seattlejester

That is a real bummer. I have only had a short e-mail correspondence with him, but very eager to help and very straightforward. RIP

I wouldn't mind having another set and that is a hard offer to pass up. Take this to PM's? Jig material also ordered, I have a pretty solid idea of how I am going to make it standard square tube steel. Pretty excited. Welder is on loan to a friend so I'll just amass parts and layout a plan see how seamlessly I can get this done.

Ah, didn't realize you went a different route for the inboard ones too. Yes, current plan is to reuse the stockers for the inboard portion. I didn't want to have to try and deal with also fabricating the inboard end and I already have poly bushings for them so I figured might as well.

Thanks, I really enjoy implementing plans. Pretty excited, everything should be here next week sans coilover which I'm still figuring out. I was planning on making a jig, no point in spending all this effort if I have to start from scratch when I do it again. Now that I think about it, I didn't buy enough material to make a jig...I'll dig through my parts bin, if not, then maybe another order. I would love to see how your jig looks, if you aren't using it at the moment I could use it to get started (dimension wise). I'm really not too sure about half shafts. There is some appeal to making it a tad longer to free up the binding that I had read about on Johnc's website and as you mentioned some merit in being able to run the 300zx cv's without flipping cages. My short term plan was stock half shafts, then maybe wolf creek axles to make it somewhat more sturdy down the road. Truth be told, my original plan was to run the Infiniti J30 axles until they met the stub axle and either make a flange and weld it or something of that nature, but I have since been convinced that welding an axle is a terrible terrible idea. Not sure exactly I imagine the direction I'll end up going will depend on what I can get my hands on cheaply.

Congrats sir on your purchase. The dash is indeed worth some money, the radio and 5 speed not so much, still nice things to have though. If you would like to see a return on the investment then I would suggest very subtle or updates to the car instead of upgrades per say. Keep us updated!

You are going to fast, not enough suffering lol. Looks good, how do you like the CXracing coilovers?

Parts ordered, I'll take the plunge with the QA1 3 piece chromoly rod ends, if they are terrible then I'll have to look for another supplier down the road. Steel ordered Total 126$ Tube adapters and spacers ordered Total 43$ Rod ends and jam nuts ordered 186$ Total so far 355$, not quite the vast savings I was hoping for, but hopefully it will be a fun project. Just have to order coilovers and I'll have a bolt in rear suspension solution.

Nothing is screaming at me that it is a flop, but a few of those spots seems like it will need replacing. Driver door Door opening Rocker Dogleg Without seeing the bottom of the car it is hard to see how much has penetrated. That price is pretty high at least for around here you would expect a very well sorted example near that price range. I know they go for more on the east coast, so maybe looking elsewhere and shipping could be a better option. Your budget is really good so as you said, I would spend time looking for the right car. If you will be farming out the labor then it is especially important to start with a good chassis as chassis restoration can really suck up a budget if you need someone to sit there and fabricate new pieces and order parts. Did you already pick a shop/mechanic? Maybe it would be wise to get their input. On that car (quoting high): 3-4k for rust repair 7k or so for body work and paint 5k for the essentials (shocks, springs, bushings, brakes, lines, exhaust, etc) I would almost be tempted to look for a more complete vehicle that someone has already more or less restored if you don't plan on working on it yourself. You won't have to deal with the headaches of deadlines/ordering parts/big bills as long as you buy it from a reputable individual and have it thoroughly inspected by a specialist. Your budget once again is quite good and you could really take a pick of the litter as they say. If you want the build aspect where you can go and visit a shop to see progress and put the parts you pick out and such, then by all means finding a rougher example would fit the bill. Not sure if this car at that price is the one though.

Superfast, terrible parody of the fast and furious franchise, so terrible that it has its moments. One of the characters drives a 240z maybe a 280z I wasn't really looking, just shocked to see it. Surprising because the character they are parodying actually owns a 240z project in real life.

