Australian "Cooroibah" Build update 19th dec 2009

[irondance2003]

..................Cooroibah ?.................
It's where I live in Queensland.
This build started as a drawing when my Morris Minor ute decided that my 5ft TD (the 2nd build was too heavy to tow)
The drawing


EDIT December 5th 2009 this is not what I ended up building go to page 4 of this build post to see.
Now as I have a very comfortable 5ft'er if I was going to build another,I was to also get seperated from my other half (she keeps the 5ft ).
Anyway so I put the word out that I will build if someone else pays lets me use it to go to a Hot Rod Show and then it's there baby.
Kel said he wanted 1 and so here we are, Kel is part of the design team as it is his TD, all work is run past him.The reason I wanted to build 1 was to post out there how I did it with every little step so when someone see a TD and wants to build there own they just may use this build text as some form of reference,I know 6 years ago when I wanted to there was not a lot (there is quite a few now so I'm adding my 2 cents worth)
Today is the 10th September 2009 and I have been uploading to my web page for two weeks, every day every photo and at the same time I am writing an ebook so please take what I have done as it was intended .
Here Is How I Do It "READ" Then If It's You (a TD life) Go Do Yours.
THE BOOK with all it's bumps and changes.
"How I build a TD/camper /trailer For and by DUMMIES"
First off there was the drawing above then some searching on the web for 2 things
First was here.

http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/teardrop/tear00.htm
You could get lost in this site for years, I am useing 2 from this page the first is Drawing Ellipses, 2 row down 1st on right the other is the 1 above
[/url]http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/teardrop/tear03.htm[url]
the 7th one down is the Australian Sportsman (stretched) if you open this Pdf file it is what I am useing (and changing it as well)
Due to the other builds I know what I should need for this build.
Floor- 1 sheet of ply 8ft x 4 ft (2400mm x 1200mm) x 1/2in (12mm)
Sides 2 sheets of marine ply same as above size wise
Yep it's a woody.
2 sheets of marine ply same again except they are 3/8th or (6mm) about that depending where you live.
Steel... 2lengths of 3in x 1in (75 x 25mm) mid strength x 11ft6in (3.5m)
5 x 1in x 1in mid strenght (25 x 25 x 2.2mm)
That is enough to build a box (with shape).
Now this would be nowhere near enough if you live anywhere that gets under 20deg C while you camp.
I don't and so I can get away with a lightweight like this.
If you want to go and play in the snow look for all the extras that will be needed (insulation ,double walls and a heater) Burrrrrrrrrr not this Duck.
Boys over here recon you can build a TD in 120 hours, I did my first 120hrs just looking at other TD's and the next went on mucking about and the next bleed into about 300 building. The second took 1 year with two broken shoulders.
So this is to stop you from doing what I did gave up for weeks had setbacks that costed more materials and also half rebuilt that and the other and most of all giving up.

This is my way of doing it and it is changeable, You do with this whatever you want, use some of it or all of it or just read for the fun of it.
START clean floor ......I painted mine so I can see what it is I am doing and the photos are clearer.
Put all the sheets away except the sheet that is to be your floor, this sheet you run lengthways down your space and lay it in the middle.
Then with a pencil run a line all the way around the sheet and at the ends find and mark the center.

yes that is the ute in the background.
Now take 1 of your chassis lengths (pick up one end and look along it (is it straight?) if so put one end on the center mark at the far end and lay it down to the other mark at the center of the other end with the excess length all at one end (this is your straight edge so run a pencil line through the centre marks and out to the end of the rail.

Put that away, get your partner and a blanket, put the blanket on the drawing (plan) and both lay on it IS IT BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU BOTH? if not then you may need to build a 5ft wide TD I will explain the difference at the end of the build on the chassis section.
OK next post The Chassis

[irondance2003]

Continue..........2
So if you have your size and it is 5 ft than you have to wait till the end of the chassis build posts.NO YOU DON'T
get 2 floor sheets and cut them at 5ft long lay them together on the floor so you have 5ft x 8ft run the pencil around the whole lot and just when you order your rails add 2ft (600mm) to the length and on the 5 "x"members order them 1ft (300mm) longer every thing will be the same just wider.

