Making your own radius rods?

[chopper tom]

i was thinking of trying some thing just like your first drowing kelseydum ,been wandering why someone hasint done it yet ,it's bound to be stronger and easyer to make ,but i never thought of the clearance issues that it might solve also! plus it would be really cool looking !

 

[kelseydum]

Thanks guys. There's some really good info on this here. The wheels are turning in my brain to what I could do now. Even if I don't chop up the hairpins I'll have a set to use as a template.

My main idea on this is making more of a variety in the radius rod designs. There isn't a whole lot out there and I love the idea of them bolting on to existing brackets. This would make it a little easier to change out if you want a different look. If I made them to sell I could come up with all kinds of designs in the gusseting and rods.

Cool thread and thanks again guys. Keep the ideas rolling. I'm sure as soon as the traditional guys see them on our rods they will be wanting them too... chromed I'm sure of course. Too bad I don't have a chroming system. hehehe.

 

[RPM]

We build a lot of custom radius rods. We cut over 300' of tubing just last week for radius rods of different configurations. We have both left and right taps in 5/8, 11/16, and 3/4. All tapping is done in a lathe so it is straight and true. We have all kinds of different gussets for them. Flames, T, A, Maltese cross, Spider webs, the list goes on and on. If we can help give us a call 865-932-7541 Ron

 

[kelseydum]

I posted this on my other thread but it may be more suitable here...

I went out to my father-in-laws to think about the best way to do this. One of my issues is I need to add about 2 inches to the end of the wishbone to reach the existing mount. I WAS going to weld the cut tie rod in the ends (they are already tapped with 5/8 thread but the 5/8 tie rod end has a smaller taper than the 11/16 (which I was previously using). So, I thought of using heim joints instead. Speedway has a 3/4" female heim joint. My father-in-law said to get some 3/4 grade 8 all thread, weld those in to add the length I need and they would have the thread size needed. I chose 3/4 to make sure it's a little sturdier. Now I'll just have to drill out the existing mounting plates for a 5/8" bolt hole. This might make removing the rod ends easier than the tie rod ends (no forked bar to damage the boots or anything).

What do you guys think? Will this work? Does any of this make sense?

By the way, thanks RPM, I've checked out your site before... cool stuff.

 

[DJ3100]

I'm not sure I followed all that, but before you buy the Heim joints from Speedway check out this site. I think this is where Speedway gets theirs. Their stuff is about 1/2 the cost of other sources; good quality on everything we've gotten.

www.midwestcontrol.com

 

[kelseydum]

Basically I just need to add 2" to the end of the bones before any rod end is added. Instead of getting a thick wall tubing and tapping it to 3/4" thread I'm just going to get a threaded solid rod and get a female rod end instead of a male. I think adding 2" of solid rod (threaded on the end) would be safer than adding 2" of tubing...

...does that explain it any better?

Thanks for the link too. They have a lot of stuff there.

 

[hotrod preacher]

hey kelsey, i think it may be hard to find grade 8 "all-thread" seems to me that stuff is usually pretty "soft"
but you can find grade 8 bolts that are the length you need and weld them in as you were talking about doing--and personally i think if you use a bolt, the unthreaded part of the bolt would be better to weld to (strength wise)

just a thought--

HRP

 

[kelseydum]

hey kelsey, i think it may be hard to find grade 8 "all-thread" seems to me that stuff is usually pretty "soft"
but you can find grade 8 bolts that are the length you need and weld them in as you were talking about doing--and personally i think if you use a bolt, the unthreaded part of the bolt would be better to weld to (strength wise)

just a thought--

HRP

Good looking out buddy. That sounds like a better idea... I don't know why we didn't think of that... duh! I'm sure I can find those at a local hardware store here a lot easier. Couldn't be more than a few bucks a piece.

 

[chv]

Here's mine 1 1/4 Dom.... Home made

 

[billy]

I'm not sure I followed all that, but before you buy the Heim joints from Speedway check out this site. I think this is where Speedway gets theirs. Their stuff is about 1/2 the cost of other sources; good quality on everything we've gotten.

www.midwestcontrol.com

THANKS for that link man!

 

[PA41]

Yeah--I second that! Sweet link... I like hanging out in Hardware...

PA41

 

[moparcowboy]

I'm not sure I followed all that, but before you buy the Heim joints from Speedway check out this site. I think this is where Speedway gets theirs. Their stuff is about 1/2 the cost of other sources; good quality on everything we've gotten.

www.midwestcontrol.com

Thanks for the link- they have a lot of the stuff I need [cl

 

[BCOWANWHEELS]

Leave what you got and do a corvair steering box & PIT ARM...... Cheap too. 65 back is best....