New A frame completed and ponderings on what's next

Today was a day of mixed achievements. I got less done than I had hoped in the garage, but my son does now have a cardboard box plane that he's spent the day driving Mum insane with!

Today was all about finishing the A frame off and making sure there were no clearance problems. The first parts to make were the two long arms. Making the first arm was a bit fiddly, but it needed to be right as it was also the pattern for the second side. But both were shaped and then welded in before being re-fitted to the shell:





Using such long links on their own isn't the best idea. But that's partly why they're made of a high tensile grade of CDS, which is itself a high tensile grade of steel tube. And also why I need to put the last link in place to complete the A frame. This was made from 3/4" CDS, the same grade that the original A frame was made from. The main links are 1" tubing to help keep things straight. The cross tube was tacked in place on the car before removing the frame again. The frame can't be safely welded with the rod ends in place, as they have a self-lubricating liner, which will melt with the heat.



The frame was then put back on the shell to check for clearance issues. The cross tube was fairly close to the shell, and I suspected I'd need to make a small adjustment or two. It was two in the end as well, one pair of cuts to make the cross tube clear the shell and then I've marked the diff casing as that needs another small cut made to one fin.



With the shell cut back I decided to cut the new drum brake drive shafts down so I could bolt the hubs in place. This isn't needed yet, but I was running out of time so wanted something fairly quick to do before play time was over.



And with the hubs on, the back end is starting to look complete. And it very nearly is. There's just one bit left to make, and that's the link I need for the rear Watt's link mounts. Currently they are just bolted through the floor, which is obviously inadequate. So the plan is to make a cross bar that will link the rear chassis rails together and give a good strong mount for the Watt's links. I may also tie it into the roll cage if I go the whole hog with a 6 point cage. If not, I'll probably link it to the coil over towers. The plan in my head at the moment is to have one straight tube that goes across the centre of the 4 bolts with triangular plates that the go down and out to meet the bolts. A bit of 1.5" CDS should be more than up to the task. I will also probably add spreader plates to both ends of the tube to help both spread the load and make fitting them to the cured chassis rail easier. This will also mean removing the wheel mount, not that I would have used it anyway!