Got a little done today. Had to fully move out so it't not much, but any day I can burn some metal is good for me.
Sorry for lack of pics, just the major parts...
Fixed that tube I chopped in half. Sleeved the inside with .25"wall HREW turned down a bit. No inside shot, but it just looks like a tube pressed into another:
This has been a four day ordeal:
The knucles were pressed on VERY tight. 12 ton press didn't do anything to move them on the 3/8"tube. I kept grinding out the weld and tube, but didn't want to chop up another tube again by going too deep. I eventually took the MIG to them, high heat, low wire speed, and burned a dirty but deep weld around the ID of the tube. Shrunk it up enough to lessen the press fit, stuck it in the 12 ton press and it still fought me. Finally BOOM, and after four days of messing with it the knuckle finally budged about 1/8 inch:
After taking some measurements I tapped the ends partially on and went home:
its finally starting to look like an axle again.
Also, all this bent housing talk got me worried so I snapped some more pics:
Looks a little better from this angle. Gonna finish up the 44 tomorrow and mock everything up for the x-member, then start thinking about plans for the rear. The goal is low, wide, and smooth bellied. Hopefully it won't look like a rollerskate.