7-28-2009 – Finished up welding the adapter plate and it turned out real nice. Th
ere are times I really enjoy welding, and that’s what happened today. Nice long welds that actually look good enough not to paint!
But let me back up a bit. As I mentioned before my adapter plates are made up of 8 pieces – bell housing plate, motor plate and six spacers (hexagon design). I welded the spacers to the motor plate and installed it all back in the Tracker. From there I lined everything back up and made sure the pieces were all flush with each other. When some people work with metal they talk of a few thousandths (.001) to keep everything n
ice and tight. Sometimes I am within .002-.003, but for the actual adapter plate, .015 is more than close enough. If you oversize your bolt holes a drill size (or two) you can nudge everything into place much easier than if everything is a perfect fit. I saw a friend cut his $800.00 adapter place to make it fit his Fiero. I used a scribe to mark all six sides of the plate on the bell hosing and took it all apart (again). Back to the welder and ahhh – such pretty welds. I came home and put it back together one more time and with a little persuasion it all slid together and turned with ease (no rubbing or grinding).
While it was all together, I started with the motor brace (mount). The existing motor mount brackets seemed too far back so it chose another point where some of the suspension was mounted. A quick trip to Lowe’s for some 1-1/2 x 3/16 flat stock and it was bending time. I first tried to us my MAPP gas torch but it was too slow, so I got out my oxy-acetylene torch. This is a system I bought back when I was building bicycle frames and has set in my shed for years. I made a bending jig (two 9” circles) and clamped the flat stock to it. Talk about easy bending! It took a few tries, but I think I have a good bracket to secure the front of the motor. I still have a few more bolts to install that require the removal of some steering components, but all-in-all, I think it will work. (Sorry that I have not included any pictures of the bands - it was a failed experiment and you will find out what I really did in the next post.)
It’s raining today, so I may have to postpone the Tracker a bit (for those new to my blog, I work outside in my driveway, so I am very weather dependent). Had a visit from a student (from Canada) who was at OSU and he made the trip to see what I was up to. Karl is working on convert a Chrysler Pacifica into a hybrid – good luck! Also, thanks to all of you out there that read my blog and have questions – my advice may not always be the best, but at least I’ll write back!
So until then…
ere are times I really enjoy welding, and that’s what happened today. Nice long welds that actually look good enough not to paint!But let me back up a bit. As I mentioned before my adapter plates are made up of 8 pieces – bell housing plate, motor plate and six spacers (hexagon design). I welded the spacers to the motor plate and installed it all back in the Tracker. From there I lined everything back up and made sure the pieces were all flush with each other. When some people work with metal they talk of a few thousandths (.001) to keep everything n
ice and tight. Sometimes I am within .002-.003, but for the actual adapter plate, .015 is more than close enough. If you oversize your bolt holes a drill size (or two) you can nudge everything into place much easier than if everything is a perfect fit. I saw a friend cut his $800.00 adapter place to make it fit his Fiero. I used a scribe to mark all six sides of the plate on the bell hosing and took it all apart (again). Back to the welder and ahhh – such pretty welds. I came home and put it back together one more time and with a little persuasion it all slid together and turned with ease (no rubbing or grinding).While it was all together, I started with the motor brace (mount). The existing motor mount brackets seemed too far back so it chose another point where some of the suspension was mounted. A quick trip to Lowe’s for some 1-1/2 x 3/16 flat stock and it was bending time. I first tried to us my MAPP gas torch but it was too slow, so I got out my oxy-acetylene torch. This is a system I bought back when I was building bicycle frames and has set in my shed for years. I made a bending jig (two 9” circles) and clamped the flat stock to it. Talk about easy bending! It took a few tries, but I think I have a good bracket to secure the front of the motor. I still have a few more bolts to install that require the removal of some steering components, but all-in-all, I think it will work. (Sorry that I have not included any pictures of the bands - it was a failed experiment and you will find out what I really did in the next post.)
It’s raining today, so I may have to postpone the Tracker a bit (for those new to my blog, I work outside in my driveway, so I am very weather dependent). Had a visit from a student (from Canada) who was at OSU and he made the trip to see what I was up to. Karl is working on convert a Chrysler Pacifica into a hybrid – good luck! Also, thanks to all of you out there that read my blog and have questions – my advice may not always be the best, but at least I’ll write back!
So until then…
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