First problem to solve, is the bracket doesn't fit snuggly on top of the diff, as the corners are too rounded, so I had to cut a section out so it would drop down a little. There's a bit of plywood in there in this picture to allow me to get it all positioned correctly.
Edit - hmmm - second problem seems to be my picture is on its side, and the bottom one is upside down
I don't have the facilities to bend 5mm plate at a right angle, so I just chopped a section of the same size out of some spare 50mm x 50mm which had a much sharper angle, and welded that in. Drilled the holes and got it fitted to the diff. I will be using different bolts as these are countersunk, but they'll do for the moment. I've taped the 7/16 bolts into the crossmember because they keep falling out when I'm trying to test fit it. I've also cut a couple of short lengths of 12mm ID tube to fit inside the crossmember for the bolts to go through, just as some support.
I have worked out that the main bracket needs to run downhill at 3.6 degrees to a point just in front of the handbrake linkage, then drop 54mm to go underneath the next crossmember of the car. The two pieces are just tacked together at the moment as I have to bolt it into the car at the rear and check all the measurements before final welding. I found a piece of solid steel round bar and cut a piece long enough to fit across the main bracket. This was clamped into the vice to act as a former when I bent the bracket, with hammers, jumping on it, heating it etc. I won't weld the bottom of it until a final test fit to check the angle.
The front mounting is sitting where it will go but I'm not sure which way it should fit yet The rear ones fit from the top, with the larger bit upward, and the front one fitted from underneath with the larger bit downward. I assume this is to counteract the torque twist of the diff.
There will be a plate covering this, bolted through the crossmember. I don't want to weld anything onto the car, just in case I ever want to revert to original
Next job is to fit the diff to the bracket and test fit (Again)
Richard
Edit - hmmm - second problem seems to be my picture is on its side, and the bottom one is upside down
I don't have the facilities to bend 5mm plate at a right angle, so I just chopped a section of the same size out of some spare 50mm x 50mm which had a much sharper angle, and welded that in. Drilled the holes and got it fitted to the diff. I will be using different bolts as these are countersunk, but they'll do for the moment. I've taped the 7/16 bolts into the crossmember because they keep falling out when I'm trying to test fit it. I've also cut a couple of short lengths of 12mm ID tube to fit inside the crossmember for the bolts to go through, just as some support.
I have worked out that the main bracket needs to run downhill at 3.6 degrees to a point just in front of the handbrake linkage, then drop 54mm to go underneath the next crossmember of the car. The two pieces are just tacked together at the moment as I have to bolt it into the car at the rear and check all the measurements before final welding. I found a piece of solid steel round bar and cut a piece long enough to fit across the main bracket. This was clamped into the vice to act as a former when I bent the bracket, with hammers, jumping on it, heating it etc. I won't weld the bottom of it until a final test fit to check the angle.
The front mounting is sitting where it will go but I'm not sure which way it should fit yet The rear ones fit from the top, with the larger bit upward, and the front one fitted from underneath with the larger bit downward. I assume this is to counteract the torque twist of the diff.
There will be a plate covering this, bolted through the crossmember. I don't want to weld anything onto the car, just in case I ever want to revert to original
Next job is to fit the diff to the bracket and test fit (Again)
Richard
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