i got tired of looking at pictures of cal trac bars and thinking "i can make that," so i got up off my lazy duff and made my own, improved design(of course it helps that i have access to every and any tool i could possibly ever want).

not only is there no wheel hop under any circumstance, but overal ride quality has improved. no longer is the truck skiterish on bumpy, crappy roads or highways.

here's the pics:
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_14_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_15_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_16_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_18_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_19_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_20_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_21_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_23_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?migration=1&image=http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/387000-387999/387560_24_full.jpg

hope you like, i know they sure beat the pants off the james duff bars i've had on for months.

matt

specs? dimensions? parts?

nice man looks good

1/4" plate steel
1/4" angle iron
ground and polished steel rods(1"dia, 30"long, drilled and tapped for rh& lh thread 1/2"-20)
grade 8 hardware, bronze sleves(probably will upgrade to steel)
1/2"-20 threaded heim joints (2 lh, 2 rh thread)
and a LOT of torching, milling, and welding!

the rear brackets mount under the stock perches and extend about 10" down. the front was originally suppose to mount like the caltracs but i changed my mind, welded angle iron between them and turned them into a bracket, which i then welded to the frame.

came out better than i thought my original design would.

matt

Those look awesome! If I were you I'd get one of those patent kits and sell'em.

i'd do things differently before i sold them..and i wouldn't want to make them in volume, at least not the way i made mine.

but that's for the advice, glad you like my work!

matt

what did you have to mill ?? I'm using the explorer rearend with the spring pads in the stock spot, so it's like a flip kit, My leafes are on the bottom, I've got some fab exper. I've got a mill (Needs new belts that I can't find) And a full shop, welders, torches, yada yada, I'm not sure if I'd be able to run a setup like that with my rearend setup.... I really like that and I know that I could make them as well, do you have any more pics of the bracket that mounts to the frame ?? Aside from my mill being out of comission, I'm sure that I could build something like that.... What was your total cost ? Do you know ?

those are the only pics i have right now.. we've got about a foot of snow so it's no good to try and take anymore right now either.

i torched every piece out of a big plate of 3/16" steel plate and then milled each piece down to the size i wanted, and i had to use an endmill to machine the holes for the u bolts, and for the heim joints.

i didn't have to buy any of the raw materials, i only had to buy the hardware (which still came out to about 60bucks).

if you have a flipped rear you could go with a single 1/4" thick plate and use that to replace your stock perch. then just weld two small brackets for the heim joint and make the front mount.

as you can see in the pictures, my original idea was to have them bolt up to the front leaf hangers like cal tracs, but after spending a day trying unsucessfully to get one of the bolts out, i did it an easier way for myself haha..just weld on more material and weld it to the frame.

if i were to do it again i would buy 3/4 heim joints with 2 nuts per joint. reason being i would use black iron pipe from home deput for the actual bars and weld one of the nuts on each end and just therad them in that way instead of drilling and tapping the rods. they are quite heavy and the black iron pipe is plenty strong and much lighter.

check local machine shops, i bet you can get plates about the size you need for relatively cheap..also check ebay, i am.

matt

dont mine if i use your work to make my own do you or of you plan to sell it let me know
tell me if you had it 8 in onthe axle whould it make any dif in the ride i was just wondering why 10"

sure you can use my idea, i don't mind at all.

you could have them hang down 8inches instead of 10 sure.. i doubt it will make much of a difference at all.

matt

to be honest i see what you did and i understand how to make it but i dont under stand how it works

what it does is put an apposing force on the the rear end.

everytime you step on the gas the rear goes from negative pinion angle to 0degrees or higher. when you really get on the gas the rear will actually pop up into positive pinion angle, which only causes the rear to try and twist, and lift the passenger tire.

that's why you hop.

by putting an apposing force on the rear like shown you prevent the rear from twising up, which keeps it from hopping.

my next plan is to reflip the rear leaf hangers to bring the pinion angle back down so when i really get on it it can't go any further than 0 degrees.

matt

So the bars let the wheel travel like normal but when the sprig raps the bar holds it at the set firmness so to say
If I were to shorten the length of the bar or the angle the affect of the wheel hop would be worse b/c of the fulcrum point
The way you have it would make it better b/c of the length and it works less to get more done. Something like pulleys, if you can understand what I am saying.
But I understand now.

absolutely. the actual length of the bar really doesn't matter that much. originally i was only going to have it go to the front leaf hanger, but once i changed my mind i needed to make it long enough to move it out of the way so i could weld it to the frame.

a long bar or a short bar should do the same thing. you just want to prevent axle wrap. the overall ride is not compromised, actually it's become better because it also doesn't allow the rear to bounce like it use to on bump roads.

matt

sweeet deal

What did you use to tap the bars for the bolts going into it?
And on the front end of the setup the triangle shaped steel you have there, the one on the inside of the truck is welded in and then there is a angle iron then the outer triangle that is welded to it. How is it setup I can’t tell from the pics you have I wanted to be sure? Is there any other way I could do it I am just not sure about the strength of the way it is but then again it still looks solid. The angle iron sets the gap and the correct off set from the frame to line up with the bracket on the axle right? Let me know I am getting the measurements now so I can make the plate for the axles and I will pick up the bars and other parts when get a chance to go to lowes.

i drilled the bars on a lathe and then used a 1/2" tap that i bought from MSC.

the front brackets are extremely strong. in between both triangles is a piece of 90degree steel just like you see on top and on the side of the braket. once everything is all welded together good luck trying to break it.

the piece welded to the side rests up against the bottom of the frame and was welded, and the top piece you could either do like i did, or you could turn it sideways if you want, i doubt it matters either way.

i doubt you'll find the needed materials at lowes..if they carry materials that thick, i sure as heck don't know about it.
see if they have steel tubing before you go with black iron pipe.

i got all of the bolts from NAPA, and the heim joints you can pick up either on ebay, or from MSC.

matt

what about using a larger steel pipe (1/2 - 3/4) not a rod would that work. Or should i use the rod

i recommend trying to find a steel pipe(tubing) because it will be lighter.

i used a 1" diameter steel rod and it weights a bit..i'd recommend at LEAST a 1" steel tube or bigger.

a solid rod will of course be stronger, but i don't think it needs to be THAT strong, and it also weights a lot.

matt

yea that was that i was thinking i am going to try cuting the plates thursday

Well instead of using a solid steel tube or a hollow tube w/thick wall I decided to use a 2X2 square tube.
So here is the scoop what is stronger than a solid steel rod
A square tube 2X2 the rod has a solid center of course this allows the rod to bend not flex so this is really no good a hollow tube is better b/c the forces counter act one another and cancel out therefore stay striate. So it get it even stronger I am using 2X2 tubing with the same thing you did but with out the sleeves I will just bolt it on so I will have to get the measurements done right the first time.
i sould have them buildlt by the end of the mounth

yeah you CAN do it that way, but box tubing is not as strong as round stock..

on you're truck will you notice a difference? probably not.

but there's a reason why race cars use 'tubular' frames and 'tubular' 4links, a-arms and such..much stronger.

but you absolutely could do it that way, but you're right, it will not be adjustable so make sure you make it long enough to add a bit of preload.

matt

Grab some chromemoly tubing if you want it to be the strongest.

Originally posted by ZeroIdea
Grab some chromemoly tubing if you want it to be the strongest.

agreed, but too expensive and not necessary.

matt