My first build build was 4ft (1200mm) and it worked quite well untill we both got a bit older and wider so I made the 5 footer this is a 4 footer as I go on my own now.
OK on the line that runs off the plan you have drawn we need to mark some points.

the left hand arrow is where the line hits the plan and the right is 4ft (1200mm) this is the pulling end of the chassis (front of TD) Most of all of that was to see if you wanted a 4 footer or 5 footer.
So we leave that now and go on to the shape.
A CHANGE
As I wanted to get the weight of this build down as low as possible My sides are thin ply with a thicker ply outer sheet that will be cut to look like the frame in the drawing at the start (I hope)
So allready my Shopping list is different. I now need
4 sheets of the 1/3in (6mm) marine ply and another 2 sheets of the floor sheet.
Takong the 4 thiner sheets I picked out was the better grain of them on the face side and as they were made all at the same time mine "Book Matched" in other words they look almost the same


so the grain will look the same on either side of the TD or close.
Put the 2 good sides together ,Making sure that the (in mine ) eyes in the grain face each other.
Lay them down on a support or table and square all the sides up and then screw each corner together.

Now my body shape will start as the basic 'Australian Sportsman (stretched) so I downloaded the PDF file and I now have the points to work out the ellipses.
You need some string a pencil,fine nails and a ruler or tape and not to big of a hammer.
First off you need the points of the leading curve at the Top these are easy to find using the PDF.

But is your sheet the same size as the drawing in the PDF?
mine was slightly bigger and i had to ajust the distance between the points to allow for this 1/2in (12mm) longer.
what we want is the string to meet both edges of the ply sheet so you may also have to ajust your string a bit as well.
Ok these points are for the 84 in string in the PDF and are easy to measure out, I put the fine nails through the both sheets and into the bench (for extra strength) and at that size the holes made by the nails will be easy to putty over.

I also added a 3rd nail down in the waste at the bottom front.
The reason for this nail was to aid the getting of the correct string length.
What you do is tie a small loop in the end of the strind and place it over the far nail (back) with the string in one hand and a tape in the other with the end of the tape on the far nail walk away from this nail untill your string measures 84in, at this point drop the tape and tie a knot in the string this way if you drop the string you still have your measurement marked, now hold the string knot against the front nail and wrap it around the nail 3 or 4 times and holding it there run the string down to the third nail and wrap it around this one 8 or so times (making sure you cover some of the first wraps with later ones) .
This means that if you have to ajust the string you don't have to untie knots.

Now when you are happy with the string and it meets the front edge and the top edge you run the pencil under the string and draw your first ellipse (curve) and here is a great way to hold the pencil ( I find)

put the string between your finger nail and and finger and hold the pencil at the same time , get a good position that is easy to reach all of the curve and keeping the string tight run your line.
The points on the 108in string are easy as well just remem ber that you need to remove the first 2 nails so it will work and the 3rd nail is still in a good spot.
When you are happy with the curves you will need a JIG SAW with a nice new blade and then VERY VERY slowly cut off the two top waste sections holding the 2 sheets together as you cut. Get over the top of the saw so you can see where the blade is and try and leave the pencil line or at least 1/2 of it.

Another pointer before you get to a thin section at the end of the cut, run off the edge so that the large section you are cutting off will not break off taking some good stuff with it (it is easy to remove the small section you missed later)Now grab some medium Glasspaper and sand off the edges , you will not belive how much a splinter from ply can sting for hours.

Now we have the shape of the top of the TD.


