Category: dear welder series

Paul Horton’s replies to actual tech emails.

Dear Welder Series… front shock mounts?

Dear Welder Series…
Hi I bought a tube front axle for my model a street rod and it has welded on hair pin brackets but nothing to mount a shock. Do you sell a lower bracket that welds to or bolts to axle or hair pin mounts for shocks? thank you

Dear Leonard…
There are a couple of ways you could mount shocks to the tube axle…

Go to our web site, http://welderseries.com, and type “threaded tube” in the search box. This will bring up a lot of threaded tubes and some parts that are related to them. A threaded tube, with the appropriate thread size, could be welded to your axle as the lower shock mount.

Another way would be to use the sway bar mount,

welded to the axle. (It doesn’t know it’s a sway bar mount and will be quite happy known as a shock mount on your rod.)

There are several other brackets in our store that could also be “shock mounts”, with some imagineering.

If you would rather mount the shock to the hairpin, please reply with the diameter of the lower shock eye and the bushing hole size. I’ll think about brackets that would work with that.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… 1952 Chevy pickup Mustang II kit?

Dear Welder Series…
Hi there. Just now found you guys on the web. I am garage building a 52 Chevy pickup. I’m interested in picking up your IFS set up and a good 4 link for the rear. I have the body of mine stripped off the chassis and am getting ready to send it to be blasted and have the chassis boxed. Can your IFS be bolted or welded in with the frame boxed or should I have your parts put in and then box it? Does your IFS kit come with the motor mounts as well or are they separate? I could also use a trans crossmember as well. I’m going with a 454cid and a 700R4.

Dear Zane…
Our Mustang II kit welds into a boxed frame, so you can go ahead with that. If you followed the instructions online, be aware that it will almost certainly be necessary to trim the top of the frame rail for upper arm cross shaft clearance. This can be done after boxing.

We have 2 types of motor mounts for your 454:

 

These would have to be trimmed to fit your frame (the way the boxing plates are installed will affect the frame width) and to put the engine at the height you want.

I’d suggest transmission crossmember 2115:

This adds strength to the frame and lets you drop the saddle without removing the exhaust.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… 1951 Chev truck rear suspension?

Dear Welder Series…
I have a 1951 Chevrolet truck 1/2 ton putting a 2002 Chevy S10 4×4 Blazer 8.5 ring gear rear w/disc brakes in. I want to use the 4 link system, which one of yours will work easiest and best?

Thank you!

Dear Don…
Don, the decision regarding a parallel or a triangulated rear 4-link is somewhat philosophical. Here is my explanation:

Both kits do a good job of locating the rear end, holding it in place, and letting the suspension work.

The triangulated kit costs less than the parallel kit because a Panhard bar is not required.

 

The parallel kit does require a Panhard kit (about $100.00). The parallel kit is easier to adjust for squaring the rear axle to the frame center line, and centering the frame left-to-right.

The Panhard bar does move the frame left-to-right as the frame goes up and down, but if a straight Panhard bar is installed level, this amount is insignificant (about 1/8″ with a 19″ bar) for normal suspension travel.

I hope this helps you decide. Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Dear Welder Series… Triangulated four link upper bar angle?

Dear Welder Series…
Hi Paul I am in the middle of installing one of your triangulated four links. How much angle do I need on the upper part. (angle from frame rail to rear housing if looking from top). If I have to shorten the upper bars what would you suggest the min. length be? Thanks

Dear Derek…
Derek, the upper bar frame bracket is designed to mount the bar at 27 degrees off of the frame. It might be hard to reduce this angle very much and still put a wrench on the nut, if the nut will even go on. Another option might be to mount the axle end of the upper bars just inside the frame rails and angle them towards the frame centerline. Then add a new crossmember and mount the frame brackets to it. This way the bars can stay at their original length. As the bars get shorter, the pinion angle changes more dramatically as the suspension works. I hope this helps.
Paul

Dear Welder Series… modify headlight stands?

Dear Welder Series…
DW,
I’ve just been reading your ’32 Build blog regarding modification to the Pete & Jake headlight stands (article 21). Nice work.

