Bushes machined, new type of hubs arrived!

Got my parts in the post from Red 7 Autoengineering. I had 8 bushes machined so I can cock a complete set up of wishbones up and still have enough left over for another go. £65 for them all, posted, and I'm well pleased with them.

So I can make a start on lining things up for the jig and the first version of the lower wishbone. There will be an inner end bracing tube and an outer end gusset to spread the load and give me somewhere to stick the coil over.

The beginnings of a lower wishbone

With a few hours to spare today, I managed to get out and get a little more done in the garage. Most of what I've been doing of late has been research into the front suspension. Things like a direct hub to hub width are hard to find, as they vary with suspension travel. But this is a measurement that I need an idea of to start lining up for my wishbones. I have finally managed to figure out something pretty close to what I need, so I could start setting up at last. And it turns out that the BMC/Austin designers only worked in nice even imperial measurements.

So I now need to make a start on a 10" deep A frame wishbone. The plan is to make a jig to allow me to mock everything up and alter it easily as I discover problems that I haven't foreseen. The basis of the jig I have had lying about for ages, waiting for me to get to this point at long last. It is based on large box section, welded into a T shape. The plan is that I will have the upper wishbone jig on one side, and the lower on the other.

 

The main issue I face now is that I need to find somewhere to machine me the tapered steel end pieces I need for the outer joint. Without those accurately tack welded in place, I can't make a start the wishbone tubes. These will be the same 1" tubing that the rear A frame is made from as I have loads of it and it's strong as hell.