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Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:56 pm

ok i want to keep my pricetags VERY low on my baja so......is there a way to build my own 3x3 arms for rear? i have lots of experiance fabbing even though im only 16. i grew up with a welder in my hand :D . and what yall think about making lift spindles for link pin instead of forkin out 450?

Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:08 pm

I plan on fabbing up my own rear trailing arms as well. Still have tons of people to talk to, and need to draw it up in CAD. Should be a fun project. IDK if I wanna go 3x3 or larger though....

Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:15 pm

i like the idear of 3x3. it will be a dd for me with some off roading thrown in.( i am a southern country boy, mudding and off roading is my life) so 3x3 is good

Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:15 pm

I want to make a set of 2" longer only rear arms to fit under stock fenders for a class 11 look a like car. I also want to build a set of 2" longer front arms for a ball joint front end with diffrent ball joints for more travel.

Casey

Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:21 pm

You are going to need to build a good jig and figure out how to calculate camber changes through the travel range so camber is correct at ride height.

Considering that the arms are maybe 30% of the cost of installing 3x3 arms you will probably find that buying a set of arms is cheaper.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:04 am

My friend built his own 2x3's. He used the back end of a donor car and welded it onto a frame. Then he took a plate of steel that the bearing housing could bolt to and welded that plate and his bearing housing at the ride height he wanted, 0 camber, and at the right axle length and alignment. He then built the arms around that.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:07 am

earthquake wrote: I want to make a set of 2" longer only rear arms to fit under stock fenders for a class 11 look a like car. I also want to build a set of 2" longer front arms for a ball joint front end with diffrent ball joints for more travel.

Casey

How well do your tires tuck into the fender at full travel? Mine seem the rub the back of the fender. yours might tuck into the fender better then mine though.
I've also thought of running wider finders to accommodate a wider trailing arm. Not sure if it's help the look or if it even be noticeable

Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:20 am

I don't think it would be that hard to build your own arms. I had to cut mine apart to get the camber out of them and then I set them back up right on the car and welded them in place. Just don't go nuts doing big long welds so they don't twist fromthe heat after you've spent all the time setting them up. I have pictures in my gallery from what I did when I fixed my arms. Just be patient and take your time.

Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:21 am

does anyone have pictures of them building theirs?
and what about lengthening the stock arms?

Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:20 am

I couldnt find any pics when I was seraching either- Just the finished products. I wouls steer clear of extending stock arms. If your going to do that, I would say why not fab up your own?

Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:03 pm

good thinking...i was just spit balling. :lol:

Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:32 pm

http://blindchickenracing.com/ look in the how to section might help you out a little

Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:52 pm

rubsterob
I'm working on a old hot rodder trick to widen the rear fenders, you take the fenders off and cut a peice of good plywood the same shape as the mounting flange of the fender, glass them on and use longer bolts to mount the fenders like normal. I you do it right no one will ever know.

Casey

Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:49 am

Read through this, about halfway down the first page he makes some 3X3 arms.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126314

Smiley 8)

Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:11 am

I built my own torsionless trailing arm rear suspension. It isn't hard. I got 15" of travel and spent $800 on the entire setup including fox air shocks. The trailing arms themselves cost me less than $50 to build. All my money was spent on CV joints and shocks.

I went torsionless to save weight, but if you were runnning a torsion I would say screw a Jig. VW torsions get all sorts of bent up and tweaked. What you need to do is get your axles and CV joints and cut some bearing carriers out of an old junk pair of trailing arms and fab up your suspension on the car. That way you know everything is right before you weld them up.

I freehanded the first one of my arms on the buggy, then Jiged it and loosly tacked the 2nd. I got my toe in/out and camber set before welding it and then welded them up.

Tue Mar 01, 2011 7:47 am

I know it's not a good image of my rear suspension
but I built my own to accept the Vanagon rear bearing carriers & Vanagon Axles
which are nearly 5in longer per side. but the bearing carriers are shorter by a bunch.
I then made my own rear Disc brake set up and with Audi Quattro rims (ET47) they only protrude a little from my 'stock' baja rear fenders
but they have ALOT more travel (Thing CVs) because of the angles x length
MUCH BIGGER rear wheel bearings (I was burning up T-I ones) and not to fat of a rear stance for city or woods driving.

I also made my own front disc brake mounts on my Thing front (lift)spindles. used 1/2" plate welded (kerf'd on both sides) to the knuckles.

[click img to make bigger]

Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:59 am

I've been considering building my own 3x3 arms also, for my Thing. What are ya'll planning on building them out of? I've been thinking about 2x2 or 2x3 tubing, would that be strong enough?

Tue Mar 01, 2011 6:22 pm

thanks for all the help. i like the cutting it open and lengthining. and i like the 50 buck setup

Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:51 am

how the hell do ya figure out the camber and caster without an alignment machine? I'm trying to build myself a set and can't wrap my head around how to set this.

Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:16 am

jaywiz1977 wrote: how the hell do ya figure out the camber and caster without an alignment machine? I'm trying to build myself a set and can't wrap my head around how to set this.

toe in is just the difference in the distance between the front of tires and the rear of the tires.

Caster is not applicable on rear suspension, just the front.

I measure camber using a straight edge down the tire with an angle finder hanging off of it.

The camber is horrible on trailing arms that use a VW trosion housing, and custom torsion housings, about all you can do is make it sit flat at normal ride height, but since it changes through the stroke on long travel suspensions it will handle different in every situation.
The toe in is the major adjustment.