No I definitely hope I am finding the wrong prices, granted I'm sure some may be worth quite a bit based on the material and specifications. Seems like NHBB in the 5/8 bore 3/4 thread is indeed north of 150$ a rod end. So out of the question and most likely overkill for me. I am having a hard time locating FAG rod ends, and seems like the lower priced ones are actually knock offs which scares me deeply. So do you think the slot style pounded out because of the style? Or do you think it was the 5/8 small bearing surface that caused it to pound out sooner? The high load ones from my parts supplier look to be two piece, but the radial load rating makes me really like them, but it is true these are meant for pan hard and 4 links which probably see much less movement then our rear suspension. I found the Aurora XM/XB 10 for ~30$ a piece. It says the load rating is only 16,000 lbs radial or 1,600 axial. I know our cars are light, and that it will be split a few ways with the 4 wheels on the ground and the two rod ends and such, is that enough? I know the first QA1 I posted is not recommended, but how about the second one I posted? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-hml10-12t 3 piece, 40,000 radial load, so 4,000 axial, it is a bit cheaper to boot, but more then double the rating. Really do appreciate all the input, I would have been sorely disappointed had I just gone with what I had planned originally.

I'll give Z sport a ring if nothing local pans out. I have boog asking a race shop in monroe if they could handle it and I have a couple more local leads to chase down. I am not saving the original pin, the PO cut off the threaded portions so they could not be saved and as mentioned I will be going with a bolt so no need to save. That is a point, right now I don't have much purchase, if I drilled into it a bit I might get a bit better purchase to retry the air hammer or just use a big ass sledge to get the thing to start moving. Dan, PM'd Hmm I used my HF 12 ton press to no avail. Depending on the quotes I get/other random justification to upgrade, I may look into purchasing the 20 ton. Thanks guys, nice to know I'm not alone!

Oh my, is the prices I am finding correct for the manufactures? ~200 for a NHBB rod end ~50 for a Aurora rod end ~100 for a FAG rod end And I thought I just needed the bore and the thread pitch, but they have all these categories for lubrication and material. For this application what should I be looking for? It doesn't seem like anyone is using a grease fitting, so self lubricating? Or just metal on metal? Head is beginning to spin. Edit: Found a nice article on rod ends from aurora http://www.aurorabearing.com/pdf/rod-ends-what-you-need-to-know.pdf Quite a good read. So definitely want a lubricating lining from what I can tell. Still having trouble finding prices for the rod ends from the recommended brands. A friend just contacted me and asked if I needed anything from summit for a summit order. I have found some here http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-xml10-12/overview/ and these http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hal-hml10-12t that look somewhat promising. Also sold from the same supplier of the tube adapters are http://www.barnes4wd.com/Heat-Treated-Chromoly-34-16-X-58-Heim-Joint_p_153.html I haven't heard back if they are lined with a lubricant of sorts, but price wise they are affordable and spec wise they seem good. Any thoughts? I don't want to cheap out on suspension bits, but I also don't want to spend more then what it would cost to buy an arm from TTT (although of a different design).

I think I am getting a clearer picture. I think I'll just stick with the rod ends for this iteration as it seems the road is paved and it works well. Regarding the thickness I was thinking, and there is no reason that the V portion of the A arm would need to be the thicker 0.12 wall thickness. So the current plan is to use the 1 inch OD thickness tube adapter in a 1.25 OD x 0.12 wall tube for the actual rod end and the toe link and use the thinner 1.125 OD x 0.095 wall for the V portion of the A arm. That means it will be easier to weld to the factory control arm bit (reusing the portion like Myron did) and similarly not a stretch to weld to the 1.25 OD tube. In case of something tragic like a bad off, the A arm being made of the thinner metal could yield before starting to twist the frame. I am adding NHBB and FAG rod ends to my list to look at. That is an option to use a smaller rod end for a toe link to get the 18 threads per inch vs the 16 threads per inch of the larger one. I think I want to buy the same size just for consistency and if the larger bearing surface assists with longevity, I would rather stay away from downsizing just to gain a little more toe adjustment. Gaining a real clear picture now, really appreciate you guys stopping in and sharing!