Photos make it look like a 1/2 moon but there is shape there.
Now find the radius of the back curve and using a string or compass, make it out and then cut it out now put some clamps on the shape as you have removed 3 of the screws with the waste and it may move while cutting the front out.
OK I am changing the front bottom curve ( you may be happy with it ) as this point curves back a fair way it will make the floor shorter and therefore will mean less bed space or kitchen space and as I will be dropping my walls over the chassis by 4in (100mm) I will get even more space as the floor moves up into the belly of the curves.
So I created this curve the old fashion way with a ruler a pencil and a straight edge ther is a name for this style and I will remember it.
This method worked well for me as the centre of the front curve was 21in (533mm) up and if I go 7in (178mm) back.
(I HATE THIS CONVERSION ALL THE TIME SO BEAR WITH ME FOR THIS AS IT IS EASY IN INCHES)
Mark off all the inch points on the bottom edge 7 in total and then mark every 3rd up the front, then draw a straight line from 7 to the first 3 mark or 7-1 then 6 to 2, 5 to 3,4 to 4, 3 to 5, 2 to 6, 1 to 7

This will give you the curve in straight lines run a pencil around it and cut.
IF you are unsure run another pencil line between all the others and you get a better picture of where to cut.
THE SHAPE

Because I am dropping my sides over the chassis I mark at each end at the bottom up 4in ( 100mm)

This is to see where my chassis will sit and the length of it at this point.
NOW what i did was to give the two better sides a wet coat of clear and what I mean by clear is 1 part Varnish and 2 parts of the proper thinner for the product not petrol(gas) or something you have laying about the shed (6 years old).
I want the first coat on this raw ply to soak in almost to the glue so pile it on and walk away (BIG BRUSH AND LOTS OF VARNISH BREW) leave it flat and go away for a day or so then do again and walk away again.
The fumes are real deadly.

SO ENDED THIS POST next CHASSIS

[irondance2003]

This may seem all over the place but so is my MIND.
This is the 1st of a few posts on the Chassis, reason is that last night I sat here for 3 hrs writeing the post only to lose the lot so short bits from now on.

So back to the rough plan drawing on the floor. First off find the two points that were at the center line, 1 was at the plan (box) and the other is 4ft (1200mm) along it.

This point on the right (in photo) is where the tow hitch will sit.

You will notice that the section with the ball houseing is well past the end of the line.

but not that far that the bolt will miss the rails.
So now lay the hitch down on the center line and draw in the 2 bolt holes, ( I went and got a hitch with only 2 holes to make it simple to show here if you get 1 with 3 holes than you will need to drill into the chassis rails to mount it)
Then draw in the 1in (25mm) chassis rails down either side of the holes to the length of the hitch.

Now on the plan (box) drawing we need to draw a line 1in (25mm) inside the side lines this is where the chassis will sit (the plan is 4ft (1200mm) wide and so is the roof sheet so if the chassis went to the plan line than the roof sheet would not cover and the bit extra on either side is an overlap to allow for blunders and to make sure we get good cover by the roof)

Now there is another measurement you will need to mark .
This is 1/2in (12mm) towards the hitch at the end of the plan where the rail will be.

This is for the bend in your rails to form the A frame at the front, now at the hitch you do the same (at the back of the hitch ,1/2in (12mm) ,
Now draw some lines that will be the chassis rails, working from where 1 bend is to the other so you get this.

TAKE YOUR TIME and check you are at the right points and your rails (drawn) run from 1in (25mm) inside the plan to the points behind the hitch.
RIGHT? OK you now have the Chassis Rails Plan.
2 long lengths with 2 bends in each.

Grab 1 of your rails and lay it on the rail plan and mark where your first bend is to be ( Iuse welders chalk so the heat will not destroy the lines on the steel. Run the line all the way around so you can see what you will be doing.The square is for this mark and the bevel will give you your angle to check as you make the bend, so set the bevel very slowly and then check it (funny thing here it was the same bevel set for all my bends ) but don't on yours being the same so set it for each although the hitch 2 will be the same and so will the other bends if not than your rail plan is out CHECK.
So ends this post See ya soon.

[Dark Horse]

Great start, I'm looking forward to see how it progress'.

Any chance of a few pics of the Morris?

[PaulC]

Back into it again Tony. It would be nice to see it at the Australian Gathering next Easter, if your not to busy, that is.

Cheers
Paul

[Miriam C.]

Great detail on the instructions. Love it!

