Quote:
Originally Posted by EndlessAzure
How does the pipe fasten to the tow hook holes? Is it a friction fit, adapted to a threaded stud, or machined threads on the pipe?
|
It starts with a M16x1.5 bolt (the rarest thread pattern in the world) 7 inches long and a nut. Cut off the head of the bolt and bevel the end slightly. Thread on the nut. Put it in the freezer. Get a 6" piece of 1/2" EMT (metal electrical conduit). Deburr the ends. Put it in a vice and heat it up. Take the bolt out of the freezer and pound it into the conduit. Once it cools it's a press fit but I welded it just to make sure. Now get a 1' piece of 3/4" schedule 80 steel pipe threaded on each end. Cut it in half. It will slide perfectly over the bolt/conduit piece. My first idea was to thread the bolt/conduit into the tow hook hole and slide the 3/4" pipe over it and pin it. But it wasn't sturdy enough, so I welded it to the bolt/conduit. So essentially you have a solid steel rod 1" thick with a 3/4" tapered pipe thread on one end and a M16x1.5 thread on the other. Oh, by the way I had to open up the hole through the rear of the car about .001 (unibit) so the pipe fits tightly into the hole. Then I screwed on the angles and pipe pieces. When I got the angles just right, I loctited the angles to the Schedule 80 pipe with red loctite. So that angle is fixed. The rest is pretty much self explainatary.