Sway bar mount

The old strut rod mount and sway bar bracket had to be removed and the new sway bar mount installed in its place.  This requires drilling out 13 or 14 spot welds on each mount/bracket and separating the parts from the frame.  Sounds easy but if you dont cut all of the welds or miss a little bit, the task is a real knuckle buster.  I did eventually get the old parts off but not without cutting the parts a little to make the job easier. 

The new Total Cost Involved sway bar brackets were pretty easy to install.  I just cleaned up the area with the grinder, clamped it in place and welded.  Welding was easier since I only had to attach the 3/16" thick bracket to thick sheet metal frame rail.

While the primer was drying, I finished installing the rear end.  Always nice to see some more parts installed.  Its starting to look like a car and will be on four wheels soon. 

Next: Front Suspension Completed

Front Suspension 7

I was unpacking the box with the power steering rack and came across some parts that I didn't realize that I had.   A new sway bar and its mounting hardware.  I was going to install one as a later upgrade but of course I'll mount that puppy now.   This means removing the old sway bar mounts and strut rod mounts and installing the Total Cost Involved sway bar brackets

... And I thought I was done welding.

Next: Sway Bar Mount

Front Suspension 6

Once everything was plumb and square, I completely welded around the cross member's contact points. After a finish grinding I was ready to install the A-arm/shock towers.

The A-arm/shock tower is bolted in place using the alignment hole and clamped against the frame rail for tack welding.  After clamping, I noticed that the tower was not square to the frame rail and cross member so I had to add a thin shim between the frame rail and the tower.  Once lined up right, I tacked it in place and removed the clamps.

The final welds were done with my Millermatic 140 MIG welder cranked up to 100 and wire speed at 67. I could have definitely used a little more power but I was able to accomplish it with more than one pass in some places.

The front end welding is finally complete! If I was impatient I would start bolting parts on now but I think I'll resist the temptation.


  Any suggestions?

Next: Front Suspension Part 7