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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
 Posted - 29 May 2010 : 14:05:15
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Yup - I used some of the bit I'd cut off for a backing plate. It's about 2mm thick.
I used a Migatronic MX180 MIG welder with 0.8mm wire and Argon/CO2 gas mix. You need quite a lot of power to make sure that the weld pool gets all the way through the metal - I don't think I'd want to do this with a little 100 amp hobby MIG and 0.6 wire.
After all, if this bit breaks while I'm hurtling around the back roads I won't be very happy 
Here is the underside of the suspension lower link - not quite as pretty as the top.
I'v got another one to do - I'll take some intermediate pictures with the next one so that you can see the process. |
Edited by - 1922 on 29 May 2010 14:09:01 |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 30 May 2010 : 20:33:04
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Here's the second lower link. I'm starting with this:
After a bit of a clean - got this:
First I cut out the middle section and then cut a slot down the side to get this:
Then open out the cut to widen the arm - note the v shaped notch in the lower edge so it will bend at the correct point:
Tack welded together in position, with a one reinforcement piece tacked in and the second piece next to it.
Second reinforcement tacked in:
Top view:
Proper weld:
All welded and put next to first arm to compare:
Bit of grinding to remove the ugliest bits:
All done and ready for blast cleaning:
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Edited by - 1922 on 01 Jun 2010 17:35:04 |
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TurboZed
United Kingdom
94 Posts |
Posted - 31 May 2010 : 15:48:27
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Nice job mate, great shots of your work!
Regards,
Jim Gough
Looking for a fastback Rapier.... |
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argonaut
Hungary
39 Posts |
Posted - 31 May 2010 : 19:49:24
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| Impressive stuff, you've managed to get it so that the weld joint won't be visible at a first glance, very professional looking. |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jun 2010 : 17:51:54
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Yup - I don't want to alarm the MOT tester with any visible welds  |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jun 2010 : 20:46:48
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Lower link and swivel bearing carriers - ready to paint.
The lower link is a bit pitted from sitting in muddy scrap yard for many years- but it's very solid, unlike the one that came off the car!
Got to wait for the engineering shop to make the steering arms and new engine mounts before I can get any further with this part of the project. So the next step will be to find a suitable steering column; the Avenger one might fit - but it would be nice to have an adjustable column. |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2010 : 16:20:24
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Been foraging in the local breakers yards for a steering column. I've been looking for a column that's adjustable for height and for reach. This turned to be more difficult than expected, lots of modern stuff has height adjustment but not much has both. I found that Mondeo Ghia and BMWs from the late nineties do, also VW Passats (but the engine was still in the one I looked at so I could not get to the bolt to separate it from the steering rack).
During the search I discovered that a Vauxhall Omega has as a steering box (and presumably Carltons and Senators); from my brief look under the car it looks like it might be suitable as a replacement for a Rapier, but I'll let someone else try that.
I got a couple of steering columns from A1 Car Spares near Norwich.
The first is a from a 1997 BMW 528i - it was held on with a smoothed headed bolt so I had to saw through the brackets and the bolt:
It's very nicely made - lots of aluminium casting and a fancy sliding tube. Though the switchgear is a bit cheap and nasty. The aluminium could be a problem - it's not easy to weld with a MIG but it is very easy to melt
The second from a Ford Mondeo of 2000 - 2007 type:
This is rather more cheaply made with lots of unpainted steel and a rather rough finish to the column. I was shocked by amount of unpainted steel hidden behind the dash. There are some quite large tubes and brackets under there all steel, unpainted and covered in rust. It's very different to the BMW (or a Rapier for that matter!). Unfortunately the key could not be found for the steering lock - so I'll need to drill the lock out.
The Mondeo column has it's steering wheel and I found a BMW 3 series wheel that fits the 528 column (sort of). Both wheels will look odd in the Rapier - but I'll worry about that later.
It was flippin hot in the breakers yard and I've gained a few bruises getting columns out of the cars but all these bits cost only 30 quid!
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Edited by - 1922 on 05 Jun 2010 18:06:41 |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2010 : 18:00:07
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I removed the air bag gubbins from both wheels (carefully at arms length and wearing ear plugs) - the Mondeo one looks like a land mine.
There are potentially quite dangerous - anybody got any idea how to safely dispose of them (can't stick them in the rubbish!)? |
Edited by - 1922 on 05 Jun 2010 18:02:53 |
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argonaut
Hungary
39 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2010 : 21:22:34
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Interesting work, the BMW wheel you've got is an early one, it has the little airbag telltale light at the botton of the middle spoke, it might actually be worth something, it looks to be from either an E30 or E36 but I'd have to check. What makes these wheels interesting is that the complete airbag mechanism including triggers is contained within the wheel. The airbags: the Ford one is a two stage bag, the BMW one looks to be only a single stage unit. With regard to getting rid of them, try selling them on eBay but be aware it'd have to be a buyer collects sale as I think you're not allowed to send them through the post or you could probably take them to your local council waste management unit for disposal.