Ugh, Spindle pins won't come out. Had them sit in evaporust to help loosen them up a bit/get rid of rust. Took it to a friends house, hooked up his compressor to my air hammer and went to town, no luck. He had some steel bar so I welded that to the pin and it just broke off several times. Kind of getting to the end of my game here. Where can I get these pressed out? Like what shop has access to presses? I have a few places I can call I don't recall many presses though. Not many machine shops in my area either, some precision fabricating shops, but no real big heavy duty shops. I have a muffler shop I visit I think I'll call to see if they know anyone, there are some performance car shops/garages that might know of a place. Input appreciated, local input would be fantastic. On other news, bearings ordered, seals are NLA from amazon, so I'll hit up the auto parts store for those. Ordering tubing and such hopefully this week. Coilovers will be ordered as well.

Thanks for the reply. Are Aurora rod ends of lower quality? Would perhaps a better quality one suffice instead of stepping up to a 3/4? How would one use a ball joint? They don't really allow for a bolt to pass through. I'm struggling to imagine it correctly I think. The thickness being a bit on the thicker side is a fair concern, I just imagine that if the load was enough that it would have broken that it would twist out the bent sheet metal brackets that clamp the control arm to the chassis. The problem is that it seems the tubing adapters are almost tailored to fit those sizes specifically. I suppose I could just use thinner wall and have the tube adapter a little loose prior to welding without much problems. I would hate to cause frame cracks in my pursuit of tubular control arms. It seems like another vote for the 3/4 thread rod end and another vote for a 0.095 wall tube.

That is exactly who I'll be using, I'll have to go take a few measurements and find out the footage I'll be needing. Pretty excited it's been a while since I've done any welding really.

Ah gotcha, I was not having any luck finding a 0.935 insert that makes sense. I plan on ordering the tube from a local steel supply shop. Their prices are good and I think the metal cost will be 50-60$ for both sides + I have a coupon . I may just step it up to 1.25 OD x 0.12 wall and have super beefy lower control arms. Although I am still tempted to try the smaller diameter with the thicker wall. I know Myron used chromoly, but his tube was only 0.095, I would be stepping up to 0.120. It seems the capacity for even the higher quality ones are 18k at most and at 10% that would only be 1.8k lbs that it could support. Not a problem static, but probably becomes a problem as it is loaded. Bah I'll just build it with the bulky ones and one day when I'm bored and have lots of time and money I'll mess around with 3 piece rod ends and smaller OD tubing.

That....was a good thread. Seems really nerdy, but I'm kind of out of breath reading it. The rod ends I was looking at were the 5/8 XM rod ends and seems like Cary wore those out pretty quickly. Stepping up to 3/4 isn't a huge deal since I haven't ordered anything and seems like the style of tube adapter that I want also comes in the larger size. So current plan... 3/4 shank 5/8 hole rod end 3/4 thread 1 in OD Tube adapter 1.125 Tube with 0.095, this brings the ID down to 0.935 I'm not sure the 1 in OD tube adapter would fit with these. Is there enough slop for that to work? Or did you get custom fit tube adapters? The tube choices that are close to fitting with me are 1.25 OD with 0.95 wall (1.06 ID) or a 1.25 OD with a 0.12 wall (1.01 ID).

Oh I think I misused the term pipe. The material I will be using is DOM A513? It is an actual tube from my metal supplier. The size I am looking at will be either 1in OD with a 0.12 wall (0.76 ID) using a 3/4 inch tube adapter (correct term for the weld in bung) and using a high strength 5/8 rod end, or a 1.25 OD with a 0.12 wall (1.01 ID) using a 1 inch tube adapter and using a more run of the mill 3/4 rod end (with a 5/8 hole). I have a local metal supply shop that I usually buy from, they have a pretty good guide, but yes it is quite daunting to read through. The seller I am looking to buy the rod ends from says that the high strength heat treated chromoly rod ends should be more then adequate (they apparently use them on suspension and such for big off road trucks), and the weight savings appeal to me. However I think there would be some merit in just going big and not worrying about it down the road. I may just try the smaller ones and step up and modify the design when they start to fail as I doubt I would over build and build it smaller the next iteration. I am curious to hear what problems people have faced.

