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Engine Cradle
andrew.carwithen - 30/3/05 at 08:32 AM

I'm going to have to make my own engine cradle for the Fireblade engine which hopefully will be with me by the end of the week.
What size square tube should I be making it out of? (1" or 3/4"?)

Thanks all,
Andy.

ReMan - 30/3/05 at 09:36 AM

I have an old MK one in my shed spare , that was made out of 1 inch square for a Blackbird engine.
They currently use the 1inch oval which is strong enough for wishbones so should do it. 3/4 inch sounds just a tad thin methinks.

ChrisGamlin - 30/3/05 at 09:57 AM

Ive just done my R1 out of 1", the ST cradle is actually 2" x 1" but I think thats overkill really. It also depends on if you are going to support the entire engine from the cradle, or have seperate mounts for the lower mounts etc.
Here's my R1 cradle we did at the weekend, using the pickups I welded on for the ST blade cradle.

R1 Engine Cradle
R1 Engine Cradle


R1 Engine Cradle Front
R1 Engine Cradle Front

Chris

Peteff - 30/3/05 at 10:09 AM

1" square here too. It's easy to work with and strong enough. Rescued attachment cradle.jpg
Rescued attachment cradle.jpg

andrew.carwithen - 30/3/05 at 10:18 AM

Cheers, Guys,

1" it is then...

Approx. how long a length would I need to make a complete cradle? and what thickness plate do I need for the various brackets/fillets etc.? (I'll be popping up to B&Q later).

Regards,
Andy.

ChrisGamlin - 30/3/05 at 12:09 PM

Make sure you buy box section STEEL not iron though, I was in B&Q yesterday getting a few bits of angle ally and the only box section I saw was iron.
I bought a 6m length of 1" x 1.6mm box from a metal merchant for about £20, I had to get him to chop it down into 3 x 2m lengths though, so I could get it in the car!
For the cradle we didnt even use one 2m length.

Hellfire - 30/3/05 at 01:31 PM

Nice bit of work there Chris...

ChrisGamlin - 30/3/05 at 01:48 PM

I can't take the credit Im afraid
I spent the day up at my uncle's workshop and he did it for me whilst I made a few other bits like rad mounts and gear selector rocker - it does make life so much easier when youve got all the correct tools around though!

andrew.carwithen - 30/3/05 at 03:35 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
Make sure you buy box section STEEL not iron though, I was in B&Q yesterday getting a few bits of angle ally and the only box section I saw was iron.
I bought a 6m length of 1" x 1.6mm box from a metal merchant for about £20, I had to get him to chop it down into 3 x 2m lengths though, so I could get it in the car!
For the cradle we didnt even use one 2m length.


Cheers, Chris,
I,ve just been down my local metal stockist and like you, he had no offcuts and I had to buy a 6m length (mind you, I only got charged £15! )
Forgive my ignorance, (I'm no metallurgist or welder!) but why should I not use the stuff in B&Q ? (apart from it being bloody pricey! - looked the same as the mild steel I've just bought.)
BTW, are you any nearer to removing the blade pump your gonna sell me?

Thanks,
Andy.

ChrisGamlin - 30/3/05 at 06:35 PM

If it was steel then there's no reason to not use it, but the box section I saw in there was iron which isnt as strong as steel. They have different colour coded labels for different metals, its not obvious unless you find the key on the wall though, or look closely at the small labels.

Pump should be off by the end of this week, Im off work this week working on the car and hopefully should have the tank out tomorrow or friday

Chris

Minicooper - 1/4/05 at 02:51 PM

Chris,
I see you have additional engine mountings on the cylinder head is this necessary with all the normal mounts on a R1?

Cheers
David

David Jenkins - 1/4/05 at 03:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ChrisGamlin
If it was steel then there's no reason to not use it, but the box section I saw in there was iron which isnt as strong as steel. They have different colour coded labels for different metals, its not obvious unless you find the key on the wall though, or look closely at the small labels.


It isn't iron - that's very brittle and could never be formed into a tube. In their ignorance I think they are mixing up black steel (straight from the rolling mill and covered with scale, edges fairly rounded) and bright mild steel (scale removed, shiny, tends to be more accurately shaped with sharper, cleaner edges).

I have used their black steel (I didn't read the labels!) and it worked OK, but it's a PITA removing the scale - and if you don't remove it and then paint it, the scale flakes off eventually taking the paint with it...

It is tough though, and more stable when bits are cut out (bright-drawn mild steel is full of stresses locked in when it's formed). Also, it's the only way you can buy thicker sections in B&Q, as their bright stuff is usually very thin.

David

ChrisGamlin - 1/4/05 at 03:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Minicooper
Chris,
I see you have additional engine mountings on the cylinder head is this necessary with all the normal mounts on a R1?

Cheers
David


Ive only used the standard mounts, there's 4 on the head / upper block on the R1 (on my 2003 engine anyway). The way the rails ran across it seemed silly not to pick the cradle up off all 4 bolts around the head area to give it a bit more strength, the thnking was that unless it twisted the cradle or the head itself, the engine couldnt go anywhere even if the gearbox mount failed for some reason. It also makes it easier to lift out without having the gearbox mount on the cradle like the ST blade one had.
If you're putting a lower cradle/mount in as well you probably wouldnt need to pick up on all four of these though, just the upper block ones. Ive not currently got a lower engine mount, I might add a simple one just to be safe although my ST cradle for the blade didnt and that was fine.

Chris

[Edited on 1/4/05 by ChrisGamlin]

Minicooper - 1/4/05 at 05:05 PM

Thanks Chris,
My 2001 R1 hasn't got the triangular mount shown in your picture, I have 3 on the head and also use bothe the top and bottom gearbox mounts

Cheers
David