Re: Project LQ4 - Poor white S10
It's not too late to try the idler arm thing. Another option might be a bent or pie cut then welded idler shaft on a relocated upper bolt.
Guys who splice frames by the book say if you cut a five inch tall frame, the reinforcing panels added should be twenty inches long. 4:1.
Keeping that in mind and knowing this isn't a splice, and that it's well out past the torque box area you can back that off some.
Knowing that the steering linkage is anchored there, and that a weak spot there could add disaster in the case of collision, we gotta go strong.
It sure didn't end up like we imagined earlier.
My only thought is to create a stiff vertical wall right where the rail halves meet. One that is longer than the cutout and has to be finagled into place by inserting it one end first then pushing it past the cutout enough to get the whole thing in there. That would box the outer half of the rail into just a skinny version of itself at the cutout area. Once that was welded in (I'd rather attach with flanges and plug welds than beads on a perpendicular butt joint), then you could close in the inner rail half as you see fit, in an aesthetically pleasing manner. A reinforcement would be hidden inside the rail that way.
Adding a thick plate to the outer side, on the outside, might be overkill but I think I'd like one. Imagine barely getting hit by someone running a red light, the kind of hit that lays rails to one side. Or centering a pole when you lift from a burnout and the truck goes ape fishtailing.
Sure, a cosmetic unreinforced thing here might hold up fine during hard usage but never forget to remember planning for wrecks, or that you're taking flexibility away and adding brittleness. A reinforced fix makes sense because take a close look at the steering box side... frame is hard as a rock there, wreck-wise. Having that kinda stiffness on the idler side might actually be an improvement over stock, but with the cutout so close to the idler mount, the reinforced fix may only equal the idler-holding-still ability of stock.
Absorb or dismiss the input, it's just thoughts. I enjoy helping folks think through all the relevant factors and feel more comfortable about their decisions. But I really enjoy bringing up things not thought of yet. There's a piece of nice thick wide bar stock in my work stall... about what you need to proceed. That welder is screaming your name and pleading with you to take it for a spin, but shut that out until you nail down the frame patch plan and it makes sense.
THEN blaze it!
