Updated pictures of sub frame connectors

That's exactly what I was thinking. Looks like he could use some more heat and some anti spatter spray on those welds. I don't understand the guys thinking when he came up with that rear hoop... If I did work like that on a job, my boss would probably cut it up and throw it in the scrap bin. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I'm not going to BS you either since I do similar fabrication everyday.

I guess it will work, but I would definately verify the driveshaft won't hit that hoop with the rear suspension unloaded. Good luck and post some pics when you get the car done!

 

do you have any pictures of barbara eden with the car? she makes me feel all warm funny inside.:bananaman i have the first season on dvd. sorry to get of topic.

 

A '71 Comet GT weighs quite a bit more than "2,333lbs".

And yeah, Barbara Eden rules (back in the day)!...

 

must have alot fiberglass , striped interior , and then MAYBE 2300 w/ out you in it

 

What's the matter? No real welders or chassis guys in your area? I don't mean to play the "East German Judge" here but those are the ugliest things I've ever seen. I've got a nine year old who can do better work than that.

 

Look again....the "loop" isn't even centered on the driveshaft path.

 

You people are rude-good bye!

james comet

 

It was not my intent to be rude. That was a professional opinion. If you like it....fine. I'm simply saying that I would not accept that type of work on my car. Here's how the world works............you post pictures of something then you are going to get opinions. Some good, some bad. Ever hear the phrase, "You have to take the good with the bad?" Same thing applies here. Some people like it as do you. Some are not comfortable with it.....like me. I've grown up around race cars. Real-live vicious race cars. I know what works and what is a hack job. I'm sorry to say that that work done on your car looks, to me anyway, like a hack job.

But like I said.....if you like it then that's all that counts.

 

ShadowMaster,
A professional doesn't publicly berate the work of another. If you have something better then show it but it is far too easy to sit back and talk down the work that someone else is doing when you are doing nothing.
Ultimately the only two things that matter are both subjective and in the hands of the owner of the car the work is being done on. If the own likes it and believes it will do the job it is supposed to do then it is fine. You don't have to have that work done on your car and you have no right to tell the owner what he has is less than he should settle for. What you did was rude. As an adult you should apologize for your words - whether you believe what you said or not you were just cutting down another's work and another's car. A professional would offer constructive suggestions.

 

Yes, stating one's opinion and telling the truth is not "politically correct", and will get you called an "a-hole". It takes balls to speak the truth and risk being unpopular with the masses. Sorry, but those "frame connectors", or whatever you wanna call them, are a hack-job, and are quite pointless on a car like that. Some people are far too hypersensitive to handle the truth...

 

I didn't want to say anything before, because this seems like a "proof of concept type" type thing, but if this is the finished configuration, then something needs to be said for safety sake.

Ok, here's some constructive criticism.

All of the overhanging material does not add strength or stiffness to the structure. It should be cut/ground off to at least make it look neat and tidy. The welds need to be ground down as well, to check for cracks and voids and penetration if nothing else. Also, it's very easy to clean up spatter rather than just paint over it. The cross braces add just about zero rigidity to the car as well. Here's why... Let's say the Y axis is up and down compared to the earth, the Z axis is front and back, and the X axis is side to side. Now, the cross braces and gussets add strength to the X,Z plane and will resist a moment (torque) about the Y axis. The engine on the other hand applies a moment about the Z axis. Secondly, the 4 bolts holding it up are not enough to add significant joint sitffness. Even if you do weld it on, there's not enough surface area at the joints to keep the car from tearing the weld out of the frame. This is because you have a relaively stiff steel frame connect to a relatively un-stiff 30 year old sheet metal unit-body. The max stresses are going to be in the weld joints. To make this more effective, the whole connector assembly needs to be much more narrow. The front to back pieces should be in line with the frame on the car. Then you can brace it up side to side if you like. The rocker panels on the stock unit-body and the roof are the load carrying members. To effectively increase the stiffness of the chassis, you can add cross braces that tie the frame connectors to the rocker panels. These are often called outriggers. To effectively resist the twisting effect of the engine along the Z axis, you need to add material to the X,Y plane, such as a roll bar or a 6 point cage.

Subframe conncectors add stiffness to the lower portion of the car and resist twisting along the X axis very well and along the Z axis to an extent. The roof will still car a significant amount of load though. Stiffening one area will also transfer stress to the next weakest area, which is the roof. Since most subframe connectors also have a positive H/W aspect ratio they will resist twisting from the engine fairly well, but the welds must be done parallel to the Z axis so the connector carries the load rather than the weld. Subframe connector are not the end all to fixing a weak chassis. They are an integral part, but for the power level you're talking about I would seriously suggest the addition of a roll bar at a minimum to keep the car from twisting up and walking all over the road. Especially with the stock front end goemetry.

 

I will play in the middle here. I noticed the Welds looked crappy. I didn't say anything but I wanted to. I get bashed enough:evilsmile. Could Sd used a bit more tact, probabally. His Knowledge is a welcomed asset reagardless if he is a bit sharped tongue. There are goofy posts made by all does that contibute to the board,not really but I enjoy them nonethelesss(always wanted to use that word) SD didn't attack the poster in a personal manner. I agree he should have been more tactful though. Besides this is a 500hp car we are talking about . If the owner gets a false sense of safety he may end up hurt or worse. Some people know qaulity work,some people perform quality work, others just dream

Lance

 

True words. I've been on both sides. Sometimes the truth hurts......

 

Politically Correct. Nope, not me. And yes, Rick...I have been accused of being a professional A**hole before by people who didn't like what I had to say when they asked for my opinion. Comes with the territory. People want you to tell them nice things about their project but say one single deragatory thing and...........

Political Correctness will destroy this country and is already at work doing so. It is simply another form of censorship. I could have given the same technical analysis given a few posts up but why? It would have done no good. This man is in his sixties and firmly believes in the "chassis guy".

PaulS,
I will not apologize for my comments. Period. This man is being ripped off by someone and needs to know about it. It is a shame that such work goes out into the world labeled as "professional chassis work."

Rick,
Want me gone? Fine. See ya.

And by the way....my nine year old DOES do better work than that.

 

Rude or not, lets remember what the original post said!