This year I acquired a nice ’32 highboy that has those same stands with little hot rod lights (the one with the turn signal in the top edge of the bezel).
I’d like to install ’32 passenger or 33-34 commercial lights with internal turn signal. I’d prefer to not cut and weld as in your article, but I recognize that is probably the correct way to approach the project.
My question; is there a realistic way to modify the swivel/bolt/slot arrangement on the bottom of the light bucket, to use the headlight stands without modification – and still be able to drive at night?
One additional piece, the chassis and stands are powder coated.

Thanks for taking the time to consider my question.
Phil

Dear Phil…
Thanks for the compliment, Phil.
Here are 2 suggestions for mounting the headlights:
Form a “tongue” to take the stock headlight bolt. Wrap the tongue forward to the shock mount. Weld a bolt (probably a flat head allen bolt) to the shock mount end of the tongue to go through the P&J mount.
or…
Have a talented tin-whacker rework the headlight bucket so the mounting bolt will be at the correct angle. If you use the ’32 lights, the reworked area could be polished to not show. The ’33 commercial lights might be easier.
I’ve cc’d this to DW. He might have some other ideas.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series…
Paul,

I really appreciated your “tongue” suggestion and set it as my fallback if I could not get the lights attached properly to the existing headlight stands.
The installation is complete, here is what I did. I selected the ’34 commercial lights that Bob Drake offers with a stainless bucket in addition to the stainless bezel. I found that the headlight stands were tipped slightly forward, a good thing.
I disassembled the lights and moved the plate that holds the mounting bolt so the leading edge (somewhat reshaped) would be very close to the edge of the bucket. I drilled new holes in the plate and remounted it. This has the effect of rotating the top of the bucket forward.
Now, without modification to the bolt or the swivel the face of the bucket can be adjusted beyond vertical a few degrees. I think this will work out (I’ve not driven it at night yet) and I like the look. The first photo above is with one old light and one new light, the other photo is the job completed.
Thanks to all for your encouragement.
Happy New Year,
Phil

Dear Welder Series… 1989 Chevy drag truck four link?

Dear Welder Series…
I am building a 1989 Chevy c1500 street/drag. I am wanting to go with a narrower rear end and do a 4-link set up. I was wondering what 4 link set  up would you recommend for me.

Dear Jon…
Our pro/street rear 4-link can be set up so the bars are parallel for street driving or they can be adjusted to get the instant center that you want for racing. The kit comes with urethane bushed bars. Serious racers use these on the street but change them to rod ends for the track.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts for your project.

Dear Welder Series… 1952 Pontiac four link question

Dear Welder Series…
Hello, I’m looking to purchase your triangulated 4 link for my 52 Pontiac. I will need to install the coil overs in front of the axle, do you have an axle mount to accomplish this?
Thanks.

Dear Joe…
Joe, if there is room, you could use the coil-over bracket shown here:

Let me know if you feel this will, or won’t, work in your application.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Dear Welder Series… Gift Certificate?

Dear Welder Series…
How would I get a gift card for someone?

Dear Nancy…
Thanks for asking, Nancy. We can run your card for any amount you like and apply that amount to your friend’s account. You can also use PayPal. We would send a gift certificate to you as a pdf or we can mail it. They are also available on our web store:

Our toll-free number is 1-888-648-2150 if you want to talk about this or give us your card number over the phone.

Dear Welder Series… 1937 Stude MII?

Dear Welder Series…
We are building a 1937 Studebaker 2dr president coupe. I’m helping my dad build and am talking him into the mustang front suspension. I talked to a friend of mine at air ride tech and he pointed me in your direction. We are dropping an lt1 and auto in it. Going for an comfy driver with a nice stance. Please let me know if any if your front suspension will work. I’m gonna get some frame dimensions measured up and I will look more into your site.

