Trailing arm progress

[Brutus]

Well here're the two T/As as they stand so far. One has had my personal attention for a while now. Every join has been fully MIG welded and smoothed (many times) tho not quite to my satisfaction just yet.
I'll get there soon.
So far all other parts have been cleaned and grit blasted and are just waiting to be smoothed as well before powder coating them.
The diff is nearly ready after having 2 new clutches fitted as well as the new Richmond 3.7 gears. Did I mention that I'm having new billet steel yolks made up too?
I knew the originals had too much in/out movement so it was only natural to either have them renewed or replaced. Little did I know that the lateral movement was due not to natural wear and tear, but because some brain dead goose had CUT the shafts at the point where the retaining clip was fitted! Nothing there at all except lots of room where the rest of the yolk should have been. The only explanation that was offered was that perhaps at some times in its past the car had been lowered excessively where it necessitated the removal of the section of shaft from the clip back!
Any other thoughts on this?
Btw, don't worry about the parking brake cable bracket. I'll be putting it back on top of the T/A to give me a little more room for bigger wheels and tyres later on down the line. More pics to come.

 

[Brutus]

Another pic

Here's a shot from the end of the TA which might show a little better how it's coming along. You can see how I've also strengthened up the top plate just in case I get the urge to fit a 6 point link to my rear end...the car that is.
I'll achieve better progress after I've finished night shift this week and have my 7 day break. I knew there was a reason I liked nights.....I think.
Later

 

[Brutus]

Just one more before I hit the sack.

 

[69MyWay]

Brutus,

That is some awesome looking work. You have really done something nice here.

I pulled the diff out of my buddies 77. His half shaft yokes had also just worn off the outer clip and actually mushroomed out inside the diff housing requiring a very big hammer to get them out. I still can't figure out what made that happen as the car is all stock and has never been raced or really abused and has about 70,000 on the clicker. Then again my buddy is not the original owner, so who knows.

How is your son doing?

Thanks for the pics.

Chris

 

[Brutus]

at last some interest!

I was beginning to wonder if anyone was interested at all since there haven't been any replies to my pics all day. I knew you'd appreciate the amount of effort I've put into these T/As so far Chris. I've only done one side so far too. :eyerole
My son (Scott) is doing pretty good too thanks. He's home now after his surgery and is looking forward to eating solids again one day.
Well it's 10.00pm here now and I'm off to work. Last night shift at last! :z
See you tomorrow.

 

[Bullitt]

Looking Good, Brutus

Very nice job there on that trailing arm. In your second pic where it shows the sway bar mounting position, that's where mine had cracks and was dented heavily. I also had some cracks along the length of the arm which was just too much to be repaired. It's nice to see that you're having a better time of it. Glad to hear that your son is doing better. Did he have his jaw wired shut? Sounds pretty bad either way. I don't mean to pry, but what exactly happened? Wrong place at the wrong time? Working the late shift too, huh? I'm woking the second shift, myself. I wouldn't mind it as much, if it would just stop raining over here. --Bullitt

 

[Brutus]

My son's injuries

Scott was bashed when he was going to help one of his mates at a club near here one night last week.They are really just quiet ordinary kids (he's 19). His freind was being hit while on the dance floor and he stepped in to stop it, but was attacked from behind. Not only that, but while he was being helped outside they attacked him again which is where the most damage was done.
I would dearly love to meet these heros myself. As those who have already met me will surely attest....I am big enough and ugly enough to look after myself and even more so if it were a member of my family or friends.
Thanks for all your concern.

 

[Bullitt]

Man, that's not pretty. When I was in California back in '98, I went with my family. One night after going to DisneyLand, we stop into eat at IHOP across the street. We're there minding our own buiness, when three jerks walk in. They start cussing and acting rude to everyone. Even calling out to some guys girlfriend. My old man starts eyeballing them and I'm getting a bit worked up. ad They said one thing too many, so my dad and me walk over to thier table. They didn't want to listen to what we had to say. To make a long story short, I ended up knocking one guy out :crazy and my Dad sent the other one crying :cry for the cops. The third guy wanted none of it and just sat down. The medics show up and bandaged thier wounds and the police tell us we did a good job putting those punks in place. So if I ever get down to Sydney, we'll go on a little hunt for those wanna-be tough guys. I'm just roaring to go! Bing, bang, boom! :gap --Bullitt

 

[Bullitt]

The thing is, is that I think my father worried that I wasn't tough enough for several years prior. I'm not a big guy, so it's just one of those things I guess. That night he told me how proud he was of me. That though he didn't say it often, he was proud to be my Dad. Busting up punks with the old man was probably one of the better times I've ever had. Sounds weird, but it wasn't. We were wrapping our knuckles that night and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Damn you really hit that big S.O.B. hard. Son, we did real good." That was one of the best things I've ever heard. Thanks Dad. --Bullitt

 

[Nut]

Pay Backs

Bob,

Spot me a ticket and I'll drop down and help you with a little Yankee pay back. ad There is no doubt that those slime balls would take a second thought of taking you on. I have met our pal Brutus and he's no bloke to fool with. Neither am I ole pal, there wouldn't be much left of them. :gap Tell your son to hang tough. It takes a real man in any country to step in when he did.

Hooroo from the States......... Nut