[irondance2003]

HEAT AND LOTS OF IT
OK I have my lines for the first bend, so now you need a lot of heat in the form of an OXY set (that's a Gas Axe- or A bottle of combustable gas and some Oxygen)
And we need gravity, As these rails are so heavy if you apply heat in the right spot gravity will do the bending for you and you can work all by yourself.
First I mounted the rail on my bench and clamped the small hitch section.
The other end was set on a stepladder untill I was ready to apply the heat.
My bench is a small thing set on a bearing so it turns , So I had to put the other rail in the oposit direction to balance it all.

Now apply the heat to both sides and all the way under the rail NONE ON TOP
make sure that the sides are almost white hot and just keep running the heat under the rail after a short time the rail will begin to sag down and if you remove the ladder and keep on the heat the section under the rail will begin to bulge but before you get to far the other end of the rail will hit the ground.(NOTE the sides need to be kept very hot at all times)
you should get about 1/2 your bend by the time it hits the ground , That's OK.
Let it cool then lay it on your chassis plan

It's not the full bend but it allows you to mark and scribe the second bend.
Now the second bend is in the other direction to the first so if you remount the first bend on the bench with the far end in the roof you can get the full bend on the 2nd fold, Same again lots of heat under and at the sides NONE ON TOP.

Slowly bring it down and when it meets the angle of the bevel STOP Pour some water on it cool it down a bit and it will stop bending.
Now turn it over again and remount and with a bit of heat you will get the hitch end to bend into place.

Keep an eye on the bevel and when ready cool again (Hint the rail will be level with the ground )
Lay it on your plan.

That is one rail done.
READY now do the other one JUST remember it goes the other way round (the bends that is)(OPPOSITE the first)

WARNING ###Steel will keep it's heat for some time and what looks cool will burn you very quickly, My 30 year old son still bears the scars of the only time he helped me in the workshop at 14.
SO hover your hand over anything you want to pick up for a second or 2 and if there is latent heat you will feel it and this goes for those clamps and the bench as well.
OK here is why yo came out 1/2in (12mm) from the plan when you drew up the chassis rail plan.

The bend takes up space.
Now if you take a close look at that you will notice that it sits on the plan and not out the 1/2in (12mm) Yes I made the mistake myself and 1 of the rails was out , so I had to straighten it and rebend , Takes a bit of time but just reheat the bend with the bulge up and all will go back into line and you can cool it right off and rebend. (in the right place )
This is what it look's like when just that little bit out.

1/2in (12mm) at the TD plan put over 1in (25mm) on the hitch end.
YOU will most likely be a few degrees out over the whole chassis plan when you lay your rails out DON'T PANIC keep going and you will see this is OK
Now at each bend the sides of the rails will bump up a bit so just heat them red hot and smack them with a hammer, that way every thing looks neat and they are not in the way.


Next we are going to fix in the hitch and the "x" members.
See ya soon

[irondance2003]

Now before I go any further I need to explain how I came to the measurement that I am useing in the "x" members.
My roof sheet is a 1/4in (4mm) thick sheet of plywood that is 8ft (2200mm) long and 4ft (1220mm) wide, the width is the main thing as this sheet is to cover the outer frame and my ply sheet walls.
Now I want the walls of the TD to go over the outside of the chassis and drop down some 4in (100mm) to lower the look of the TD.
Also I want a bit 1/4in (6mm) overhang as well on both sides where the roof meets the walls.
So the chassis rails need to be 4ft (1220mm) apart less the wall thickness x 2 sides -less the small overhang !/4in (6mm) you may have a different size wall so take this into account and work out you own measurement.


