Hi Guys,
I was seriously thinking about converting to the Pivoting Axle, after having to rescue Harvey so many times the other week, while we were out on the field.
I don't know where this idea came from, I think it was one of those 'I wonder if it will work' things, but it seemed possible in my head, so I decided to give it a go.
I wanted the wheels to stay vertical when the axle rocked, to stop them fouling the arches and reducing the steering lock.
After some measuring up, I began to build.
I started with a standard scooter axle which I had lying around the garage, as I wasn't sure if this would work....
And then drilled a 8mm hole at each end....
The larger holes in the top and bottom face of the axle (which used to hold the original king pins), were filled by welding a piece of steel into the hole, and then grinding the weld flat.
I then cut some 1" square tubing to 3/4" long, and welded on some lengths of 20mm flat stock 2 1/4" ins long, with an 8 mm hole in the end....
to make up the pivoting ends...
These have a good range of movement, but it won't all be available because of the floorpan...
I then added the arms for the Stub Axle pivots....
from 1" wide flat bar, 2 1/4" long, with a 10 mm hole in the ends.
I made sure they cleared....
and cleaned them up....
This done, I started on the Axle's Central Pivot point. I had some 4" long off-cuts from the bumper lying around in my scrap bin (I never throw anything away), so I cut this to shape, and added a spine plate to mount the tie rods to.
I drilled the spine plates, an 8 mm hole 1/2" from the tip, for the tie rods, and a 12 mm hole lower down for the axle pivot.
I discovered that the box section wasn't wide enough for the axle, so I cut it down it's length to make two individual plates....
This done, I worked out the length for the tie rods. I clamped a piece of scrap bar to the side of the end pivot, made a tie rod up, and mounted it in place. To my surprise, it worked!
I then made a small mock-up of the floor by cutting a piece of 2" x 1" to the width of the floor, and clamping it in the vice. I found that the pivot point had to be further away from the floor, to give a little more axle movement, so I packed it out with a piece of 1/2" thick scap timber.
This is the axle in it's level position...
Fully raised, (remember, it's upside down)...
And fully extended, (down)....
And finally, the detail of the linkages. these will be below the axle....
As you can see from the pictures, the Stub axle end stays level, so the wheels will remain vertical as planned.
I have finished the mounting plate (to fit the assembly to the floor), but as yet haven't been able to photograph it, so I'll do that in the next day or two, so that you can all see the finished article.
It's a little heavy to be honest, but I think (hope) that it will solve the problem of reduced steering on full lock, and the rear wheels loosing traction on rough ground due to the Scooter differential.
I have found that it's not been as complicated as I originally thought, but because of my steering box, I have had to make the mounting frame a little wider than first thought, but this will only add stability to the assembly, making it less prone to breakage.
You'll see what I mean in the next installment.
Keep Busy,
Your Crazy Friend,
Mark.
