mklotz70 project MEND

[mklotz70]

I'm starting to think Bob is right.......anyone got a miata laying around? :)

 

I'll throw up some pics while the vid is being created. Widening the track width by 5/8" of so on each side would certainly make things a lot easier?!!! But...I'm not running stock rims on my wife's 521 and if I want to put these on there at some point, I have to keep that in mind. About another 7 min of vid. Choices! Sometimes they're great.....other times, they can be a real pain. I love how much easier the wider setup would be, but since it's not what I really want, I'm still not sold on the idea. Another challenge that I didn't mention in the vid when I brought up having to make custom upper arms is that they would still have to be just as long. If they're any shorter, the upper ball joint runs out of range. The option there would be to limit the suspension travel....but for guys running stock height, that would be a negative thing. For the lowered guys....no big deal. Anyone doing this on a lowered truck will most likely have to flip the upper arms anyway or the ball joint will hit it's limit. But, at this point, that's a different issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

[watsonius]

You're way out of my league on this stuff Mike, but it's really great to see this thread alive again!! Brian

[mklotz70]

Some days I think I'm way out of my league too!! lol Great to see you're still here Brian :)

 

I went back to the custom upper arm again. Outside of the added work and cost, the main advantages are that I can eliminate the really thick spacer between the cross shaft and shock tower. It will also allow the shock body clearance....which should mean that I can get a simple shock extender for the top and not have to mess with the shock mount...........I hope. I may still opt to do the new shock mount anyway.......it would be a push on cost and be a bit more work on the lower arm, but I could center is between the bump stop mounts(make it vertical). The extenders are about $12 a pair. I need to buy a set and see if they will work. If I have to modify them to work, I might as well do the new lower mount.

 

I don't remember exactly what the pics cover. I took more than this, but they're still in my PB folder. Basically, I set the assembly for it's upper travel limit, then remounted the ball joint plate so that the ball joint is at it's limit. If I limit the down travel by 1/2", I can keep it from hitting the down ball joint angle limit. I think I'm going to try to fab up a slightly better mockup arm today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The video got a bit winded. I spent hours off camera thinking about different things/aspects, but I still seemed to end up spending too much time thinking on camera.

 

[mklotz70]

Most of what got done today is prep work. I need to fab a jig to copy the dimensions of the arm I frankenstiened. The pics and vids from today are basically just fabrication work on the jig. I haven't quite decided exactly how to break up the vid clips, but there's a lathe vid and a belt grinder vid that will be separated out. I think I'll separate out the pressing of the bushings too.....unless they're already cued up. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mklotz70]

[mklotz70]

Fair warning....this is 30 min of vid. There's some drilling, tapping, lathe work. Nothing new on the arm itself, just building the jig to transfer the dimensions from the first mock up arm. From there, I can build a second mock up arm with the 720 cross shaft and test it. From there, I can figure out how I want to build the final version.

 

[mklotz70]

[mklotz70]

I don't get in front of the camera very often. I couldn't get a good angle on the bevel cut, so I shot it this way. Figured if I lost a finger, I'd send the clip to AFV :)

 

[Dime Dave]

Mike,

That last video reminded me of the hours I've spent in my Dad's machine shop watching him work on small projects. The ease with which you work on the lathe only comes from years of experiance. Those that have that comfort level rarely give it a second thought, those that don't marvell at the ease in which you go about your work.

 

Sir, you are a master.

[mklotz70]

:) Thanks Dave! You're too kind!

[nis720]

I love all the R&D you put into even the small things. Great work as always.

[alabama_lowlife]

Mike, they should give you a spot on the power block. You're giving Stacy David a run for his money.

[mklotz70]

I love all the R&D you put into even the small things. Great work as always.

 

Thanks! I'm kinda surprised anyone actually watched a vid that long. :)

 

 

Mike, they should give you a spot on the power block. You're giving Stacy David a run for his money.

