Grant Schwartz of Schwartz Welding has completed a beautiful example of a narrowed Welder Series Mustang II crossmember.
It’s for a 1951 Prefect, and the finished track width ended up close to 48″, with 5/8″ narrowed control arms.
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Let me explain. Nevermind, let the pictures explain. When we say it’s a universal sway bar kit, Daniel took us up on that claim.     
Sway Bar Kit, UniversalThis universal fit sway bar is easy to install and lets you fit the bar to just about any application. 36" or 46" long, trim-to-fit. $250.00 — $280.00Sway Bar Kit (anti-roll bar), rear, 36″ wide, but can be cut down (with a hack saw) to any length. The bar is ¾” diameter with one end splined ¾-36. The other end of the bar is smooth. This smooth end gets pinned and welded into a coupler which welds to one of the arms. The laser-cut, 3/8″ thick arms are 8″ center-to-center. Formed tabs weld to the outer tube and connect the bar to the rear crossmember using the coil-over bolts. Urethane bushings insulate road vibration. Rod ends connect the arms to the tabs that weld to the rear end. Overall length is ¾” longer than the bar length, since the 3/8″ arms mount outside the ends of the bar. The arms can be bent to clear the coil-overs. The Model A sway bar kit includes a 40″ trim-to-fit sway bar with 3/4-36 splines on one end and no splines on the other end. Trim the bar to the exact length you need, then weld the smooth coupler and the arm to one end. Slip the bar through the outer tube and attach the splined coupler arm to the opposite end. The outer tube goes through the frame rails ahead of the rear end. The arms link to a formed bracket that bolts to the rear axle 4-link side plate. See pictures. Installation article: https://www.welderseries.com/blog/2011/04/13/sway-bar-install-on-nsra-33-giveaway/ Click here for installation instructions.
We recently had a visit from a Welder Series regular, Grant Schwartz of Schwartz Welding (click here for his Facebook page). You’ve probably heard me talk about Grant before- he knows our product line almost as well as I do and he makes very good use of it! This time, Grant was hunting for a way to create a multi angle adjuster that was cost-effective, strong, and not as long as his previous version (which utilized a clevis). Here is what he came up with, along with the parts he used.      Click on the pictures to go to that item in our web store. .jpg?resize=150%2C96) Adjuster stud, $8.50.  Clamp bar for front spring perch kit, $6.00.  Transmission adapter reinforcing tab, $8.30.  Urethane bushing outer sleeve, $3.15  Urethane bushing kit (includes two bushing halves and an inner sleeve), $9.30 So, what’s the bottom line? Adding the pieces up, including the urethane bushings, two multi-angle adjusters would cost $64.50. I calculated the price for two because you can’t buy half of #21273 (the part that welds to the adjuster stud). You’ll also need a couple bolts and nuts. Clicking on the pictures will take you to that item on our web store. We keep these pieces in stock. What would you use a multi-angle adjuster for? Diagonal locators, control arms… anything where changing the length of the bar would also change the angle of the adjuster. Thanks for the pictures, Grant! A customer stopped in yesterday carrying a spindle. In itself, I recognize that this sentence requires an explanation. He was curious as to the origin of said spindle… was it early Mustang? Pinto? Mustang II? It certainly looked like a Mustang II spindle, but he just wanted to double check. We have a pair of spindles which we use for a caliper bracket fixture, so we brought them out for a little compar-o. Here are the differences:    
The spindle on the left (the clean one) is a 1974-78 Mustang II spindle. On the right is the spindle that was brought in to compare; it’s from a 1971-73 Pinto. Between the ball joint holes (vertically, inside-to-inside) on the Pinto spindle is 5-1/16″ while the Mustang II is 5-7/8″. Also, the steering arm hole center to the lower ball joint center dimension is 4-1/2″ on the Pinto spindle but 5″ on the MII. The lower caliper bracket hole is in a different location as well. So, on first glance, they look quite similar. However, you now have the ammo required for those late night “tech sessions” so when your buddy tells you the difference between the fabric smell on the early Corvair versus the last production run, you’ll be able to counter with this useful information on the differences between 71-73 Pinto and Mustang II spindles. Grant Schwartz came by looking for some parts to make up a bolt-on frame mount for a leaf spring suspension he was working on. He said “what about that four hole transmission adapter, and a couple 90 degree gussets that will let me hang the shackle tube away from the frame rail a bit.” Here’s what he was thinking of…  Grant used his own tubing. Here are the gussets trimmed and welded to the frame plate, which has been relieved a bit.  Installed  Four hole plate, designed to adapt a C4 to a GM insulator.  Gusset Schwartz Inc. has been shooting projects out of his one-man shop faster than… well, he’s pretty fast. About the only thing better than a fast shop is a fast shop that’s ten minutes away from our shop! Grant regularly stops in to pick up parts… he knows the catalog pretty well by now and utilizes many gussets and tabs as alternatives to cutting them out by hand. I’ve gone through his Facebook page and tagged Welder Series in pictures where our parts are used. Currently there are 99 pictures tagged and as more projects are completed, I’m sure that number will grow. Check them out! I hope they give you some ideas for your own project. If you see our parts being used in a picture on Facebook, please go ahead and tag us – it’s like a pictorial Dear Welder Series.
