Here are some pictures of what we put together for the tow hubs.

I went to Pull-A-Part and pulled the rear drum brake spindles off of a '95 Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager.

I had to make some clearance notches for the 4 1/2" bolt pattern.



I had a local welding shop punch two 1/2" thick steel plates with a 2 3/4" center hole and 6" outside diameter.

They made a set with the 4 1/2" bolt pattern, but boogered it up pretty good, so my friend Dale (who works as a welder at the same place) took them back and had them re-done without the bolt holes. He drilled them himself at home and they are now spot on.



A couple clamps to hold things in place...



And a few minutes later we had some tow hubs!



Dale had several ideas to make these better. If I had showed him the full concept in the beginning instead of just showing up with some parts and asking, "Can you weld this?" they would have been much better looking.

Dale also welded my Pull-A-Part tow hitch back together for me. It was about 1 3/4" too wide, so I cut it apart and we shortened it.

Having the proper tools (welder, cutting torch, quality drill press, etc) makes doing things like this SO much nicer!



Once again,... My "photo rotation" abilities are somewhat lacking.

Hitch is on "Stella" and the wiring is all set.



I trial fitted a hub on GodsRods Duster II last night and I needed to do a little clearance grinding. The axle center on the Ford 8" sticks out about 1/2" and there was some interference with the inner weld. (I should have gotten a tad thicker plate). My plan was to grind down the end of the axle a little, but time is short and I need to do other things, so...
I grabbed a set of 5/16" wheel spacers at Advance Auto.

(Yes, I have considerably lessened the safety status of this already precarious towing method by adding the dreaded "wheel spacers" to the mix...

I've been thinking about several people's concerns expressed about me doing this whole "tow hub" thing...

Maybe it's because after surviving two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I'm just looking for a little "risk" again!

(I can't ride dirt bikes or jump out of airplanes anymore because my back and knees can't handle it... )

I'll do some testing around here locally tomorrow before Chase and I head out for Knoxville on Friday. If I sense anything that's "off" with this set up I'll ditch GodsRods Duster II for this trip and we'll just take Stella.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Stella is headed to Knoxville, TN today with GodsRods Duster II fer some Slant 6 racin' fun!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

and no mater to smash????

I'm Mater!

Cookie's still crumblin' in his boots fer fear of racin' me!

I made the call yesterday morning not to pull to Knoxville due to the weather.

We did make it out to US60 Dragway in Hardinsburg, KY last night though.

Chase made about 5 passes and I made 3.

First time up we were lined up together and the Young Gun put a whoopin' on his old man!
(I redlighted 2 of my 3 passes )

Stella towed just fine. She would struggle just a little on bigger hills with her little one barrel carb, but she's a trooper!

Chase now wants MORE POWER!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

sorry mater guess cookie is just crumbling

He will be once I'm done with him!

It's all gonna go down at Clay City!!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Scientists believe that the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation could possibly be leading to world temperature increases.

The biggest culprit to this problem and one in which they all agree upon is a phenom called Mater Methane. This comes from overconfident Kentucky types and may even be the source of our current mid-western drought.

_________________
66 Lil' Red Piggie Valiant (Mater Crusher) - Thanks Zilla!!!!! 72 Demon (Number 1 Son's)

Mater is just farting around.........

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Mater is just farting around......... well maybe but it seems to me he is the one with a running car ,at the track even cookie the one really passing the hot gas

Well he's already got headers, if you can scav for the kickdown cable and find a small 4 barrel...I think I can find a Clifford shorty intake on the bench in my shop I can make a Baghdad Buddy Deal on...

Of course...you could go the 'other' way...change his distributor and change the rear ratio from 2.76 to 3.23 and make him think he has more power (actually just putting the RPM band sweet spot where the torque band likes it...)



I also see where finding a good looking 15 year old hottie in a tube top in the pits and getting her to distract Chase for a bit might help your off the line performance...This may have other draw back though as the duster is seen parking more often and drag racing...Also he may lose interest with the lack of the space duster option and be looking to 'trade up' for that model..



-D.Idiot

Hey Battle Buddy!

The bigger carb, more gear and a "D.I. Special" are all good advice...

That other part is NOT helpful!

I'm gonna spend some time at the garage today cleaning up and boxing up a couple dizzies to send your way.
Hey Cookie!... Indian's got you all figgered out too!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I thought I'd move this thread over into Slixer's Gallery where we'll continue the adventure with "Stella"...

Chase has a tentative "Shopping List" of things he wants to upgrade Stella with.

We've already got a set of Sebring convertible bucket seats with integral seat belts to replace the sagging original bench seat and very temperamental seat belts.

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49526

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Poor Stella has been forgotten at the garage for the last month.

Chase nudged me last night that she was being neglected over there, so last night I went and swapped places with the Tahoe.

She was a bit sleepy from her month long hibernation and seems to run pretty rich. Mileage on the last tank was down to 14.59 MPG... Dash lights no longer work...

So,... What's the deal with A bodies and water leaks!!??

I opened the glove box and it was soaked! All of the papers (and my Ipod) were sitting in a puddle!

Wiper pivot seals and/or windshield gasket all over again...

Chase informed me as he was driving to school this morning that he was coming to Clay City with me instead of his soccer tournament that weekend.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Chase and I replaced one of the defrost vent tubes the other night. It makes it much nicer (and SAFER) driving to school/work on these cooler mornings.

We'll be taking "Stella" to Clay City next weekend, bit it looks like Chase won't be driving her...

We're gonna do a three-way car swap for the race:

Whitney Covalt drives Stella
Chase drives GodsRods Duster II
I drive Ryan Covalt's yellow Dart

Should be fun!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Last night Chase and I were checking the brakes and rotating the tires on Stella (Rear shoes gettin' thin, but okay 'til after Clay City).
Now we've got a vibration in the front (close to a shudder under braking). I think we've got a wheel unbalanced or something. We'll take another look tonight.

Anyway,... While we we're fiddlin' we were chit-chattin' about our "Post Clay City/Winter" plans for Stella...

In addition to his shopping/wish list in the Parts Wanted section, there's the obvious More Power/Better Handling stuff and wanting to start on the body work/color change to Lexus Amythist Pearl (Deep Purple )...

I asked him if he still wanted to go ahead and install the better fenders and fiberglass Duster hood as an interim fix before the "Demonster Transformation"...

His answer: "Everybody does the "Demon Thing". I think I want to leave her a Duster."

Saves some time, effort and expense.
(I did NOT try to influence that decision in any way. I really liked the Demon idea.)

I guess I'll quit calling Stella a "Demonster"...

Thanks again for those fenders Ceej (and Reed )! We'll make ya proud.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser