Mopar Muscle Association UK

real good work there well done that man and as they say all the best things take time but get there in the end

db, Nice work...very interesting thread and more gratifying i bet to see the results from personal graft on your own car
Quality.
You wanna talk to Blown 360 he's a S/B man and has lots of bits up for sale at the moment

Thanks for the kind words chaps!

I've learned to do stuff like this at it's own pace- if you work to a timetable, thats just what it becomes- work!
Break it up into small bite-sized pieces and don't look at the whole picture, it doesn't look so big and scary then!!

I have to thank you guys too. Every word of help & encouragement spurs me on and helps a lot

Thanks to James for the suggested location of the arb, worked out very nicely

Just have the axle shafts to assemble & install an i can sit it on it's rear wheels for the 1st time... watch this space

Been busy there DB some clever stuff going on matey

Paul, did you reinforce that cross member that takes the front four link brackets?

I'd be a little concerned that not being boxed it could buckle with some serious horsepower/traction...I may be completely wrong, in which case tell me to shut up and go away!

See, i told you it was all disjointed
I'd just used that length of angle to temporarily square the front plates up while i welded 'em in. If you look at the other thread Ivor you'll see how i've left them up to now... http://www.moparuk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22956

I was thinking of fabricating an all-in-one crossmember/ driveshaft hoop to connect the two front 4-link plates with horizontals across top and bottom and an 'X' either side of the prop, all in 1" box.
This raises a few questions:
Where along the prop length would you want a loop? This idea will put mine about 18" from the rear u.j.
Will it be strong enough? (i'll probably run a pair of diagonal braces forward to either chassis leg too)
Will it clear the prop through full suspension travel? (Now i have the rear u.j. in place i can get a pretty good idea of the prop height for clearance)

Thank goodness for that Paul! I must admit. I'd sort of lost track of where you were mate.

You really want a prop loop up towards the front of the prop, unless you are into pole-vaulting!

Ta. I'll simplify my cross-brace then and make a separate prop loop

When i assemble the axle shaft, do i have the right order from wheel flange:
Brake drum backplate, Retaining flange, Gasket, Bearing.
So once the bearing is pressed on, there's a 'Spirolox' clip that traps the brake plate on the shaft?

On Saturday i managed to paint the repaired axle case- i had to heat the garage, the axle and the paint cos it was -2 and leave the heater on for hours to get the paint to go off!
Yesterday evening i re-fitted the case & diff, slotted in the shafts (which engaged with the splines this time ) and put on the drums (no shoes yet) and wheels. To fit the wheels just means taking the weight of the axle with the jack, whip out the lower shock bolts and drop the assembly 3-4".

This means it's sat on the rears for the 1st time HOORAY!!!!!

To fit the diff i used the 'roll it onto your chest, try not to burst any internal organs and heave it up into the case' technique.

More pics...

Two questions:

1. I've intentionally gone for a low stance and a level body. Is this likely to cause any grip/ handling problems?

2. I ain't left much clearance between the front edge of the wheel arch lip and the tyre. The gap is 3/8". I can open it to 5/8" by bending the flange away, will this be enough? I can't imagine the wheels moving more than that unless i've crashed and i believe tyre growth is only an issue with slicks. If i do ever run slicks they'll be narrower than these monsters!

Ohh... That is sooooo nice!

Hi there! Great work.

Slicks can grow by one inch in diameter at high speed - check out the M/T site.

I would want a lot more clearance than 3/8".

Best,

Pete

Pete- it's only the lip that's near the tyre edge and these things are 18" wide.

If i ever put slicks on i'd be looking at 10" or 12" max i should think, so they'd be well inside the wings where there's plenty of clearance.
Chunky street treads won't grow by much would they?

Thats realy nice, good work!!!