. One was I let the mold dry out over the weekend. I can see that it lost some of its binding but nothing serious. Also i should not have stopped the pour mid pour but just gone ahead and finshed it wthout interuption. Next one will be better I hope but still i have a useable piece today i didnt have yesterday. Where i come from we call that progress! Don
I finished all the machining today on the press and weld adapter. I installed the bearing and the seal. I am very happy with this part and cant wait to make another. It is strong and true. I now need to shorten the stub inside the brake drum portion of the hub. I can do that on the mill as it is not critical how the end is since it doesn't register anything. As long as the OD of it still protudes inside the adapter it gives an extra bit of safety support. I have to tell you this has been fun! Don
Just came in from the shop. Found 900 grams of meltable aluminum for the next pour. Other side wheel adapter. I have to wash it to make sure it is all aluminum (some saw dust from making my wood model may be in it.) and break the bigger pieces small enuf to go into the pot. If the weather is good I will be ready to pour the other on thursday. I have to remake the mold. I have learned not to rush. Better to be over prepared than hurt. I also need to make sure i have enuf Propane for my furnace to complete the melt. Meanwhile I keep dreamng this. Don
I cast the other side's adapter today. It took three tries. I am learning everytime. This is very interesting work. Vern can be seen shooting some film while i pour. I hope he sticks them up here. Don
The Jalopy Journal
