[Josh]

Welll at this point it seems pretty hard..but in a few years who knows?

This is some awesome technology available now:
square steel tubes bending | CMM laser - YouTube

That. Is. Cool!!! I want one.

 

[V8-190]

Rack plate / stiffener bolted on. Now to work on the actual rack install...

 

[mxfrank]

And the purpose of the holes in the plate is?

 

[V8-190]

Well as I hit 400mph the air will need to be routed....

Just to make it a bit lighter - I would have cut out more where the rack goes if I knew where it was actually placed.

 

[DSXMachina]

You dropped a nut, upper right, first pic. Just trying to help.

 

[mxfrank]

Just to make it a bit lighter - I would have cut out more where the rack goes if I knew where it was actually placed.

I think you may have created a serious stress riser around the two mounting bolts. Not sure how much strain will be applied, but a little less hole and a little more steel would be safer.

 

[V8-190]

I think you may have created a serious stress riser around the two mounting bolts. Not sure how much strain will be applied, but a little less hole and a little more steel would be safer.

There is quite a bit of steel still left - At least an inch between each of the bigger holes. It would take a serious amount of force to crack or tear through the 1/4" steel. Taking into account how it anchors to the rear control arms, there will be very little twisting force from the rack.

Having said all that, I was also thinking about welding nuts into the underside of the cross member (above the original wider spaced mounting holes I cut into the plate).

 

[mxfrank]

Having said all that, I was also thinking about welding nuts into the underside of the cross member (above the original wider spaced mounting holes I cut into the plate).

I think that's a good idea. Being a belt and suspenders guy when it comes to steering, I'd suggest better safe than the alternative..I just have a mental picture of that plate tearing along the dotted line. Again, not sure how much stress will be on it.

 

[V8-190]

I have not got much done recently - awaiting parts to arrive for the rack install to continue...

I have a new rack, decided to go non-power for simplicity, and am awaiting new bushings and inner tie rods to move forward...hopefully this weekend.

I will be running 205's on the front and think I can get away with the manual rack..It will allow the front of the motor to be a bit lighter and simpler as well.

If I change my mind I can always change out the rack later if I can't live with it.

 

[DSXMachina]

I have not got much done recently - awaiting parts to arrive for the rack install to continue...

I have a new rack, decided to go non-power for simplicity, and am awaiting new bushings and inner tie rods to move forward...hopefully this weekend.

I will be running 205's on the front and think I can get away with the manual rack..It will allow the front of the motor to be a bit lighter and simpler as well.

If I change my mind I can always change out the rack later if I can't live with it.

Stay away from parallel parking and you'll probably do OK with Strongarm Steering.

 

[V8-190]

I put a manual mustang II rack in my Big block V8 falcon and it was better than I thought it would be to drive....not great for parallel parking but fine once the vehicle was past a stand still. hoping for the same results here...

Some of the bushings have showed up so I can start actually mounting the rack this weekend!

 

[DSXMachina]

I put a manual mustang II rack in my Big block V8 falcon and it was better than I thought it would be to drive....not great for parallel parking but fine once the vehicle was past a stand still. hoping for the same results here...

Some of the bushings have showed up so I can start actually mounting the rack this weekend!

I learned about cars with my first two, a '62 and a '64 Falcon, both 6's with three on the tree and the manual transmission with the cluster gear fuse.
When you blew out the cluster gear you knew another transmission had reached the end of its life. Fortunately it could be changed with hand tools and a floor jack in about an hour. Repeatedly.
The optional engine was the 260 and later the 289 2bbl in the Sprint...then it became the Mustang and that was the end of the Falcon. I cannot imagine a BBFord (Cleveland?) in a Falcon, would have loved to see it go.

 

[V8-190]

It was a 65 2dr sedan... it came with a straight 6 that I swapped to a FE 390.

 

[V8-190]

Started to fab up the rack mounts..these 2 mounting points will be bolted down with the ability to raise the rack if required to fine tune the bump steer.

 

[srpcao]

Can't wait to see how this build turns out!

I remember that 190e on craigs a while back, and thought it would be sweet to do swap in it.

 

[V8-190]

I am just about finished the rack plate. I welded 2 square ears onto the brackets that have 1/2" bolts going through them into the plate. I also welded on a piece of flat bar to hold both sides the right distance apart and in line with each other and beef it all up.

The idea with the bolt on ears is - if i need to raise the rack a little I can place shims under these points and use longer bolts.

I still need to weld 2 locator tabs onto each side of the plate that touch the mounting ears so that the bolts are not totally in shear. Then take it apart and paint everything and install.

 

[V8-190]

I finished test installing the rack today. Everything is painted up and bolts up nicely. Awaiting another tie-rod to proceed. I lubed the poly bushing with some lithium grease to stop them from squeaking.


I had to notch the stock cross member where the seams come together slightly to clear the rack mount brackets. I am going to re-weld this seam... just in case. Once that is done I can start to fit the motor/trans finally!

 

[V8-190]

Got a little distracted with some other projects as of late but I am back on the 190 now.

I cut out the diagonal support above the steering column exit on the firewall. I also removed the false firewall so I can strip and re-paint it. There are quite a few holes in the sheet metal of the engine compartment that I want to weld up as well so in the next few days I will do that and also box in the area that I cut out for clearance.

 

[V8-190]

The stock MB 190e rear sub frame now fits the much beefier limited slip Nissan r200v diff. Same one found in the Skyline turbo cars. Good for about 600hp stock....quite adequate. Lots of measuring and reworking to get it located exactly right.. but that is done. Just need to brace the rear plate. It is all 3mm thick steel which is thicker than the stock stuff. Due to the mounting points and axle position differences of the 2 diffs, it was necessary to move the main mounting point back about 40mm.

I went to the local pick-a-part and bought another whole rear sub frame assembly and removed the suspension - just in case I messed it up on the first try...The new mounting plate looks kind of bent in the pic with the diff, but it is dead straight. The sub frame was tacked to my welding table during the "Surgery" to keep everything aligned.

 

[Cimarron]

I cant even wrap my brain about how you do all this. How did you acquire the knowledge for this grand a scale of fabrication, modification, and engineering? Looks awesome. Cant wait to see the final product. Post vidoes when that time comes for sure:thumbsup: