D73: Lower A-Arm Redesign #4 + Steering Rack Mount Rebuild

Yesterday I had another realization... the new a-arm design allows the wheels to turn fully outward, but now the wheel hits the steering arm when turned in. After for most of the evening I sat down and redesigned the lower a-arms for a 4th time.

Below is the latest and hopefully greatest design for the lower a-arm. I've done a few things with the design this time.

• I went back to the right triangle shape. This more closely emulates the donor setup.
• I've also kept the width the same as the last set to keep the full range of wheel motion when the wheel is pointed out.
• I've measured the distance that the ball joint is moving forward to plan for enough clearance for the steering rod when the wheel is pointed in.

With these changes and the change to the steering rack mount, I've moved the steering rack 4 1/2 inches closer to the ball joint. This should give me full range of steering motion in both directions.

Lower A-Arm Design #4.

As I just mentioned, I also made a change to the steering rack mount. I cut out a section so that the steering rack could slide back closer to the mount. This moved the rack 1 inch closer to the mount helping achieve the 4 1/2 inch difference mentioned above.

Recessed notch for steering rack.

Steering rack installed in mount.

I plan on installing the modified mount about 3 1/2 inches further back to keep the wheelbase the same as it was with the previous a-arms. This also means no rework on the upper a-arms. It'll move the rear lower a-arm mount behind the upright similar to the first (or second) design.

Steering rack mount in the frame.