C Cab Hot Rod Power Advice

Well, Ho! Ho! Ho! my friends. And Merry Christmas to all.

Today has been mild, and the temps are great for working outdoors.

FINALLY!, The day has come to break the beast out of its cage.
I've made my list, checked it twice, thrice, and more. Now it's time to let'r roar.

Took her out for some bouncy trips around the yard, and once out the front. The brakes are working as well as anyone can expect. I resisted the temptation to go out in the street. I'm still not comfortable with the structural quality, without more drive testing. I made about 12 trips up and back to get a feel of the drivetrain and braking.

All went well, so the next step was to do a load test on my trailer. Testing the newly modified ramps, the reverse pull cable pulley, and placement on the trailer.

Ramp test - 2x10x8 widened with 2x2 sides. Will require additional support under ramps. Weight is a little over 500lbs/230kg
DSCN5866.JPG


Next was a full pull test using the reverse winch pulley for one-man loading.
I discovered that with a little gravity and help, I can also use the winch to offload.
DSCN5867.JPG

Trailer is 6x12, and the car is +/- 5' x 9'.
DSCN5868.JPG


This has been a productive day. :) (y)

Merry Christmas and a Happy [and safe] New Year.
 
Double Oops

Oops number one

After the previous photos, I did a pre-test drive around my yard. NOT a good idea. The car worked as designed, but the thorns took a major toll on both the front tires. Dumb idea for this time of the year. So new tubes (each tire takes two tubes).

The design of the spindles on this project makes the simple act of changing a flat tire a major rebuild. Finding time, temperament, temperature, tubes, and fighting procrastination are my excuses for the length of time to repair.

Oops number two

As you can see in the photo, there seems to be a problem with stability and the ability to move in a forward direction.

Copy of IMG_2026-03-05-10-14-43-578.jpgCopy of IMG_2026-03-05-10-14-59-197.jpg

My bad all the way. I used a roll pin through the axle that weakened it. Lesson learned, and a week and a half behind my timeline.

But on the bright side, I did about 3 miles with two people on board before the axle broke.
Driving full speed much of the time, except when turning. with two people on board. (+/- 450 lbs)
My 54.3 volts at the end of that distance dropped to only 52.3, so I'm feeling good about the battery holding up for a 5-10 mile parade run.

I'm fully repaired, strengthened, tightened, and greased, and all running gear is working.

Time is now focused on cleaning and organizing the shop for the next phase. Complete body work, prime, paint, and detail.
 
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Dang! I hate it when that happens... Good you weren't going freeway speed and nobody got hurt.
Any idea how fast it goes?
So what did you do to fix the axle? There's a lot of torque to deal with.
 
fechter said:
Dang! I hate it when that happens... Good you weren't going freeway speed and nobody got hurt.
Any idea how fast it goes?
So what did you do to fix the axle? There's a lot of torque to deal with.
Click to expand...

At the point in the photo, I had just made a right-hand turn, so I was nowhere near full speed.
It happened very quickly. A loud noise, a bit of bumpity-bump, and bam down we went.
It landed on the pillow block, which may have kept it from causing any further damage.

The test area is an old abandoned parking lot. I was meant to drive around a set pattern multiple times, which would have resulted in a ten-mile test. I made it to this point, estimating it to be about 4-5 miles.

The drive train is designed to run no more than twenty 25 mph. ( A Calif LSV/NEV build requirement).
So until I get my GPS speedo installed, I can only guess the max speed was around 20-25 mph. It felt quite quick.

The repair

I repaired the broken axle by grinding off the jagged ends, beveling each end to about ¼” at the center, and welding them back together. I’m using a ¾” axle for the drive-train. From the beginning, I was concerned about the point where it snapped. Not from breaking, but from bending.

The axle held up regarding any bending issues.

I replaced the outside ¾” pillow block with a 1”. To beef up the point where the axle broke, I used a ¾” ID to 1” OD sleeve, and used a new 1” ID pillow block. I spot-welded the 1" sleeve across the break/welded joint in four places on the axle and a couple of extra tack welds on the inner end.

I replaced the ¾” shaft collar on the wheel hub with a 1” collar. That was welded to the hub, giving additional strength at the point where the axle broke. This shaft collar slips over the new sleeve by the thickness of the collar to add strength and double the securing of the hub to the axle.

Although the right side didn’t break, I repaired it using this same procedure. The only difference was that I drilled out the roll pin hole partway through, on each hole opening. Then, I widened the openings enough to get good contact for welding the hole back solid.
 
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OK, that sounds like it should work.
I bet the 3/4" stuff was bending, but not enough to stay bent. Bending back and forth every time the wheel goes around a little bit fatigued the metal enough to break.
 
Maybe so...:unsure:
But my money is on the fact that I drilled out +/- 1/3 of the metal to accommodate the roll pin, which had a major effect on it failing.

Please excuse my drawing. I did want to share, as best I can, how I managed the repair.
The spot welds are farther apart than I drew them. Two of them are over the spliced area.

A final note. If I had not done this repair procedure, I would have had to replace the complete 3/4" axle, which meant far too much work and effort for virtually the same outcome. That outcome, being the upgrading of the 3/4" axle and pillow block to 1 inch ID.

axle repair.png
 
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Update. Finishing body prep for painting and a brake caliper mount mod. Installing a new chain hoist, cleaning shop and paint booth, sorting and finding parts and tools. All taking time.
 
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