Welding connecting rods

[CarbideBob]

It is a model T undergoing surgery.
Not a race bike, not 800 hp go fast car. Not even a old John-deer tractor.
High performance rod work here means nothing to the OP.
Tough shit to weld .. maybe yes, but even brazing would work.
Biggest problem I see is alignment of big and small end which means fixtures during the process.
Wonder if the OP needs a 250,000 mile mean time to failure. Maybe not.
Bob

 

[john.k]

you can buy new made T parts ,probably enough to make a complete chassis..........certainly a wide range of parts available for them........just costs money is all.

 

[chipss]

Why the chevy crank. Stroke? Counterbalanced?

 

[EmGo]

Why the chevy crank. Stroke? Counterbalanced?

He's a chevvy guy. There's ford guys and chevy guys, and if you're a chebby guy, doesn't matter if you have a ford, still gotta have chebby parts

In this case, I'd probably make a set out of aluminum. Easier to work with and lighter and should hold up fine, they work in dragsters and other hot rods and even Triumph murdersickles. Probably be less work than all this sourcing and cutting and welding and stress relief and straightening and all that other stuff. Do something a little different, why not ?

In fact, you elderly folks - anybody selling alloy rods for Model A's ? Shall we get wealthy beyond our wildest dreams with a new product ? We can sell to all the guys who want to run nitro !

 

[moonlight machine]

This all seems like a lot of work for not much improvement on a 100 year old shitbox.

 

[eKretz]

This all seems like a lot of work for not much improvement on a 100 year old shitbox.

Tough crowd...

 

[Limy Sami]

Con rods are easy enough to make - even easier today with plasma / waterjet / wirecut blanks.

Use a decent grade of steel (I did lots from EN24T your 4340 I think ) and you'll know you're ending up with something worth having that will last.

P.S. I've seen rods come through blocks with the engines only doing about 1000 rpm - just a big a mess as 5000.

 

[CarbideBob]

This all seems like a lot of work for not much improvement on a 100 year old shitbox.

Those would be fighting words for diehard Model T fans.
I once made a vocal mistake in a bar parking lot with Harleys.
I said " That is a sweet looking bike when parked. I would not want to actually ride one." (side note my first bike was a 1943 Harley Hummer)
Lesson learned. Do not insult someone's wife and do not insult their other loves.
What may seem shitbox to you is the love of life to another so maybe allow some slack and understanding.
Bob

 

[eKretz]

Those would be fighting words for diehard Model T fans.
I once made a vocal mistake in a bar parking lot with Harleys.
I said " That is a sweet looking bike when parked. I would not want to actually ride one." (side note my first bike was a 1943 Harley Hummer)
Lesson learned. Do not insult someone's wife and do not insult their other loves.
What may seem shitbox to you is the love of life to another so maybe allow some slack and understanding.
Bob

Yeah, some fellas don't have a sense of humor about that kind of thing. Me on the other hand... You can razz my stuff all you want. I'll probably laugh with you.

 

[moonlight machine]

Those would be fighting words for diehard Model T fans.
I once made a vocal mistake in a bar parking lot with Harleys.
I said " That is a sweet looking bike when parked. I would not want to actually ride one." (side note my first bike was a 1943 Harley Hummer)
Lesson learned. Do not insult someone's wife and do not insult their other loves.
What may seem shitbox to you is the love of life to another so maybe allow some slack and understanding.
Bob

I know, I ride 50 year old Triumphs, I know how to ignore the wise ass comments. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most of them stink!

 

[eKretz]

I know, I ride 50 year old Triumphs, I know how to ignore the wise ass comments. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most of them stink!

I like: "If assholes could fly, this place would be an airport!"

 

[Overland]

Back in my youth, in the UK, I used to mess with Austin Minis, and Cooper "S".
They were a 1275 cc 4 cylinder, push rod motors with about 60 hp stock, and about 75 for the Cooper"S".
They used forged steel rods - don't remember the grade now.
With some work we could take the stock 6,000 rpm max up to about 7,500, with balancing, tuftriding and so on.
The "Works" cars used forged titanium rods for the race engines, maybe 120+ hp at pretty high revs. 100 hp/litre ! Any Honda, Toyota, even Ford gets that all day long nowadays.
There was a very creative guy in Birmingham, UK, who used to bore out the blocks to use Triumph pistons, and stroke the cranks to about 1500 cc.
Kind of cautious on the revs, but made lots of power for racing.
All good memories !
Bob

 

[Limy Sami]

As a mere subhuman apprentice, I was told ''opinions are like arseholes son, everybody's got one, so tell me what makes yours so special''

 

[moonlight machine]

As a mere subhuman apprentice, I was told ''opinions are like arseholes son, everybody's got one, so tell me what makes yours so special''

Hey Limy, seems like I remember you had some health issues a while back. How you doing, all OK?

 

[Dan from Oakland]

'cuz it's mine silly boy!!

 

[moonlight machine]

I know, I ride 50 year old Triumphs, I know how to ignore the wise ass comments. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and most of them stink!

I can't count the number of times some smart ass told me there must not be any oil in it because their is no puddle under it!

 

[Limy Sami]

Hey Limy, seems like I remember you had some health issues a while back. How you doing, all OK?

Thanks for asking moonlight, I'm hanging in there - so far so good, will see the specialists in April so will know more then

 

[moonlight machine]

Thanks for asking moonlight, I'm hanging in there - so far so good, will see the specialists in April so will know more then

OK, good. Good luck when you see them.

 

[paulz]

Wouldn't it just be a whole lot easier to just take the .125" off the crank? .0625" off the radius really isn't a big deal.

 

[Milland]

Wouldn't it just be a whole lot easier to just take the .125" off the crank? .0625" off the radius really isn't a big deal.

With crank pin grinding you have to have good indexing and cylindricity of the throws, and proper finish, etc.

I'd rather just make rods out of all the options I've heard. Grab some 7075 and go to town - with the low hours and RPM, an Al rod will probably be fine. Otherwise, use some 4340 or similar.