Dear Jason…
Jason, our kit is easy to fit to lots of frames. Decide what track width you want to use and if you want to use stock-style springs and shocks of coil-overs with an eye mount top and bottom. If you are looking at conventional air springs, use this:

If you want ShockWaves, use this

We also have mounts for LS series engines (listed below) and they are easy to adapt to most frames.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts. Please get in touch again if you have other questions.

Dear Welder Series… 1969 F100 Four Link Install Question

Dear Welder Series…
I recently purchased a triangulated 4 link universal kit. I’m putting it in my 69 F100 swb. I have a couple ?s. If the horizontal angles on the upper and lower bars are the same will it have adverse effects if the sitting ride height angles are at 10 deg higher on the front? I’m thinking of raising the front frame mounts up to 10 deg so they won’t be so close to the ground. Also, is there an optimum angle for the triangle? As in looking down on it. I’m pretty close to the angle on the upper frame brackets but was wondering if any +/- is OK?

Dear Kevin…
Kevin, a 10 degree angle on the bars would put the front about 4-1/4″ higher than the rear. This would cause the rear end to “walk” as the truck leans in a corner. This “walking” will make the truck steer from the back end and could be dangerous. I’m o.k. with the front of the bar about 1″ higher than the rear. The angle of the upper bars relative to frame center line can be changed slightly. I don’t have a maximum spec to give you because we haven’t tried to see when it becomes unsafe. Thanks for these questions.
Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… 1937 Studebaker Mustang II crossmember?

Dear Welder Series…
We are building a 1937 Studebaker 2dr president coupe. I’m helping my dad build and am talking him into the mustang front suspension. I talked to a friend of mine at air ride tech and he pointed me in your direction. We are dropping an LT1 and auto in it. Going for a comfy driver with a nice stance.
Please let me know if any of your front suspensions will work. I’m gonna get some frame dimensions measured up and I will look more into your site.

Dear Jason…
Jason, our kit is easy to fit to lots of frames. Decide what track width you want to use and if you want to use stock-style springs and shocks of coil-overs with an eye mount top and bottom. If you are looking at conventional air springs, use the kit for stock springs. If you want ShockWaves, use our coil-over kit.

We also have mounts for LS series engines and they are easy to adapt to most frames.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts. Please get in touch again if you have other questions.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… parallel vs. triangulated four link

Dear Welder Series…
I have a 1951 Chevrolet truck 1/2 ton putting a 2002 Chevy S10 4×4 Blazer 8.5 ring gear rear w/disc brakes in. I want to use the 4 link system, which one of yours will work easiest and best?

Thank you!

Dear Don…
Don, the decision regarding a parallel or a triangulated rear 4-link (both shown below) is somewhat philosophical. Here is my explanation:

Both kits do a good job of locating the rear end, holding it in place, and letting the suspension work.

The triangulated kit costs less than the parallel kit because a Panhard bar is not required.

The parallel kit does require a Panhard kit (about $100.00). The parallel kit is easier to adjust for squaring the rear axle to the frame center line, and centering the frame left-to-right.

The Panhard bar does move the frame left-to-right as the frame goes up and down, but if a straight Panhard bar is installed level, this amount is insignificant (about 1/8″ with a 19″ bar) for normal suspension travel.

 

I hope this helps you decide. Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… Lower control arm spacing?

Dear Welder Series…
I am interested in your Mustang II cross-member. I have a 1954 Ford F100 with MII, but the frame is pretty butchered so I plan on building a new frame. My question is what is the spacing on the lower control arm holes on the three different width cross-members? Thanks in advance.

Dear Kevin…
Kevin, the lower holes on the 56″ crossmember are on 22-1/4″ centers. They are 24-1/4″ on the 58″ crossmember and 26-1/4″ on the 60″.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series… front mount coil over axle bracket?

Dear Welder Series…
Hello, I’m looking to purchase your triangulated 4 link for my 52 Pontiac. I will need to install the coilovers in front of the axle, do you have a axle mount to accomplish this?
Thanks.

Dear Joe…
Joe, if there is room, you could us the coil-over bracket shown below, mounted on the front side of the axle.

Let me know if you feel this will, or won’t, work in your application.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton