Rear 4-link.
Bit of an epic saga this one. They were made for the 'new' tube frame but were far too long for the tiny wheelbase of the Escort, so I shortened them. No dramas there, except for some of the original (unused) poly-bushes had cracked and perished. New poly-bushes here worked out at around £40 per bar, and on my budget there was no way that was going to happen :shake:
So I found these rod-ends for $45 the lot. Sadly only 7, but there were enough good poly-bushes to allow for one joint on each side. Not a bad Idea I thought, but time will tell. They are designed for race-car coil-overs so should be plenty man enough:
To fix them I came up with an ingeious idea (necessity being the mother of invention and all that) to use these hose-barbs which are basically scrap stock from my company (thanks Stevie!). The OD of the thread is exactly the inside diameter of the 4-link bars, and with the correct thread bolt bunged in them they should not only look the part, but also give me a nice hex to swing on....:
Turned the head on the bolts to the same diameter, and drilled the hose-ends for the bolt to pass through:
Then weld them together. Turn threaded end of bolt the correct length etc:
TIG up the ends, and plug-weld through to the bolt head:
Clean everything up ready for a dip in 'rodders friend' before assembly:
And voila! the rod ends are all oriented so that at full tightness they are in line along the length of the tube:
This week I've also been working hard in the garage. Gearbox crossmember is fitted. Tubes are in place for the trans-tunnel, and shifter mount plate also in place.
Now that the 4-link is done I can position the axle and get the exact mount points for the rear springs, and once that is done the 'funny car' drivers cage can go in and we're nearly there chassis-wise.
