Suedes Car Club
Tech Q and A => Running Gear => Topic started by: northcoastgreaser on October 27, 2007 3:17 am
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i'm getting mixed reviews as to whether or not its safe to weld new spring plates to the bottom of a '58 f100 straight axle to flip the axle to the top of the springs. is it safe?
if not, my other option is to flip frame and run uderslung....but dont really wanna hassle with all the re-arching and re-stacking springs if i can get around it. plus my frame horns will be lower than my scrub line which isnt a good idea either.
what do you guys think? is it safe?
-ncg
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This thread shoud help. I guess if were me I would do it.....but I would not recomend it for anyone else to do. :)
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=215608&highlight=welding+axle
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thanks for the link eyeball.
so, does that mean your "volunteering" to weld it up for me??? :) jk
thanks
ncg
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hahaha no thanks......you r on your own for that one. :)
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The idea the guy had with making spacers to bolt it underneath was pretty good, and even if you decide to weld it designing a setup like that, where the bolts still run through the factory mounting point would be best, spread the stress out.
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A I beam is a Forging, Welding to it will not hurt it. We weld forged bushing and Tabs to Mainframes on bobcats every day.
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i agree witht the spacer idea as well. anybody know how much of a drop this gives....just the height of axle?
the welding will be done by a friend at a welding shop, so i wont have the opportunity to screw this up. :)
the axle is going into late 20s GM frame rails that'll be under my RPU. trying to build this with just the crap i have laying around without spending any money. i know that is near impossible, but i think i should have enough laying around to build a near driving frame and maybe part of a cab.
the cab is not going to have functional doors, sicne it'll be home-built. so the truck has to sit fairly low for ease of getting in and out of without sittling below the scrub line. i'm sure that the frame might have to be Z'd in front a little and probably Z'd around 14" rear. i'm thinking somewhere around 6-8" off the ground should keep me above the scrubline.
i'm also running leaf springs on all four corners. since thats what i have and it'll be alot simpler and cheaper for me to set up this suspension rather than having to split bones and suicide perches and trying to mate brakes to a model A axle and everything else involved. plus i want frame horns, which arent possible on a suicide setup.
anyways, what do you guys think?
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A I beam is a Forging, Welding to it will not hurt it. We weld forged bushing and Tabs to Mainframes on bobcats every day.
What method of welding are you using? Arch? Flux core? Any preheat involved?
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not sure what kind of welding or if any pre-heat will be done. a buddy of mine is gonna do it for me....i dont have a welder, plus he is a welder by trade.
any recomendations on type of welding?
-ncg
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heres a sketch i did a while ago just to give y'all an idea of what i'm considering building. its pretty much what i'd do, with exception to the front suspension and the wheelbase would be a little longer in rear.
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n320/north-coast-greaser/l_b12b67ab913e74ae457b132024980848.jpg)
what do ya think?
-ncg
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Preheating really depends on how big of welder you're going to use. If it's a smaller welder you'll want to preheat the axle before welding.
People who really preach about the preheating aspect is confusing forged with cast. Cast iron you need preheating and slow cooling.
As far as what kind of welding to use, TIG, MIG, Stick, take your pick.