hi all, done alot of searching on here and found alot of info on wishbones and there designs etc, my question is would it be alright to use the dimensions and mounting points etc from a set of locost wishbones on a chassis that is slightly wider or will the geometry be wrong?
hope you can understand what i mean

I dont think widening the chassis would affect the suspension geometry too much so i would use the book mounting points.

excellent thats what i was hoping to hear
cheers

Don't forget the book errors need correcting

yes i have been looking at that. i have been searching on here for the last couple of hours and have now confused the hell out of my self.
is this picture right

and is this the right wishbone dimension for it also does it take cortina/sierra hubs

just realised the dimensions are not the same so the wishbone pitures wont fit the picture of the mounts. has anybody got the right pictures that i would need?
cheers

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yes i have been looking at that. i have been searching on here for the last couple of hours and have now confused the hell out of my self.

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just remember to modify your steering rack to match the front wishbones otherwise you'll end up with some lovely bump steer.

yes that will be the next problem to sort once ive sorted this one.
cheers for the advice

If you widen by 4" then an escort steering rack becomes almost the perfect dimensions for eliminating bump steer, ie joints in line with suspension pickups. This is what I've got (smug mode)

I too dicked around a long time looking at wishbones as I've built my own.. at least, I've built 3 sets now and ruined the first 2 by various means.. fingers crossed I've got it right now.

as im not building a book locost do yo know what this measurement would be total?

Stuleah, Maybe try what we did: Using best judgement according to the info you have, tack the wishbone mounts to the chassis. Hang the wishbones on and hook up the upright. How does it look? Are upper and lower parallel to each other? How does the camber look at this stage?

If it all looks OK stick in the shock and spring, so linking lower wishbone to top chassis mount, then slowly jack the whole assembly up to roughly where the suspension would be sitting if the wheels were on the ground.

If it all still looks OK and the steering rack end is fairly horizontal then you know you're about right.

If it looks crap, grind off the tack welds and modify what needs modifying.

It's not rocket science, but it is bloody frustrating because you thought you'd read everything and followed all the advice! Don't fret, commonsense will get you there.

Well, just finished mine this weekend. Came at it from a different viewpoint.....I am building a McSorley +4 with Seirra running gear & full Sierra width DeDion rear axle. I wanted to make the front and rear widths the same so measured the rear width hub to hub. Using that dimension I then back calculated the length of wishbone taking into account the chassis width, position of holes in mounting brackets and the dimensions of the Sierra front uprights. Ended up with 15 3/8 inch centre to centre for the lower one which looked totally wrong on paper and when compared to the book. I recalculated and checked it but still came out with the same so made them and having just fitted the nearside it looks OK. Will tell better when I get the rest of the suspension fitted. For the top wishbone, I fitted the bottom one plus the upright and top joint and measured it! You have to be carefull with the top one depending upon the make of top joint - some are threaded all the way to the joint, others about 1/2 inch short. The threaded tube for the top joint needs to be angled down to suit the uprights otherwise the joint will bind at maximum travel.

thats sounds like what i had in mind at the start, until i started reading up on suspension and wishbones and confused myself with all the science.
i think i eill go back to the drawing board i do it like you say.
cheers hembum

jwallbank have you got any pictures

Not at present but if I get time tomorrow night will take some.
John W

great cheers

Ok, taken some pics but now the challenge to see if I can download them!
Rescued attachment Front Wishbone 1.jpg

Can't find a way to include more than one per post...........anybody know if it's possible, if so how?
Rescued attachment Front Wishbone 2.jpg

Hope that's helpfull. If you want more info just let me know.

Cheers

John W
Rescued attachment Front Wishbone 3.jpg