Dear Welder Series… Thanks, Scott Dear Scott… I know Mike (Oldman) and respect his knowledge. (He’s a heck of a good guy, too.) I hope this helps. Paul Horton. Even though I didn’t get through all the pictures in my slideshow during the presentation, we have the technology to post them on the Internet for all to see. Our tech session this year was a slideshow of pictures of neat things on hot rods. Hopefully you’ll be able to use at least one idea on your current project, or even a future ride!  These heat shrink hose clamps clean things up and spread the clamping surface over a wider area. One negative is they’re not reusable.  A drawer was installed under the seat in this F100 pickup to make the space more accessible.  A diagonal locator works like a Panhard bar, triangulating the rear suspension. If a Panhard isn’t easy to hook up, this might be a good option.  An overhead console can clean up your floor, allowing you to mount things like a CD player, and some little cubbys.  An overhead light from a late model car can sometimes blend in well, depending on the theme of the car.  This is a really clean coilover install on a solid axle front end. The builder also used Allen head bolts on the four link brackets… very clean!  It adds a bunch of connections, but running brake lines through the frame rails is a way to clean up the underside.  The transmission lines are also run through the rails on this ’32.   Another clean coilover install on a solid axle front end.  The slight radius on the rear spreader bar makes all the difference to this ’32- it’s highly detailed.  An under-dash shelf in a roadster is a good way to make use of the space. A ‘secondary’ dash drops down from the main dash with the same curve.  Custom wiper arms!  Welding a 3/8″ plate under the body mount holes in the frame rails gives you some fudge room. You can set the body on the rails, drill through the body mount holes into the plate, then tap the plate and your body mount holes will be in the exact location.  Mocking up your dash with paper templates is an easy way to lay out gauges and switches. Just remember to make the template as large as the biggest part of the switch- sometimes the ‘brains’ of the switch will be larger than the switch itself.  A rolled grille shell, neat nerf bar, and a zillion other neat things are on Ron Wiggins’ RPU.  Ron counterbored his axle then painted the inserts with a hammertone to set off the “holes”.  Ron fabricated the firewall himself, as well as the air cleaner… it’s exhaust tubing sectioned in half and welded together.  The steering wheel matches the two-tone interior.  A torsion bar sits inside the frame rails, and the arm fits into a slot in the hairpins.  32 Build: this little disc functions as a brake pedal return spring holder and a brake light switch activator.  Running flex lines to the master cylinder lets you drop it to fill without opening the system, as well as giving the option of adding a booster.   Buying a four link kit ready-to-weld offers the advantage of ‘aiming’ the frame brackets at the rear end without trimming them.  Instead of a tilt column, how about a tilt steering wheel?!  I wanted to hide the fan wires…  I lengthened the wires, then ran them on the inside of the fan guard.  They exit the fan and tuck behind the grille shell.  To measure a gap (in this case, for weatherstripping), stick a ball of silly putty on the gap, then close the door.  The result will be a perfectly measured “gap”!  To level the exhaust tips, we mounted one side then used a bottle jack and a digital level to bring the other side up until it was level. Hangers can then be made.  I wanted to match the size of the button heads on the caliper brackets to the caliper bolts, and install them from the engine side instead of from the wheel side (like the one on the right).  The spacer on the stainless bolt is the same diameter as the machined head on the black bolt. The cone nut has the same taper as the black bolt head. Basically, I’m reversing the direction of the bolt and changing the thread pitch.  Looking from the wheel side, you can see the tapered nut that the stainless bolt is threaded in to. The threads were cut flush to the plate.  A late model dash can be modified to fit in a hot rod.  