Working out mine, the chassis rails are to be 44 1/4in (1125mm) apart.
So I take the 5 Xmembers and I cut them all to this length ,than make sure they are all the same SPOT ON (no a bit longer or shorter they must be the same).
Now with a single tack weld place the first Xmember just at the start of the bend on the chassis rails that is closest to the TD plan on floor then run a tape to the rear of the chassis rails and check they are the same length to the Xmember, if not a tack weld is easy to break and retack if needed.
If you have equal lengths- then go to the far end of the rails and measure in 1/4in (6mm) and tack in another Xmember .
The reason that we have this setback is that it is very easy to weld the Xmember into the side of the rail than it is to weld on the very end.
Now check the dieangle of the rectangle that you have just made run a tape from one back of rail to the opposite front Xmember =y so on the other side do this again and =y, if not the longer measurement needs to be pushed towards it's opposite corner and remeasure when it is THE SAME weld in the front Xmember (what you can see the top and both sides at either end) REMEASURE if still the same =y then weld in the rear Xmember REMEASURE =y
(the underside of the Xmembers will be welded later when we turn it all over.
Now here (Australia) we have a square washer with a 1/2in (12mm) hole in the middle it is 2in x 2in (50mm x 50mm) and about 1/8in (2.5mm) thick, I use these quite a lot as they are very handy for a number of reasons in metal work as you will find out.
here I am going to use them for braceing the 4 corners of the rectangle.

NOTE you will have to remove some of the corner of these washers where they meet the weld in the corner or they will not fit well.
Next you take the other 3 Xmembers and the 1st is placed between the rails 1/2 way between the front and back Xmembers and the other 2 are placed in the center of what is left.
THEY WILL FIT YOU CUT THEM TOO SO DONT CUT OR ADD TO THEM, MAKE THE RAILS MOVE FOR THEM.

If it looks like this (you have the hang of it ) Note the washers are at this point only in the 4 corners.
Enougth for tonight see ya next post.

[irondance2003]

Now we work on the Tow Hitch end of things.
You need to bring the 2 chassis rails together where the hitch will sit, Now in my case there was a bit of a difference this was caused by 1 bend not quite the same as the other.
So I just applied a clamp and gave it some will power, (this may not work and you may need to apply heat to the offending bend to get it where it should be)
Just remember that the 2 bolts that hold the Tow Hitch have to fit between the rails.
In the photo below you can see that the rail on the left has to come back and to the right to match the right one.

don't worry about that washer I was thinking as I took the photo, (and I can't do 2 things a the same time and have them both work out well).
When they match up (with the bolts in between) you need a section of flat steel.
This section is 3in wide x 1/8in thick x 6in long (75mm x 2.5mm x 150mm)
Place it between the rails at the back of the tow hitch section then weld it up the inside of both rails, now fold it over at the top of the rails towards the front with a big hammer now you need to trim this section in 3 places .
The 1st 2 cuts are along the top of the rails so you have room to weld it and the 3rd cut is across the length at a point that is before the end of the tow hitch where it will sit, note you are going to have a weld here and you will need to trim enough to allow for the weld.

and from above,

now fully weld in place.
OK now we need to lift the whole frame off the ground onto (boxes or saw horses) and TURN IT UPSIDE DOWN this is easy with help and if there is none just lift the rear onto your boxes and then spin it on the tow hitch end put back on the mount and lift the front up onto something as well.


Now we are going to work on the Hitch.
The bolt was between the rails for a reason in my case as you can see they wanted to meet and I needed a steel wedge to force them apart so I could move the bolt.
Now in the next few photos I will put the hitch together with all the bolts and get it into place, You will see that I have used 4 of the square washers next to the rails, When all was right I tack welded the washers to the rails then checked it all and fully welded the washers in place (this will now allow you to remove the hitch if ever needed.
The Wedge

Just remember you are upside down.



So remove the hitch and weld everything that was missed when the chassis was up the other way (all the Xmembers as well.
At this point I added some of the square washers going in an vertical way at the front, middle and the rear Xmembers (you will need to cut off a section of 1 corner of these washers so they fit over the welds you just did.


You can see a cut washer on the left ready to go in.
OK turn back over right way up weld in the hitch washers.
Last step at this point is to go over all your welds where the Xmembers meet the rails with an angle grinder and flatten them.

then clean all the welds with a wire brush and paint them all with primer.

Thats it for now Back soon.

[irondance2003]

The chassis build is going on the back burner for a bit.
It takes longer to do the web stuff than the build , so I am a fair way along and I like the look of the walls.
I did a drawing along the look of the first post and as it is a file I don't know how to get it here so I will show you what the drawing looks like in the construction.
Well I should say Destruction of 2 sheets of 1/2in (12mm) ply.
So lets start.
First off the 4in (100mm) drop over the chassis was still looking too tall.