 

mmmm......that would be a dream job!! I love that guy's stuff! He's had some awesome shows, detailing the fabrication work involved in projects. I like those a lot better than the wrench turning shows. I like Overhaulin' and Fast 'n' Loud.....but they start out with a lot of the nuts and bolts and then move to more of the drama and people stuff. At least Stacy doesn't have the drama. I'd love to see a straight up fabrication show!!! I enjoy sharing this kind of stuff. I won't be the next Stacy or Chip, but if a young person sees a vid and realizes they can do this and they become the next Stacy or Chip........that would be awesome! I remember what it was like when I started. I'd suck up all the info I could from books and magazines.....then the internet caught on.......it's truly amazing at the kind of info you can find out there on the web!! There's a ton of great stuff if you can find it. For now...I'm just trying to help out the "Ratsun" corner of the world :)

[nis720]

Thanks! I'm kinda surprised anyone actually watched a vid that long. :)

 

I was kind of surprised too... but I've always been facinated by how things are made.. and you have cool toys

[mklotz70]

I know exactly what you mean. I love seeing how things are made. After I got the mill and lathe, I started looking at everything like....how can I make that. There's a ton of stuff being done on 5 axis machines now that I can only drool over. :)

[mklotz70]

This is from yesterday. I may not get back in the shop today...maybe tomorrow.

 

This one's only 25min :) I'm also putting up a short one showing the hole saw arbor I have. I'm starting another set of vids about tubing notching. The first one is pretty short.

 

[mklotz70]

[mklotz70]

And a few pics to see where things are at so far....without having to sift through 25 min of vid :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thisismatt]

Nice work, Mike. I have similar plans for my 521 front end and I'm envious of your facilities/tools!

[mklotz70]

Thanks. :)

Every now and then I whine about lack of space or certain tools, then I seem some of you ratsun guys doing a clutch in a gravel driveway or splicing the back half of a 510 on(Atom) with next to nothing and I remind myself to shut up :) I'm 48 and I've only had some of this stuff for the last 6-7 years. I hated going back to work at the post office, but it afforded me some extra toys :)

[Tenz]

Great work Mike. Ive learnt so much from your videos. The way you go out of your way to take us all step by step through the manufacturing process is unbelievable and so helpful, especially for guys like me. Love your choice of background songs as well (radio in the background) Cyndi Lauper "Girls just want to have fun" was a killer. Keep up the good work

[jesusno2]

Mike i'm glad you make these video's, cause now I don't feel so bad that i talk to myself for hours either, running through scenerios in my head etc lol

[mklotz70]

Great work Mike. Ive learnt so much from your videos. The way you go out of your way to take us all step by step through the manufacturing process is unbelievable and so helpful, especially for guys like me. Love your choice of background songs as well (radio in the background) Cyndi Lauper "Girls just want to have fun" was a killer. Keep up the good work

 

Anytime I watched other build vids or shows, I always wanted the nitty gritty details. Not so much to copy each detail, but I gained confidence in how I held a piece when cutting or did I really need to de-burr the hole before tapping it. It seemed most of the shows/vids, had already done all the "adjustments" before they started shooting and they'd make a comment like...."you'll have to do some clearancing and adjusting"......but they would never show the how/why/where of that stuff. I always found myself wanting to see that part.....or at least have them tell me why they did it so I could use the info and apply the reasoning on my project.

 

lol....glad you like the song. I get what I get with the radio. I recorded one with "I Like Big Butts" in the background, but it may have gotten cut. Out of 10 vids, I typically have to restart about 2-3 of them because I didn't have everything ready.

 

Mike i'm glad you make these video's, cause now I don't feel so bad that i talk to myself for hours either, running through scenerios in my head etc lol

 

LOL.....and you're not seeing but a fraction of it!!! I shot 25 min of vid......I spent closer to 2 hrs looking at it and thinking about it before that ever happened. I just think slow. :)

[jesusno2]

Oh i know sometime i just stare and stuff for an hour. Especially when i get some of those WTF blueprints at work.