76orangewagon
Well-Known Member
Since I had some time at work for "training", I borrowed a new set of hotchkis strut rod and tie rod kits for the basic measurements and decided to make some modifications and upgrades to their products. First.. for the strut rods, instead of .850" hollow tubing with welded ends I decided to use solid 1" 4130 tubing and for the K frame support bracket I used 1/4" instead of their 3/16". Second... for the Tie rod kit they use 1 1/4" hollow tubing, again I used the same 4130 1" solid round stock mirroring the same contour I used on the strut rods for uniformity purposes and milled flats for use with a 7/8" wrench for alignment. I must admit that my material choices added a couple pounds but I'll make some cool fancy aluminum parts for the engine compartment down the road and hopefully that will make up for the added suspension weight. I really liked the CAP products design for their version of the adjustable strut rod mounting swivel so I whipped out a prototype of my version again using 4130 steel (more weight). So...next week I'll finish up the final products then decide which I will use, the round design will eliminate the misalignment spacers but the heim will still give me 22 degrees of side to side movement ..this should be plenty on a part designed to go up and down. To capitalize even more on Hotchkis' great design I called them and asked if they would sell me the hardware kit for their products. So for $37.00 I got all the misalignment spacers, tie rod taper spacers and all the grade 8 nuts, bolts and washers to complete the project. ...oh, by way these 2 kits from summit racing cost over $600.00.... currently I have $150.00 invested. My graphic buddy designed and cut out the stencils I used on the parts...and the logos are painted on. In case your wondering "RDG" in RDG Engineering stands for my initals... he put me on the spot and I had to pick a name....hope you enjoy the pics.
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