Why I never had much confidence in Kenny Brown parts

[ac427cobra]

Well I finally got some time to work on the car again. The IRS is reassembled and it's back in the car now. It took some extra effort to squeeze the assembly back in the car with the new underside support brackets on it. But it went in nicely. Here are some shots of the fix and reinstall:

left rear front

left rear back

right rear front

right rear back

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[ac427cobra]

TTT with this bad boy!!!

I've made a little progress on the KB Delrin kits of late and you guys that bought these kits and have not installed them take note.

As some of you know I ran into an issue in the middle of the manufacturing process when I found out how out of round the eyes were on the KB LCA's. I had to make steel insert sleeves to fit inside of the eyes to make them round again. Well, that corrected the out of round condition but it really didn't do a anything for the mis-alignment of the eyes! :bash: After I did the complete install on my R earlier this winter I was not overly happy with the finished product. I had some slight binding issues because the eyes were so far out of alignment. Now that I'm doing the same thing again in my second IRS I felt this one needed to be improved. So.............. I made an alignment tool to get these eyes on the same plane. Here are some pics to show the details:

This is how poorly aligned the Kenny Brown LCA eyes are:

This is a slightly closer look at the shoddy fabrication:

And then finally, by shaping the O.D.'s of the larger inserts, the tool will pass straight into the second eye being aligned perfectly using my new alignment fixture so the fulcrums of the pivot eyes are on the same plane

Now the steel eye inserts can be tack welded in place now that they are aligned. I'm sure this will allow a much smoother articulation of the control arms. I'll let you know in a few days.

The KB saga continues. :fart:

 

[NJ2000R]

they werent even close! :nonono:

nice alignment tool, I would have done the same thing.... :thumbsup:

what are those things in the background? :shrug:

 

[ac427cobra]

what are those things in the background? :shrug:

Tulip actuator forks for a high speed can filler. I can hook you up if you're interested in some?!!?! oke:

 

[NJ2000R]

Tulip actuator forks for a high speed can filler. I can hook you up if you're interested in some?!!?! oke:

cool! I figured it was a beverage related item! :-D

I dont have anything to refill my cans with.....the empties here in NJ get recycled, and in NY state, go back for a nickel....

unless I bring them to michigan, where I get 10 cents! :idea: :lol1:

hey, I have to defray the cost of fuel somehow! :nonono:

its called racing on a budget :lol:

 

[b_tone]

Tulip actuator forks for a high speed can filler. I can hook you up if you're interested in some?!!?! oke:

You make me a deal on the change parts for the KHS Innofill DNRT I just put in and started up and I'll get you anything you want at the Gallo employee store!

:beer:

 

[ac427cobra]

You make me a deal on the change parts for the KHS Innofill DNRT I just put in and started up and I'll get you anything you want at the Gallo employee store!

:beer:

Toner:

I was warned not to touch Innofill stuff with a 10 foot pole. :dw: You can't blame someone for poor filler performance and design if you don't sell them any parts!! :-D

But seriously, if you want us to look at something I can see what I can do for you. :beer:

 

[b_tone]

We have had pretty good luck with this one. It's low speed (252bpm max - 240bpm steady state) and once it's up and running it keeps going. Our major issue has been the Zalkin capper.

My offer for the discounted bottles still stands. shoot me a note for a list of available bottles if you want.

Back to your thread.

bpt

 

[ac427cobra]

The IRS is done and back in the car and the control arms articulate like they are on ball bearings!!! :rockon::bowdown:epper:

Here are some assembly shots. Welding of the inserts after tack welding with the alignment tool:

Front LCA eye:

Rear LCA eye:

Right side LCA complete:

UCA:

And finally, a shot of the complete kit. I still have a few kits left.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[ac427cobra]

Ok Guys:

Since the last set of these Kenny Brown IRS control arm Delrin bushing kits have been sold almost three years ago, I've been getting continuing requests for them and I've had to turn people away.

Well the time has come and I'm going to run another batch and hopefully get everyone the kits they are looking for.

In addition to everything shown in this photo:

You will get two spreading studs to open the control arm buckets and a complete grease fitting kit that includes a drill, tap and eight grease fittings, two straight and six ninety degree.

I will take deposits once again if you like to insure you get one. Drop me a PM for payment info.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[carrew]

AC427 - I know the guy who currently owns all the Kenny Brown Jigs and Fixtures for making all the IRS parts. He also has incomplete arms that are missing bushings. PM me if your interested, because he is looking for a buyer. He has everything from "bolt in" show bar jigs to kmember jigs and fixtures.

