need help building the front axle for my ford

it needs to be able to handle up to 70. im going for 65. and it needs to be strong because im taking it to haspin.

The ford is going to be going to haspin!?!?  It has to be really tough then.

Look up stretch and rainbowboxers builds they have the best front axle build ups in my opinion

Creepycrawler wrote:

Look up stretch and rainbowboxers builds they have the best front axle build ups in my opinion

 i did, stretch told me to post a thread and he would tell me how and post pics, that way it would be here for everyone not just me.

If You really gonna go 70mph, I would add in some Positive Caster, and some Negative Camber.

Better be 1" + thick spindles and heavy duty. Otherwise i see a bend. And very heavy duty bearings.

Really, 70mph is unreasonable, especially if you are thinking of haspin, where we run 10mph most of the time. A mower geared for 70 won't me able to climb and descend the hills slow enough.

Cost wise, your looking at least a couple hundred bucks. With steel, tie rod ends, axles, rims, pulleys, belt, and hardware.

Need a good drill press and welder, and be able to weld. Having a weld break at 40 mph, much less 70 mph, on a front end would be a bad day.


We use 1.2 by 3 tube steel, 1/4 thick for axle. Spindles and kingpins are grade 8, 3/4 bolts, 8 in long. Kingpin mount is made out of channel iron, don't remember what size. Drilled 1 in holes, then used 1 in od by 3/4 id round tubing, welded in 1 in holes, to make kingpin bushings.

Google caster, camber, and toe, that will give you an idea of how to setup the angles.

We used 10 degrees postive caster, 0 toe, 0 camber.

Stretch44875 wrote:

Really, 70mph is unreasonable, especially if you are thinking of haspin, where we run 10mph most of the time.  A mower geared for 70 won't me able to climb and descend the hills slow enough.

that's why i plan on getting an extra sprocket for it so i can change the gearing for haspin. and how is it un reasonable? i want to be able to fly around cars on the county hwy i actually am going for 65, but wanna build it safe up to 70

and i do have a drill press and good welder i can use

Why not make a Ford Racer build thread instead of one thread for each part, more tidy and people will read it more easily and follow your build MD.

Yes, unreasonable. As is flying around cars. I have a go kart, powered by a 250 two-stroke. Wicked quick, does 65-70. But it's flat on the ground, and has excellent brakes/steering. No way I'd take one of my mowers that fast, mower tires, mower bearings, high off the ground, and one bad part away from a disaster.

Thunderdivine wrote:

Why not make a Ford Racer build thread instead of one thread for each part, more tidy and people will read it more easily and follow your build MD.

well this thread was supposed to be just for building the front axle.....

xxXMowerdudeXxx wrote:

Thunderdivine wrote:

Why not make a Ford Racer build thread instead of one thread for each part, more tidy and people will read it more easily and follow your build MD.

well this thread was supposed to be just for building the front axle.....

 

Forgot to add, the center section of the axle is 24in long, which puts the overall width around 38 in with the tires on.

70 MPH on anything not built by somebody that REALLY knows what they are doing is a sure recipe for death. This is not intended to insult anyone, but it is fact. Absolutely every single aspect of the vehicle must be 100%. Every nut, bolt, weld join, component, angle... Spot on and high quality.

Lets keep a few things in mind- One, when your butt is pretty close to the ground, it feels like you're going twice the speed you are. Two, at such high speeds, direct steering is downright hairy on anything but a perfect surface. Anyone here who's built a kart or racer and tested on a local road knows exactly what I mean- sneeze, and you die. Three- lawn tractors are built with two things in mind, slow and cheap. A properly built racer MIGHT have 3 or 4 actual mower parts left- frame (reinforced of course), hood, fenders, engine. even the gearbox isn't left in it's stock configuration.

I am NOT an authority on racing mowers. I am building one for the first time, too. But I've been around the block enough times to know what's a good idea, and what's going to require blood transfusions. Let me paint you a picture-

I'm building a racer for fun. Might race it, might not. I WILL get it race certified by a club. All that is left from the stock machine is the hood, dash, and frame. The frame and dash are reinforced with 1" steel tube. I tossed the engine, in favour of a Briggs oppy twin. The transaxle hit the junk pile, and a race-prepped Peerless 700 is in. The rear axle is 1 1/4" hollow chromoly go kart axle. The brakes are the rear hydraulics from a 1983 Honda Interceptor 750 motorcycle, with a 7" pitbike rotor, slotted and vented. Go kart steering wheel, 5/8" solid steel rod steering column supported by 3 bearings, with the U-joint from a GM tilt column in there. Direct steering with aftermarket heim joints, drag link and tie rod made from Sch40 pipe. Jr Dragster rear aluminum wheels on aluminum hubs, front go kart aluminum wheels on kart hubs with high speed bearings. Tethered kill switch, blah. blah, blah.

This is being built for short tracks, probably 35-40 MPH. 70 is asking a lot...

So again- not to insult anyone, in fact I am hoping to help. But you have to be willing to invest a lot of time and money into the project, do it right, and do it well.

As for trail rides, forget it... This thing HAS to be very low to the ground for the speeds involved, meaning you won't get 5 feet into a trail.

no offence i know what yoursaying, but my dynamark does 45 right now no issues, no bearings nothing, LOL

No offence taken (takes a lot more than that to offend me) However-

Just because you're doing it now, does it make it a good idea? No.

hey stretch, where did u get the steel for your axle? and the c channel, and do u think a 5/8 kit will work off road? from bmi? or should i stick with 3/4?

http://www.bmikarts.com/Complete-Spindle-Set--58-_p_1319.html#

or
go with these and make semi custom

http://www.bmikarts.com/Spindle-with-34-x-4-12-Bolt-Side-1_p_1305.html

OR go compeltly custom?

Here's a link to the kit.

http://www.bmikarts.com/Complete-Spindle-Set--58-_p_1319.html

Looks pretty neat. I'd use the 3/4 bolt spindles they list here with the kit, if the bolts are long enough for your wheels.

http://www.bmikarts.com/Spindle-with-34-x-4-12-Bolt-Side-1_p_1305.html

http://www.bmikarts.com/Spindle-with-34-x-4-12-Bolt-Side-2_p_1307.html

Only other problem I see is the tie rod mounts need drilled to 1/2, and reinforced. We've bent them plenty of times on other mowers.

I bought the steel from a local supplier. It needs to be the same width as the stock axle to fit in the frame.

k, ill get em from bmi, and i still gotta find steel for an axle, lol i found it online but i dont wanna pay 50 for an axle, lol

hey doc and stetch. would you think a stock axle would work going over 50mph with new parts and last?

Ariens YT11 wrote:

hey doc and stetch. would you think a stock axle would work going over 50mph with new parts and last?

The axle itself? Sure. Everything else needs addressing. 50MPH is asking a lot from parts that are inferior out of the box. The wheel bearings (or bushings) aren't up to the task. Neither are the rod ends, Heim joints are what's called for. Lastly- but most certainly not leastly (is leastly a word?) is the steering gear itself. Subject to slop at the best of times, it's not something I'd trust my @ss (or yours) to at 50 MPH. now- some guys have managed to beef certain steering gears up (Stretch? TRB?) into something a bit more dependable, but I myself am still leery of these things. I'd judge THAT one on a case-by-case basis, as not all steering gears are created equal.

None of this addresses the geometry. Factory steering geometry ranges from downright horrid, to passable. At 5 MPH, downright horrid is barely noticeable, if at all. At 50MPH, barely noticeable can become kamikaze. In my opinion, the best bet is simply to bite the bullet and fab a new axle.