Need some input on this bracket idea.

[justsomeguy]

Some buddies and I were discussing some of the scary brackets we've seen on rods. You know the ones I'm talking about. Cobbled together, bird poop welds, undersized, and dangerous. The guy in his garage building his first car might mean well, but could be doing something very dangerous without even knowing it. Beyond that, how many frames and suspension components have you seen built with under powered welders?

We came to the conclusion that it would be nice if there was some type of bolt on bracket that could make sure people are using safe hardware, but be cheap enough that the shoestring buget builder could swing it.

This is a panhard mount that would bolt on over a 2x4 or 2x3 frame rail. The slot is deep enough that the bracket would actually be transferring the load to the frame rail. The bolts would just be used as clamping force and to keep it in place on the rail.

I know this isn't for everyone as there are plenty of guys out there with great fab skills, but these could also be used for mockups before you weld on your permanent brackets. Supreme adjustability before you make it final.

What are your thoughts on this? I would really appreciate some feedback. If anyone wants to see some more drawings of different mounts, just let me know. Heck, if somebody wants to try one out I need to make a prototype anyway.

 

[Old Iron]

Yea they work fine but don't invest any money till you do some research

This one is about what you're talkin about:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/330619194457?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

This one is better it's double shear:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Panhard-Bar-Mount,3383.html?parentDisplayId=3374

Jim

 

[justsomeguy]

That's in the ballpark. I think they can be done better though. Having the predetermined angles for mounting your spherical rod ends, better finish, recessed holes for flush mounting hardware, and good hardware included. The eBay link is about the price range it would take.

I'll get a few more designs posted tonight. I think the axle mounting brackets are pretty slick.

Oh, I'm not investing any money. I have all the machinery and tooling already. I also have around 20k#'s of steel in the rack. Not really trying to make a bunch of money on this, just brainstorming.

 

[Old Iron]

Yea and I like your countersunk part for socket head bolts

Jim

 

[justsomeguy]

This is my take on an axle bracket. This would be for a 3" axle tube that is being setup for coilovers and four links. This also has an angle on one of the flats for the panhard mount. I included a see through view so you can get a better idea of what the inside would look like.

This design actually started a long time ago because I am planning to use this on my own build. These would take a LOT of time to produce unfortunately...

 

[sgtpontiac]

See......

you are not "justsomeguy".... that takes some thought and talent to design stuff like that.....I can think it and see it in my mind, but if I tried to draw it..it would come out looking like some obtuse stick figure with screws sticking out.......LOL

 

[justsomeguy]

Sarge,

I strongly recommend you download Google Sketchup. That is the program I used for the above stuff. 100% free, pretty easy to use, and a ton of great tutorials on Youtube. I designed the bed for my welding truck before I built it and it was nice to get an idea of proportions.

I have since upgraded my shop software to Solidworks as I build indiviual components, give them an assigned hardness and material properties, and then assemble them and put them into motion. (like designing each part of a transmission, and then putting it together, but you can see it move without the case around it) The particular version I have will analyze component failure probability based on all the algorithims of each parts strength and forces against it. It even gets into friction coefficients and what affects different grade of bearings will have...

Unfortunately, the computer required to run that is tied to my CNC plasma table and pretty much acts as the server for my shop. So when I'm on the road (3 or more nights a week) I don't have access to it and I just jump back to using Sketchup.