50s Ford F1 Build

[Dirtyrat]

[S[S Heh, I don't work on it every day...

I centered the axle left to right, and front to back tonight and looking good in the wheel wells, but after the lower control arms are on, I'll be rechecking everything as I can adjust them forward/back a little with the adjustable arms... Other concern is the driveshaft angle which I may have to wait to finalize the 3rd link until I get the trans x-member in as well.

I got the driver's side control arm bracket tacked in, minus the large gussets... I also got the passenger side tacked together, but not on the frame...


Anyhow, on to the pics... [[[

 

[gold03]

Hey Dude!

Nice new avatar! [cl

Gold03

 

[gold03]

Hey DR, how is it going? Your ride is looking so good I have started considering the car trunk as well.

I bought a plasma arc and started working on mine again.

You keep making steady progress. I gotta get going again.

Gold03

 

[Dirtyrat]

I'm hoping to hit it again this week after work, I don't touch it 3 out of 4 weekends a month because I have my daughter with me....

Thanks for the compliments, what are you planning for a rear on your ride?
I'm still contemplating about trying to trade my 110V welder fora 230V one... I need more fire power in the garage...

I really want an adjustable 3rd link for the rear as well, but the coinage is not going to be available for that for a while now... trying to conserve money until I can get some things paid off with tax money.

Still trying to get the fuel tank I need... getting frustrated on that front, but honestly I don't NEED the tank immediately, just would like to have the whole drivetrain lined up, I'm sure we all have things like that that bother you until you have it sorted out...

 

[skull]

parts

look on crailgslist, l found the tank for mine on there, its a boat tank. some boats have real nice aluminum tanks that are perfect for hot rods. l sat my fuel tank in the bed right behind the cab.

liking the progress,

Later

 

[gold03]

The plan for the back half is to fab up a box and go open wheel. If the law man makes me put fenders on it I want to fab them myself and have them attached to the rear axle so they move with the tire. Same at the front. I would keep them real close to the tire to minimize their appearance.

However... Like I said your build has me considering another route. Nothing specific, but when I see an old car for sale I start evaluating it to see how it would look. [S

On your welder issue. I feel your pain with the 110V welder. It was all I had for years. I ended up keeping it because it works so well for the body work. I found a miller thunderbolt for $250.00 and jumped on it. I also have a TIG now as we'll. the 220V stick might be an affordable option for you. They go dirt cheap. I have a friend who welded stick for 30 yrs manufacturing oil rigs. His welds are better than any MIG or TIG I can do.

My daughter thought my automotive creeper was her own little bed at nap time. That kid loved the garage. Eventually learned to weld with the little Lincoln 110 V.

Work a little bit every day. Enjoy the build.

Gold03

 

[Dirtyrat]

look on crailgslist, l found the tank for mine on there, its a boat tank. some boats have real nice aluminum tanks that are perfect for hot rods. l sat my fuel tank in the bed right behind the cab.

liking the progress,

Later

Not as simple as that, this is a liquid injected propane setup....

 

[Dirtyrat]

The plan for the back half is to fab up a box and go open wheel. If the law man makes me put fenders on it I want to fab them myself and have them attached to the rear axle so they move with the tire. Same at the front. I would keep them real close to the tire to minimize their appearance.

However... Like I said your build has me considering another route. Nothing specific, but when I see an old car for sale I start evaluating it to see how it would look. [S

On your welder issue. I feel your pain with the 110V welder. It was all I had for years. I ended up keeping it because it works so well for the body work. I found a miller thunderbolt for $250.00 and jumped on it. I also have a TIG now as we'll. the 220V stick might be an affordable option for you. They go dirt cheap. I have a friend who welded stick for 30 yrs manufacturing oil rigs. His welds are better than any MIG or TIG I can do.

My daughter thought my automotive creeper was her own little bed at nap time. That kid loved the garage. Eventually learned to weld with the little Lincoln 110 V.

Work a little bit every day. Enjoy the build.

Gold03

Yea, when you see something that will fit, you will know it...

Yea I am hoping they don't give me grief for open wheel... if so it will have to be some custom fenders that are painted black real close to the tire... I'm guessing they will not here, as there are many open wheel buckets that run around...

Eventually I'll get a larger welder, but I do like the miller 135 for the sheet metal work and up to about 1/8" thick...