Or you wire them up to a battery at a safe distance and re-enact the Normandy landings :-) |
Edited by - argonaut on 06 Jun 2010 21:25:46 |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 12:41:39
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Got the new engine mounts back from http://www.hellbentkustoms.co.uk/ today.
The engine mounts:
When fitted to the Avenger crossmember they look like this:
Compare this with the original Rapier one:
These are just tacked together at the moment, I'll need to weld these to the crossmember and then finish the welding on the mounts. |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2010 : 12:57:02
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And the steering arms too (also from http://www.hellbentkustoms.co.uk/).
The idea was to make a steering arm to fit the Rapier strut to connect to the Avenger steering rack.
This is the original Rapier one,  and this is an Avenger one  .
You can see the Avenger arm puts the track rod end much lower than the Rapier, so I need a hybrid design that bolts to the Rapier strut and gets the track rod end in the same location that the Avenger one would. Hey presto!
To keep the cost down they have been made in two sections and bolted together. I'm going to weld this for extra strength eventually - once I'm sure I've got the geometry correct.
This is what they look like bolted to the Rapier strut:
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Edited by - 1922 on 05 Jul 2010 14:05:31 |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2010 : 13:04:37
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I've put the crossmember, rack and new steering arm. Here's what it looks like:
So next step is remove the old column:
They try the BMW and Mondeo columns to see what they look like. Here's the BMW one, it looks quite good (though I think that it's too low at the moment).
The BMW column protudes too far in to the engine bay, I might be able to cut down the long telescopic section to get the correct length. I'm not going to try to connect this directly to the rack, instead I'll use the short shaft from the Avenger and have two swivel joints.
This is the Mondeo wheel:
It's column's supporting frame and adjustment mechanismn is bigger and heavier the BMW one. It looks' Ok in the picture it does take up quite a lot of space.
The column is about the right length, and because it's steel it will be easy to weld to.
I also tried the Avenger wheel and column:
The wheel is quite ugly, but that could be cured with a Sunbeam Lotus wheel. This column could use the original brackets under the dash, and won't take up a lot of space. I could probably pursuade the Rapier cowling to fit on this one.
This column is too long, I'd have to cut it back and add a second joint or I could move the hole in the bulkhead and angle the column slightly. This is a solid fixed column so it would mean that the steeing wheel would be at a slight angle which might feel and look odd. This certainly looks like the easiest one to use but I won't have any wheel adjustment.
I think the favourite here is the BMW unit, if I can make it fit. It's fairly slim, lightweight and the wheel actually looks ok. I can probably cut off some of the aluminium castings to make it even smaller - especially if I don't use the steering lock.
The Avenger is second, because it should be easy and I should be able to find a period wheel that looks right.
The Mondeo unit is third because it's bulky, with all the cowling on (to cover up all the sharp edges on the adjuster mechanism) I think it's going to be too big for the Rapier. |
Edited by - 1922 on 04 Jul 2010 13:08:10 |
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bigt80
United Kingdom
1051 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2010 : 11:07:41
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So much work Derek! And that's just what you've done on the forum posts!  Keep at it & awaiting to hear what the next move is. Cheers. Glen. |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jul 2010 : 14:17:46
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After a bit of measuring it seems the BMW column is too long, the Mondeo one too short and the Avenger one only works if I remove the clutch pedal.
I thought this was going to be the easy bit - if only I had a TIG welder, a CNC lathe and a milling machine! |
Edited by - 1922 on 18 Jul 2010 10:12:15 |
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1922
United Kingdom
549 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jul 2010 : 20:41:22
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I've removed the last remnant of the old steering mechanism:
Then made a bracket to hold the BMW column frame to the mounting holes that normally hold the Rapier column. I've also cut off the broken steering lock mechanism. The rim on the steering wheel is the same distance from the dash as the original wheel. The BMW wheel is about an inch smaller diameter and chunkier.
It'll need a second bracket to steady the lower end - I'll probably make something to connect the column frame to the pedal box and maybe the existing reinforcement bracket that's behind the dash.
The BMW lower column needs shortening by 10 inches, quite a lot but I'm pretty sure this can be done - just.
I need to turn this:
Into this:
I'm going to let a specialist TIG welder do this. My MIG welder will do it, but I've not had enough practise on aluminium for something as critical as this. |
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1922's steering rack project
