I've used both. I'm not sure it matters a ton but a shoulder bolt may keep from marring up the inside of the shock eye.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

I use shoulder bolts for all of my shock/ suspension bolts.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

I always use 12.9's for the shock mounts, anything less used to bend on the stock arms. Doesn't matter so much now they're in double shear though.

OK I did a little welding and cutting tonight... was reminded how much I suck at welding agn... so yes in these pics I know I have to grind and inspect for more welding

But I have a question... the gun on the welder will not push wire out anymore... I usually clicks and I can hear gas and so on... the button feels dead like no noise or anything (ideas...)

Pics so far... be kind with my crappy welding and cutting... I'm trying.











I will add extra bracing once I get this all welded up... Need to figure out why the welder is hung up... its not the wire in the tip... its not the shield its acting like a fuse went out or a thermal switch went off for the gun only... Not my welder need to fix...

thanks guys more to come....

most welders have a thermal overload so if it gets overheated you need to let it cool for a while then try it later. if not id look for a fuse or reset. turn it off for at least half hour id say

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ANTI- antifreeze!!!!!!

You nailed it.... It started working agn... Good excuse to stop for he night...

Thanks for taking the time to respond... More fun tomorrow.

Upper mounts look great!! I think this is turning out very nice for your first time messing with it. Mounts look nice and strong too.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Really nice work, it looks very strong.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

your welder not working is whats called a duty cycle a common duty is 60% cranked all the way up this means you can work for 60% of the time then cool for 40%. really good welders have 100% duty cycle

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If it ain't broke ill fix that

Thanks guys... Very kind of you to encourage me... More pics when I have something worth showing... Need to tie up some of the things I have been working on at this point... Gussets and bracing and welding up what I have tacked... After I get the shock mounts welded I would like to get your thoughts on where bracing might be needed.... Also have a slight bend in the rear cage... Will get to that last...

Thnx agn for your help...

I would leave the slight bend in the cage as there will be more if you ride it like you stole it. Stuff like that adds character. If you have an 1 1/4" hole saw and some 1/8" plate you can make a plug for the end of the open tube. Just weld the pilot hole up after.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

I pulled the trans and axles tonight... Welded up the support tubes and gusseted the pivot mounts where I had to open them up. I think I will add a brace for the bump stop... Then I am going to clean it all up and paint it and get it back together... I need to switch my cv cages around and pack them with grease... Also need to pack the bearings in the arms too... I still have about 18 feet of tubing... So I will see where I need to add bracing (any ideas)... Unless I don't need any... If that's the case I will hold on to it for bumpers or repair or whatever... I would like to get the rear cage a little straighter if I can... But I know I will get more... So I will need to see what the deal is... The shock mounts turned out well... I haven't added any more bracing... Not sure I need to... I an going to take some new pics to show you guys what I have as of now... You can let me know if I need more bracing or if I should do something else... Pics will come tomorrow during daytime for better light.


Once I get this done I still have brake plumbing and wiring to do... Plus since the motor is stroked I still need to get the valve geometry figured out and push rods cut... I think that might be it... I forget.

Not quite done yet. The rear roll bar hoop needs X bracing.

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Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
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I can do that... Should I do from torsion tube to top of the hoop corner or like from hoop corner to frame side ( like half way up)?

The fab work looks real good and I agree you should brace the rear hoop, if you have a bend in the tube some time a bottle jack and chain can be used to straighten it. I think your getting good at this. I wish I lived closer so I could help.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

Thanks red... You guys have taught me a lot... I am trying but I am still limited to my tools and inexperience... But all in all not bad... The end may be there for good... But I will get to that after the hoop brace. I am not sure if I should do from torsion tp hoop corner or mid frame to hoop corner... I may try to do the same thing as fortydeg. He X'd from mid frame and then braced from torsion to mid frame...I will start that tonight... Then post pics and see what you guys think...

Also I am about to pick up some of that swepco 101 grease for my CV's and Trailing arm bearings... Looks like 1 tube does 2 CV's... so I guess I need 4? And I see that they go in a grease gun (guessing by the type of tube) how are you guys injecting it into the CV's and bearings? I usually just use the heal of my hand to press it into the CV or bearing... And for CV boot bands do you use the ones that you can tighten or crimp? Do you put the clamp/band on both sides of the boot or just CV side?

I want to get what I need so next weekend I can try to get this all back together... or at least have what I need to work in that direction.

I grease my cv the exact same. I actually tore mine all down, cleaned & Inspected them, then clocked and reassembled, and greased them. The outback motor-sports page was a huge help as I had never clocked my cv joints before. The axle free floats much easier.

I think the x brace could go to mid frame where you can put in a horizontal from side to side the x down to the torsion from there.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

I use an attachment on the grease gun like this: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/buy/ca ... gun-needle

That gets it in there pretty good. Not a bad idea to get the hands dirty too. Keep the grease out of the bolt holes as best you can so when you put the bolt through it stays dry and the locktite still works.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Thanks forty... You have any good close up's that show how you did your hoop X brace? I think I will follow your lead on that design... I need to take pic's so I can ask questions too I may need to cut a cross bar out... Will see what you guys say...

I'm not sure mine is the best example to follow. I'd say you are best to run a big X from the torsion housing to your upper cage corners. Mine was in a spot that straddled the gas tank, mixed with some poor planning, causing it to be an X in the upper part of the frame with angled supports to the "torsion" housing. If I were starting over it would just be an X from top to bottom. Here is what I have but you will find a lot of examples that may be better on this site and others.

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"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

Thanks for that info... If you say the torsion to hoop other is best I will go that route... Thanks... I will still take a few pics tonight to ask about that cross bar...

Forty, If you decide you want to build another chassis I would be interested in having you build me one. The more photo I see the more I like that design. That thing looks just bullet proof. That and I love the black powder, it just shines.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)

OK guys here are a few pics... Look at the square bar touching the tubing that will be used to form the X brace for the hoop... Should I keep it there or remove it? If I keep it, it may interfere with the X brace (unsure till I get into it). that square bar is what the seats back up to (has the upper seat belt tabs on it)...

If you think it should stay I may be able to get the X brace in, just might need to tack the square bar tot eh X brace so they don't bang together.























Sorry for all the pics... But wanted to try to get something to show what I have so you could help me decide what to do.

It is always a good idea to put your seats in to make sure the bace is clear of your head & shoulders. The rear seat brace can stay or go depending on interference with the brace. No mater what you do just make sure your not bumping your head on it.

I think it will be strong.

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Water Cooled Consortium, Chairman of the Build (Former AC purist)