[Turbo_RORO]

So some of you guys may have seen a couple of my build thread, but if not I'll catch you up to speed. I got my car last year, bolted on some stuff to stay NA, added N2O, then full build with nitrous. I do all of my own work (saves a lot of money). Well with the new power from the F1A I have run into traction problems. I recently did a 15 inch brake conversion. Just the rotors, and calipers with the goal in mind of building my own toe rods, trailing arms and other chassis components. I will be doing all of the work myself as always. Hopefully this thread can be a good starting point for anyone else in my shoes. Pics and description to follow.

[Turbo_RORO]

First thing I did was order some heim joints and 1.25" DOM tubing. Once that showed up, I cleaned them up, Fit them together, and welded up one end, verified the fit, added the other end and welded it up also. It is actually pretty easy. This may be the first thing I save money on doing my self. But probably not.

[HyperspaceTurd]

Looks good and kudos to having the balls to rebuild yer own suspenders.

Just need a good ruler and a few basic tools, right?

[Turbo_RORO]

Originally Posted by HyperspaceTurd

Looks good and kudos to having the balls to rebuild yer own suspenders.

Just need a good ruler and a few basic tools, right?

Thanks I do this with the hope that others start fabbing for their cars also. Honestly on the Toe rods that's just it. You could do it with pre cut tubing and all it would take is a welder! Now the other rods are gonna take some work, maybe two rulers.

[PolynesianPowerhouse]

Awesome! I dig this. i'm good at soldering and brazing, but very minimal weld time. if I had the space and a tig welder, I would def follow suit, not just for suspension but for anything that comes to mind! kudos to you, you've def got a gold mine in simply having the means and space to do this.

one way I know getting around the welding part, is to use "swedged radius rods" and that way all you need is to add the rod ends. we had to do some fabrication back in the J-body days since GM offered virtually ZERO support and there were only a few quality aftermarket companies for the 3rd gen.

[HartfordRacingCaptain]

Looks great! That being said... did you simply weld a nut to the end of the tube for the rod end? Just curious. My collegiate formula team used these:
http://www.fkrodends.com/WELD44.html

[Turbo_RORO]

Well I'm done with the toe rods (minus paint). Going to paint and install them tomorrow. If i get it done early I will align her tomorrow also. The pic sucks but it turned out fairly well.

[Turbo_RORO]

Originally Posted by PolynesianPowerhouse

Awesome! I dig this. i'm good at soldering and brazing, but very minimal weld time. if I had the space and a tig welder, I would def follow suit, not just for suspension but for anything that comes to mind! kudos to you, you've def got a gold mine in simply having the means and space to do this.

one way I know getting around the welding part, is to use "swedged radius rods" and that way all you need is to add the rod ends. we had to do some fabrication back in the J-body days since GM offered virtually ZERO support and there were only a few quality aftermarket companies for the 3rd gen.

Thanks a lot. Having tools defiantly changes the game. I find myself trying to fabricate everything, like everything. I don't know of swedged radius rods. It is something I will look into. I have a long list in the works, all rear suspension parts, motor mounts, trans tunnel brace, driveshaft safety loop, May even get rid of the rear cradle and do coil overs.

[Turbo_RORO]

Originally Posted by HartfordRacingCaptain

Looks great! That being said... did you simply weld a nut to the end of the tube for the rod end? Just curious. My collegiate formula team used these:
http://www.fkrodends.com/WELD44.html

Thanks. I ordered rod ends from Ruff Stuff because they have great service, shipping, and I have used them in the past working on my Nova. I have not used them but the FK rod ends look nice also. I like that their ends are tapered. I did not do a rosette weld but i think they are plenty strong. I just tigged them around the tube end with a small gap that can penetrate down into the rod end. I went very slow.

[RXtacy]

Love seeing guys fabricating parts! Opens up a lot of possibilities. I was sad there wasn't a fabrication section on this board.

[Turbo_RORO]

Originally Posted by RXtacy

Love seeing guys fabricating parts! Opens up a lot of possibilities. I was sad there wasn't a fabrication section on this board.

Yeah. It kind of sucks. I come from the LS1 tech and Yellow Bullet forum. It is what helps remind me that not everything is bought online. Hoping to motivate other guys.

[Turbo_RORO]

Here they are complete next to a stock toe rod. The factory piece isn't a flexible as I thought. The overall travel is very minimal. In all honest I am less concerned of the flexibility of the toe rod than I am with the small 18 gage sheet of metal they use to retain the toe rod. May be time for a full tube rear chassis...

[Turbo_RORO]

Once I installed all of the parts I went to do the alignment. It was not that far out surprisingly. I have a nice hunter machine to use. So why not. Later on after I finish the install of all of the suspension parts I will begin to focus on different alignment settings. All here are some pics of my 15 inch conversion. Super sexy!

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by Turbo_RORO

Here they are complete next to a stock toe rod. The factory piece isn't a flexible as I thought. The overall travel is very minimal. In all honest I am less concerned of the flexibility of the toe rod than I am with the small 18 gage sheet of metal they use to retain the toe rod. May be time for a full tube rear chassis...

Looking good
It looks like you're a drag guy, but did you design your new toe links with more adjustability range than the factory? The rear knuckles can get a lot of camber but the factory toe rods weren't able to dial out the toe. Prob not an issue for a drag car, just curious if you built in more range.