Hi There Amici.
I'm in the process of installing some wonderful axles (from FOT Dave
Wingett) in my TR6. The process has been fairly smooth with the exception
of a lot of "fettling" on the axle splines... but so far so good.
First off - a big THANKS to Dave and anyone else involved in the project.
I like these axles!!
For those not familiar, in short, this effort is an attempt to duplicate
the Group 44 aluminium hub carriers and the Corvair axles.
At any rate, several FOTs have alluded to possibly having to shorten the
outer axle yoke (aka sliding shaft in the Moss catalog) to keep it from
bottoming out in the inner axle (aka slip joint assembly in the Moss
catalog) by a quarter inch or so. This shortening is related to how low
the cars is - I intend to get the car to about 2.5 inches frame-to-ground,
so I represent the "lower extreme" and therefore assume I fall into the
"you gotta shorten the axles" camp.
I'm okay with that.
However, a friend and I were swilling some Pepsi(tm) the other night and
looking at "things" and he offered an alternative suggestion: instead of
shortening the axle, why not machine a spacer for the hub carrier to
swing-arm interface that is a quarter inch thick (instead of shortening
the axle)?
I'm not a structural engineer, so I can't say that the idea is without
merit.
My question: if the spacer was made out of suitable aluminium and
appropriate longer studs were utilised - would this setup be any more/less
prone to failure due to loading, etc.?
The benfits would be increased track (by 1/2 inch total) and being able to
reduce the number of machine operations on the axle itself.
The potential drawbacks would include (obviously) more stress on the
trailing arm and potential problems with the studs that attach the hub to
the trailing arm.
I'd just like some feedback.
Along those lines, could anybody relate experience regarding off the shelf
studs from suitable auto suppliers. The TR6 used 5/16" studs about 1.5
inches long - threaded 5/16-24. I need to go longer due to the fatter hub
carrier flange, and am only able to get fine thread inners and course
thread outers. My primary concern is the grading of the studs - is there a
marking for grade on studs?? I'm okay with the fine inner threads and the
course outer threads (although I'd prefer fine/fine). But really want
studs that are graded for automotive suspension applications (or
aircraft).
I'd like to keep these parts on the car, thankyou.
Sorry for the long winded questions, but I'm trying to make sure I do this
job "right".
Thanks in advance.
regards,
rml
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