BUGA Community
Technical => Driveline => Topic started by: Gordon on May 05, 2014, 11:29:24 AM
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Even although we are still in the early planning stages, I thought that I would start a thread detailing the fabrication of a set of adjustable upper suspension arms. The plan is to fabricate a tubular arm that will use standard Bedford upper ball joints and an adjustable joint with a rubber centre that will afix the arm to the cross member.
Managed to source the ball joints and 4 adjustable joints earlier today. Now the fun begins.
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let me know how it goes..
make them shorter so we can fit big wheels on the front..
what size tube are you using..
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Still working on the tube diameter. We have a number of options and need to get the final nod from my Certiifier. All welding will need to be crack tested for certification purposes. I'll let you know once we have a final decision on tube size.
By bigger wheels do you mean bigger in diameter or wider ?
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wider....I don't want flares have 7" wheels but they stick out...
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yeah were the same ..our 7inch stick out by a few mm...may have to put some rubber flares on front guards.
were also looking for some Tar Babies ..stainless mud flaps...cant seem to find them in any shops??
Anyone know of some old spare parts place that could some still in stock??
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wider....I don't want flares have 7" wheels but they stick out...
Vintage, to my way of thinking if you are going to use shorter springs and an adjustable upper suspension arm to lower your van you are going to end up in a situation where your track width will increase not decrease, albeit by a very small amount. The only way that you can reduce your track would be to move the lower ball joint further inwards on your lower suspension arm. That is exactly what I have done to my lower suspension arms and with the fitting of the Stubtech dropped spindles I should be able to fit an 8J rim inside a standard Bedford front guard. It is a major undertaking which not only includes the cost of the dropped spindles but also the engineering work and crack testing of the lower suspension arms.
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that's why I was hoping to get tube control arms made shorter....
should do the same thing....
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We have settled on 1 inch diameter steel tube with a half inch wall thickness. Nice and meaty.
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Hey Gordon. Your steel tube sounds like a solid bar to me? ;D
See you Saturday.
Cheers,
Garry.
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Wow, that shouldnt bend
Yeah hang on?
That is a solid bar. :D
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WOW THATS OVERKILL......
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Sorry fellas, my bad, should read 1 inch diameter with quarter inch wall thickness :-[
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seems like a waste of time & effort to me ,all that work to fabricate adjustable arms and in the end all you've got is a comercial front end designed for load carrying not handling,if you go with the Jag front for instance they come with full tuneability including anti dive/squat built in and you can even tune in the ackerman point for different wheel bases ,ya cant beat them they come with Kiiller brakes and they're holden stud pattern and they're fairly cheap well thats my 2 cents worth cheers Merlin
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Merlin where can you get this Jag set-up you speak of and what would cost be?
Or do you still have one under bench?
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ive still got the modified bedford f/end that uses jag suspension and commodore power steering but i can set up a Jag f/end easily enough you're welcome to come and look at my chassis setup if you want truck Cheers merlin
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seems like a waste of time & effort to me ,all that work to fabricate adjustable arms and in the end all you've got is a comercial front end designed for load carrying not handling,if you go with the Jag front for instance they come with full tuneability including anti dive/squat built in and you can even tune in the ackerman point for different wheel bases ,ya cant beat them they come with Kiiller brakes and they're holden stud pattern and they're fairly cheap well thats my 2 cents worth cheers Merlin
I hear you Merlin and in hindsight that would have been the way to go, but having already bought the dropped stubs and the bottom arms modified and crack tested I'm too far in to turn back now.
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I was thinking of lowering my old girl, but seems a bit of a drama, will eventually throw these under the rear to fill the guards up, the fronts look similar, just thinner & more tread! with a gps speedo, that should sort it easy :)
Firestone's Drag Slick whitewall tires. Made in the USA. DOT approved. Street and stripe compound. Built in new molds from original Firestone drawings.
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ive still got the modified bedford f/end that uses jag suspension and commodore power steering but i can set up a Jag f/end easily enough you're welcome to come and look at my chassis setup if you want truck Cheers merlin
sent messages but your not getting back to me????
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huh?? ive had no messages about this .wot yoo talkin bout willis???!!! :P
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Merlin definately keen to check this option out and discuss how best to proceed. When you get five can you msg me your contact details?
Truck
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me to please....
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Adjustable upper arms coming together slowly.
Ball joint seats cut and ready to go.
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Chunky tubes bent to correct angles. Just need to complete thread tapping for rose joints.
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We have changed tack on the adjustable joint. Have now gone for a self lubricating chrome moly joint that has an inner diameter that matches the standard Bedford through bolt. Slightly cheaper than the our first selection too.
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looking good!
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Awsome job,
They are Comming together well Gordon
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keep the photos comming
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Finally picked these up from the fabricator today. Will drop them off for x-ray and crack testing tomorrow, then a lick of paint and I can get them in.
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they look the business!
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Looking good Gordon. Will be great to see them fitted.
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The new upper arms passed the x-ray and crack tests with flying colours today. Chuffed as. Can't wait to get them installed.
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how are they adjustable???
do you have to take the bolt out everytime???
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Id say you set them up once and that would be it.
The gem if it is that you could lover the van and
The camfer would be adjusted to suit ,
Then thats it.
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You are right Vintage, but one full turn of the nut on each joint equates to 1mm of adjustment so once you have your initial machine reading it should only take one or two goes to get each side spot on. As Marty points out its not something you are going to need to do that often, but it sure beats running out the edges of your tyres due to poor camber.
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Nice typo Marty... so many meanings. ;D ;D ;D
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Haha, ;D i didnt have my glasses on Russell
I ment Rower, oops , lower, haha.
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whats the Bedford camber....11 deg..??
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Not sure, will let you know later in the week.
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Hi Vintage, factory spec for camber is +1 degree according to the alignment machine database.
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thanks.... :)
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anymore updates,,,
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Yep, the adjustable arms have been installed for almost two months now and I've traveled around 2,500km on them. I ended up setting my camber at minus 30 minutes. The van handles and drives superbly. Only downside is a greater level of feedback through the rose joints on bumpy country roads, but its a small price to pay.
I've also had the rear springs re-radiused to bring the rear down to the same level
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-30..what happened to 1 deg...
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You are getting confused between degrees and minutes. A minutes is 1/60th of one degree so negative 30 is equal to negative half a degree.
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thanks.......learn something everyday..