Hmm so maybe advisable to go with the original plan and stay at 3/4, may I ask what issues others have reported? I see what you mean regarding the short turn buckle, that's not a lot of space there. The control arm looks really sturdy though. Is the sway bar attachment to come later? And what thickness did you go with? That looks to be 0.12?

So more searching makes me want to lean more towards using a 3/4 bung in a 1 OD 0.095 wall tube. There will be a bit of slop, but not much and once welded it should be fine. It will weigh quite a bit less and seems maybe it will be strong enough. I found some lower profile weld bungs in 3/4 that kind of prompted the change. http://www.ebay.com/itm/400624698645 They are half the price and have a lower profile which makes should in theory be even stronger.

So along with my rear end refresh, I would like to try my hand at building some adjustable RLCAs. I figured some input would be a good idea as I am new to rod ends and what specs to look out for regarding thickness of suspension pieces. I will be copying myron's design that he used on his vq swapped z http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/66749-home-made-control-arms/page-3 I am thinking a 1 inch ID pipe with at least a 0.95 wall So most likely a 1.25 OD with 0.12 wall or a 1.25 with a 0.095 wall. The portion that attaches to the car will be salvaged from the donor control arm similar to how myron did his. I am planning on using steel weld bungs that will press into the tube for welding for the female end http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Steel-Weld-Bung-for-1-Inch-ID-Tube-3-4-16-LH,35663.html I am planning on using chromoly teflon lined rod ends with the 5/8 hole and appropriate thread pitch to match thread of bung above http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Chromoly-Heim-Joint-Rod-Ends-3-4-16-LH-Male-5-8-Inch-Hole,28919.html I am planning on using a 5/8 bolt in place of the spindle pin Fastenal part #15335 Anyone see any major faults off the bat? I think Myron went a bit smaller with his pipe overall, but I'm not finding the weld bungs for the size he mentions (he says he is using 1 inch tube with 0.095 wall so maybe 3/4 ID weld bung?), I wouldn't mind down sizing if the 1.25 pipe is overkill. A concern would be if I would need to index the 5/8 bolt to keep it from rotating like the spindle pin or if that matters at all. Another concern is the handedness of the thread, I don't think it should particularly matter except for when you have rod ends on both ends of the rod to accommodate for lengthening the arm without taking the arm off as in the bottom free floating arm. Another concern would be if the rod end selected is adequate regarding thickness (3/4) or if that is overkill and I should just stick with 5/8 to accommodate more threads (thinner locking nut).

If you come to seattle, I wouldn't mind showing you around a bit . According to the website below there is public transport available for some trails close by, although to get to the olympic national park that is going to take you a fair bit away from the downtown area. http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/seasonal-hikes/regional/hikes-30-minutes-from-seattle I would second arizona or california in regards to the availability of cars. Seems like there are plenty of excellent places to visit as well.

Depends on how much you got it for. You could square it up, and potentially fix it, but it depends on your skill level as a fabricator. I've met several people who were confident on their welds and looking at one of their beads I knew they would fail at any certification test. This requires stripping all the surrounding metal and cutting away rust, locating the frame and welding it back in and filling the gaps. Once the main square frame is installed then you have to locate the tension rod mounts and the cross member mounts. These will all have to be located in space as you will most likely have to remove the factory mounts. This means body alignment comes into play. If you got it for cheap then I agree with John, pull good parts and even good sections and scrap the rest for scrap costs. Find a better shell and put on the good parts. If there are no cars close by, you are not willing to fly/ship, or you are willing to dump money and time into what you currently have, then put a plan together with how you are going to level, locate, align, and try to upgrade your fair welding to competent by attending a class or getting some tutelage.

I'm definitely switching to a bolt and some rod ends after I get them out. Some camber adjustment would be nice and the ability to take out just the strut would be fantastic.