When the little one is older she can help more, right now I have to worry more about her getting hurt on sharp metal etc...

 

[Dirtyrat]

More rear end progress, mock up

Tacked in the passenger side control arm bracket, and the 3rd link brackets & x-member.

I need to tip in the brackets on the axle as the location points them outward rather than straight forward as I would like...

Just mockup phase for the 3rd link, but I plan on an adjustable 3rd link when I can afford one for a mustang... Still need to pickup the stock panhard bar as well soon...

I've got the main control arms pointing upward slightly, and the 3rd link slightly downward... Looking at the aftermarket items for mustangs, the tend to angle the main control links way upward to stop wheel hop and help launch traction, so thats an idea if the problem arises...

On to a few pics..

 

[skull]

progress

more progress[cl

soon, man, soon VEERRRRRRROOOOOOOOM

Later

 

[GJunktionMike]

Can't remember, are you going coil, coil over or airbag. The short arm on the top makes me wonder what kind of axel wrap your going to get with axel travel.

 

[Dirtyrat]

I'm using coil springs for now, cant afford air bags right now...
Basically its a stock 2012 mustang setup, except with beefy lower arms from a jeep lift kit.

The upper link will be adjustable eventually, and there will be a panhard bar...

I know stock mustangs have a little issue with launch, but I think with the HD lower links and eventually a heavier duty 3rd link, should be good? I think if its good enough to put down 400+ hp in a mustnag, should do fine for me I dunno? =)

 

[GJunktionMike]

Set up looks good. Just couldn't remember what you were going to use to hold it up. Coils don't travel as much as you can make bags travel. I have seen bagged rearends change up to 8 degrees on the pinion going from aired up to down.

 

[Neverdone]

I've got the main control arms pointing upward slightly, and the 3rd link slightly downward...

I am by far no sort of specialist when it comes to designing this kind of stuff, which is why my buddy built mine, but running the top and bottom links not parallel, and at different angles, won't that throw the geometry of the rear axle all to hell? I was always told when setting up a rear end you want to keep the links set so that the pinion angle in relation to ground never changes........... obviously you know more about this stuff than I do, but I was just curious.....

 

[Dirtyrat]

I'm just doing minor tweaks from parallel, Torchman I think posted some things on 4-link and roll centers, etc... but looking at what is available from the aftermarket for the new mustangs, the put the lower links on a sever angle to combat wheel hop, and theoretically what it will do is help plant the tire on launch...

Now, what I also look at is the fact that I am using hard rubber bushings which will give some so under loading and unloading I guess my theory is I may need to correct for that. But I am not willing to use a rod end on the street, just my personal preference.

It would probably do me good to read up again on the rear suspension setups, perhaps I will pickup a book again and have a look on it... unless someone else has some more comments or things I may be missing?

 

[GJunktionMike]

I don't see the bushings or the parts your using, giving enough to make or brake the axel wrap. Quick way to see what is going on and also prep for bags down the road. With everything tacked in place, block your frame at ride height. With the tires sitting on the ground check pinion angle, then jack up the rear end to where you would want it to sit when bags are down check pinion angle again. Then you can adjust the angle of your top arm.

 

[Dirtyrat]

If/when I go with bags, I'll probably just draw up ride height and calculate out the driveline angle changes. If I go any lower with the frame I would have issues driving it I imagine...

 

[Dirtyrat]

Small update, shortened the lower links about 1/2" to get the tires centered in the wheel wells, and test fit everything with the body back in position. Looks like the rear diff will end up about 3-4 degrees up at this point, which is in line with the plan.

I also started looking at the transmission crossmember, mounting the brake booster/MC, and also thinking about what I want to do for spring mounts for the rear suspension which is my next step along with getting a panhard bar at some point.

Going to be interesting on the transmission crossmember, I need to start low on the frame (driver's side) and come up to the trans as I need to stay under the brake MC. passenger side is wide open...
I also need to account for some exhaust tubing which I will have to keep above the bottom of the frame. I refuse to have anything hang below the frame.

 

[gold03]

Hey DR.

Check out this site. I've used their products. You might see something you can use.

http://www.welderseries.com/blog/

Gold03

 

[Dirtyrat]

Thanks, I'll check them out, but for now its low budget time so I'll probably be fabbing my own from scratch..