Here is a 37 Ford wishbone that i'm splitting and shortening for a fellow HAMBer. The model A bones were too short and the later too long for his application. I removed what i could off of the small end but could only go so much until the threaded insert and the bone diameter were a mismatch. I took the rest off of the clevis end, 2 1/4" and rejoined them with a piece of bar stock insert. Sometimes the clevis end is piecut and rewelded to get the desired caster, or new ends are put on to replace damaged ones. In this case the bones were shortened, here is how i did them. Here are the straight, rust free freshly blasted bones. I split them and then cut off the ends in the chop saw. I dig out the factory slag and use the diegrinder to smooth up any imperfections.......more to come.
After the ends are cleaned up i use an angle grinder and a flap disc to grind the bar stock to the oval shape. When i get it close i keep taking a little off until it fits tight. I tack weld and check for straightness, when all is true i fully weld..........stay tuned. On a side note you can see the small round dent in the clevis, center pic bottom, the size of a beebe. You will see this on all forged factory Ford parts, pitman arms, wishbones spindles, axles etc. The factory shoots a hardened projectile at the part and if the dent meets factory specs the steel/part is deemed acceptable.
After welding the solid slug into the clevis i drill two holes on each side of the legs toward the end on both sides. I slide the ends back on, they have a nice tight fit, i tack them, check for square, and then fully weld. The end of the bone is beveled and all three are welded together. They are now stronger than the factory butt weld. After they cool i grind the welds smooth with the 7" diameter flap disc, fill any low spots with weld, grind and repeat as needed. When they are good, i go over them with the coarse and then fine 7" scotch brite pads, the finish is a polished, yet hazy finish with fine scratches. They will be ready for paint at this point, but will need futher work for chrome. This is a simple modification that could also be done with a wire welder, but i find the tig gives me more controll for filling very small pin holes. Although this was just done to shorten them, as stated earlier it could also be used to repair or change the caster......old parts rule!!!
Very nice result. With the head off machining the top knuckle in a mill would be much easier. Shaving the top and recutting the bevel exposes more perch bolt thread. With more thread exposed aftermarket shock mounts bolt on. You also lower the front by the amount of the shave.
Yes, that would be a good time to do that. Many have to do this or have custom bolts made if they do a spring over.
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