So I dropped it down to 7in (178mm) and then put the guard on

It is amazing how much just 3in (150mm) changes the look.
Now the walls of this build are 1/2in (12mm) ply and as a backing a sheet of 1/4in (4mm) ply.
The outer 1/2in (12mm) sheet is to be cut to look like the frame on the outside, So here it is.





that is the door side and the next is the window side.
Note to save effort I never took the chassis outside and shot it the right way round I just put it on back to front and shot.
So if you want to know what it should look like get a mirror and hold it up to the screen and look Da Vinci style.

I will tell the truth here these sides were cut from 3/8th in (9mm) construction ply (better to get it wrong on these than the 1/2in (12mm) ply and the thicker can be carved a bit as well.

[irondance2003]

The Floor was just 1 sheet of 1/2in (12mm) construction ply.
8ft x 4ft (2240mm x 1220mm).
And as I have lowered the body there is a bonus!!!! I get more floor space as the floor is now located further up into the body of the TD.
So laying it on the chassis with one of the walls in place I only had to remove 4in (100mm) from 1 end and a strip 2in (50mm) down one side.
NOTE.. the cuts at the end of the floor sheet are NOT square they are at an angle with the same shape as the wall of the TD as it curves up (the reason is that the roof comes down to these cuts and will be fixed to the floor.
Picture here in an edit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Taking the better side of the sheet as the inside floor,I turned it over and gave it a good coat of sealer primer (blue cause I painted the house blue and coloured the primer)

The next day I coated it with Tank seal (TAR)

and while it was still damp I turned it over and mounted it on the chassis and tek screwed it into place.

"Hey" you say where did the wheel holder come from?
That is a later posting I still have to post the axle and springs yet.

[High Desert]

now that's a proper build journal. Nice!

[bve]

now that's a proper build journal. Nice!

For sure, great detail.


Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[irondance2003]

This build required a set of Jelly Bean Mags from the 80's so I went in with 1 of the rims and ordered the Axle and spring kit (hangers and all the stuff), "yep no problem".
So I waited a week for the order and when it arrived and I got it all home it was wrong. The studs in the Hubs were 2in 9/16 (72mm) not 3in1/8th (78mm) and were for a std wheel not the Jelly's which ment the studs were 1in (25mm) too short.
The place that they were ordered was very sorry "but that is what you ordered" "NO!!!" "I brought in the rim and you seemed to have guessed"
Sorry just go out to the shed and see if there is something that fits.
Hell they had the right stuff on hand all the time, well almost had to go and get longer studs elsewhere.
OK I've had my Rant!!
My fault realy as I wanted something out of the norm, If you can and only want std rims and tyres just get them to get you the whole lot a the same time .
OH and get a spare set of wheel bearings at the same time that fit.
(reason is it may never happen but you can bet your last $ that if a bearing fails it's on a long weekend and you are miles from anywhere !! so carry a spare.
OK lets go.
The spring setup I am useing is a slipper type (Bearing mounted at the front and the rear just slips along the chassis rail) This gives a slightly lower ride height and has a lot less to go wrong (Less parts = Less to break, most likley the same weekend that the bearing fails) in the long run either setup will weigh the same so it is your choice.
Now the U shaped bracket that holds the front of the springs is mounted to the chassis rail 1/2 the spring distance ahead of the axle and where you want the wheels to be.
99% of TD's have the wheel just behind the center of the TD box not the center of the chassis. This helps with looks and gives room for a door and Makes for a better and HAPPIER TOW ( gives less tail wag and a more stable towing platform.
On this build I wanted the wheels a long way back for the look and the over sized door.
So I mounted my U in the dead center of my rectangle (let the wheels lay where they will).

OK the chassis is 1in (25mm) and the U is 2in (50mm) so I lined the inner edge with the outside of the chassis rail and useing 1 of the 2in (50mm) washers welded the U and the washer in place (see above) now do the same to the other side.
Next I mounted the spring to the U.
You may not be able to see but I also added 2 std washers to either side of the spring inside the U, it was a tight fit but now the spring cant skew sideways.