Looking through my pictures, I found this one… if it’s your car, please check the driver side motor mount- it was missing a nut.  A Dave Lane built ’32 Delivery has a bunch of neat touches- he used simple textured rubber floor mats that are functional and neatly accomplished.  A Chip Foose built ride… I couldn’t find the fan wires! Maybe it’s bluetooth… ;)  A Ridler car is a study in neat things… I like that the end of the ball joint threads are polished!  To shave the diameter of this little aluminum bracket, I drew two lines around the inside of the hole with a Sharpie. As I filed the hole, I could tell how much I’d taken off by the disappearing lines.  The spreader bar bolts have been machined down to be slimmer than the standard 1/2″ button heads (on the right).  To get a thin length of weatherstripping, just slice a solid piece with a razor blade.  I painted the horizontal grille bars on our ’32 grille so the blend in with the black radiator.    To increase the diameter of something in a pinch, try using duct tape.  A simple, functional speedometer sender (Ford).  Nice transition from rectangular to dual round tubes.  Here’s one way to connect throttle linkage…  “hey, why not?!”  Name that rear suspension…  Name that rear suspension…  Same car…  This spreader bar is welded to the frame rails, but painted a different color to set it apart.  Nice black transmission cooler lines. Are these aftermarket or heat shrinked?  I love the twine-wrapped wires!  Clean firewall connection for the heater hoses, as well as a really clean engine bay.  Beautiful flush fit roof insert.  Wrinkle black is always fine with me!  Clean spline drive wheel bolts.  I love the look of brazed fuel lines  A ’32 grille on a ’35 sedan? I think it looks great!  A simple tool to straighten the flanges on a set of frame rails.  Amazing fitment of the chassis tubing.  Amazing fitment of the chassis tubing.   A fixture for assembling steel bodies.   A really clean install of the wiring and accessories.  A mini battery mounted sideways can save a lot of space.   Check out the work on the bumper/ exhaust cutout!  A set of Welder Series Ford engine mounts have been drilled and look great.  Body mount bolts… stainless washers welded to stainless Allen head bolts, then machined smooth. They’re welded on the underside too.  Sometimes there’s only one place the steering linkage will go!  Usually the four link brackets weld underneath the rails, but there’s really no reason why they can’t go on top…  Grant Schwartz transitions from a 2×4 tube to a 2×3 tube by cutting a 90 degree notch then setting the smaller tube inside that notch. This gives him more weld area.  A clean way to recess the booster into the firewall is to weld the booster bracket to a hoop, then weld the hoop to the firewall.   The steering linkage on this Plymouth with a Hemi had to be routed to just about where the brake pedal is. Grant installed a U joint halfway down the column and kicked the shaft out before the toeboard. Slick!  A handy way to fill your air bags if you don’t have the compressor hooked up yet.  The Welder Series motor mounts let you mount a small block Chevy in anything from a T bucket to an F100, all with the same part number.  Our universal sway bar kit is a trim to fit install.  Our transmission mount saddle is also adaptable to many frames. If you’re going to the Syracuse Nationals this year (I think you should), stop in and see us! On Saturday, Paul Horton and I will be presenting a tech seminar. Since we’ve done a few tech sessions at Syracuse over the years on chassis brackets, we thought it would be nice to switch gears a bit this year and do something a bit more “generic”. The title of the seminar is “Hey… That’s Neat! Cool Things on Hot Rods” and it will basically be a narrated slideshow of pictures of neat things that we’ve seen on cars. It should be a fun time, and hopefully everyone will see at least one thing that they hadn’t thought of, or that they’ll be able to apply to their current build. Think of it as a giant brainstorming session. If you have any pictures of neat things on a hot rod that you think should be shared, email it to [email protected]. Depending on how many pictures we receive, we may have to trim some out. Don’t be discouraged- we’ll post them in a special article on our site, too. |
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