Then lay the springs along the chassis rail where they touch is where they will ride on the chassis.
Now as you can guess they would ware through the chassis rails very quickly so we put in a 1/4in (6mm) plate for the spring to ride on, Mine is 2in (50mm) wide and long enough to go at least 1in (25mm) past the end of the spring.

NOTE*** I have since been informed that the ware plate finishes at the point that is at the end of the spring (reason is that over time the spring will ware into this plate and form a ridge that may one day stop the spring from traveling further if you hit a big bump.( I have checked my 5ft TD and after 2 years only the paint is gone so far)so I bow to expert knowledge and ask you to do the same I will grind down some of the plate that is shown here .

So this plate was welded into place with the outer edge level with the outer edge of the chassis, and the second lot of U sections were welded over the slipper spring to hold in place and on the inner side I cut a washer in half and used it to strengthen up the 1in (25mm) that over hang. (see next 3 photos)



The U here is welded about the center of the flat section of the spring.
At this point turn it all over again Right way up and finish any welds you did not get to while upside down.
TIME FOR A DRINK.
NOT YOU me writing this page!!!

[irondance2003]

That's Better
.
Shorter posts means I don't bugger up and loose a long one.
AXLE
Now get the chassis up off the ground on saw horses or boxes and make sure that you have a clear run under the chassis.
This kit has 2 small square washers that go over the pin in the center of the spring and the axle sits on them and is welded to them in the long run.
Now place the axle between the chassis rail and on top of the spring, place the small washers under the axle over the pins and use some small wooden wedges to hold the axle in placethey will burn a bit when you weld the axle to the washers (not a worry).
Now you must center the axle, Run a straight edge up the back of the hubs and measure from the straight edge to the chassis rail, do the same on the other side and just keep tapping the axle untill both measurements are the same ( not almost THE SAME) and when you are sure you are right give the springs a tap with a hammer sideways ( lightly ) and remeasure now the springs should be sitting right and you can go ahead and tack the axle to the washers and then remove and weld fully.


Now we get the U bolts and soft mount the axle in place, The U bolts go over the axle and hang past the springs, either side.
The plate with the 5 holes is offered up to the U bolts with the slotted holes running fore and aft.
I also put on these spring washers and Loc nuts an extra flat washer to cover the slots (stops the spring washers falling into the slots)
Now while all this is a bit loose Stick the wheels on and run it around the shed and out into the yard it is not heavy so have some fun.
It's a good feeling ***I MADE THAT***
NOW did it run sideways? "no"
Even if it did'nt run sideways I bet it did in some way.
So back into the shed and get the back end up on something and the front we need to mount up so there is a clear path from the tow hitch to both the wheels.
Now remove the wheels.
Now get a plumb bob go to the tow hitch and hang it like this
FAIR DOWN THE MIDDLE


Now mark with a sharp pencil where the plumb bob hits the ground and then (making sure that the caps on your hubs are fully in place ) do the same on the very ends of the hubs.
Now get some help, someone that can find a point on the tape about 4in (100mm) up from the end of the tape then take a measurement from the point at the tow to each of the points at the hubs(the extra bit on the tape won't matter it is to stop the guessing about that happens on the bit on the end of the tape)
Both measurements have to be the same (not some tiny bit out) THE SAME.
Mine was 1/6in (4mm) out. "NOT MUCH" you say but at speed the TD will be going sideways trying to track with the wheels.
So we scribe a line on the washer on the longer side and then tap the axle forward 1/2 of the measurement you were out.

NOW wipe all the origional marks out and replumb all the points and measure again (you can't trust the old marks at all)
and if you are still out by any bit ,rescribe (scribe line gives you a point to see how far you have tapped the axle) retap and then replumb .
It is slow and steady and a pain BUT IT MUST BE RIGHT .

EQUAL MEASUREMENTS
You would not drive your car if the alignment was out , so why do it with the TD?
Back on with the wheels
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