KB owed money to his landlord/investor, The landlord took control of the assets and sold them off many years ago. Then the landlord sold the remaining manufacturing parts to another individual who was a ex-kb employee who partnered with someone and it went south. KB's old landlord was a part investor or most likely the bank for the next venture. Then somebody the landlord had dealings with was forced to buy the equipment. THat individual thought he could flip it for more cash, but really didn't understand how. So that guy sold it to another guy to start his own suspension business. Then the economy crashed and so did this guys plans. I actually bought something off the guy on ebay and then I went to pick it up at his storage place. I saw all the jigs and fixtures and assisted him selling some of individual parts at swap meets. KB never completed the patent process do to the cost.

Since you have all the equipment it wouldn't take you long to figure out what is what. But then also you could modify the current design and probably fab your own.

 

[SilverNotch]

Bruce that would be great if you could fix the downfalls of these control arms and make them into something great.

 

[ac427cobra]

Bruce that would be great if you could fix the downfalls of these control arms and make them into something great.

I already did, years ago! :coolman: Now I'm making another run. :-D

 

[Mr Joshua]

Looks like a lot of trials and tribulations with those KB arms as well as re-engineering their hard mount. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the clearance you gained from the hardmount, as far as the distance from the OD of the cradle support tube to the inner fender well sheet metal, looking strait up would you?

 

[ac427cobra]

Looks like a lot of trials and tribulations with those KB arms as well as re-engineering their hard mount. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the clearance you gained from the hardmount, as far as the distance from the OD of the cradle support tube to the inner fender well sheet metal, looking strait up would you?

There was significant clearance gained by going the the rear hardmount. I suggest you take some measurements of the placement of the sub frame and fab up the rear mount yourself and weld it in place bolted into the chassis.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[Mr Joshua]

There was significant clearance gained by going the the rear hardmount. I suggest you take some measurements of the placement of the sub frame and fab up the rear mount yourself and weld it in place bolted into the chassis.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

Nice to hear. I plan on measuring multiple times before cutting, with the new FTBR bushings in the front mounts when I've ordered them. The new brackets will be tacked in place then brought out to be TIG welded by a certified fabrication shop. :thumbsup:

Seeing's how others with a hard mount and experience with KB's IRS products frequent this thread, I'll duplicate these questions from my e-mail here, as this seems to be the appropriate place for this.

Out of curiosity, I’ve begun researching a hard mount install on my IRS swap. I was interested in your opinion on the ride quality/stiffness vs. tire clearance aspect of the hard mount modification. Was it worth it as far as gaining tire clearance and possibly loosing ride quality/gaining stiffness? Is there any noticeable change in ride stiffness after installing a hard mount IRS vs. using your bushings combined with bolting/welding in the stock bracket? With my measurements there seems to be a gain of 1.5” combined with the stock bracket and stock bolt head, when using a hard mount. I’ve included a picture of my measurements. You can see the rub from the previous 275x50x15 MT ET streets I had used with the SRA due to axle shift when cornering. Fender lips are rolled and had ¼” of clearance on the outside and ½” of clearance on the inside. So I’d love to regain the use of at least a 275 width with a possible 315 instead of being limited to a 245-255 width.

I've also come across your trials and tribulations as well as others installing/using the KB pieces. What would your conclusion be in installing these pieces over using the factory arms? Is it just for weight reduction when combined with the factory IRS cage, or have the attachment points been modified so that in conjunction with the KB IRS cage other advantages are gained? I’m not considering using any of KB’s pieces at this time, just asked for clarification for thoughts of future upgrades.

 

[99cobrajn]

dose anyone know if the new kb parts look any better or are there still the same down falls as the old ones?

 

[ac427cobra]

Nice to hear. I plan on measuring multiple times before cutting, with the new FTBR bushings in the front mounts when I've ordered them. The new brackets will be tacked in place then brought out to be TIG welded by a certified fabrication shop. :thumbsup:

Seeing's how others with a hard mount and experience with KB's IRS products frequent this thread, I'll duplicate these questions from my e-mail here, as this seems to be the appropriate place for this.

Make sure you have attachment for the hard mount on the bottom AND side of the frame rail. That is VERY important.

dose anyone know if the new kb parts look any better or are there still the same down falls as the old ones?

Different design, same problems.

 

[Mr Joshua]

Make sure you have attachment for the hard mount on the bottom AND side of the frame rail. That is VERY important.

I'm going to outsource the final welding to a shop where my co-workers wife works. They've got a few Certified TIG welders. I don't trust myself or my immediate friends to weld on crucial components. After that I'll have it dye checked where I work before painting it. I've got a spare cradle now I can use as a test piece, before I go hacking up my 8k mile one. I'm thinking an upside down T joint with 3 braces radiating out from the center of the OD of the tubing instead of one. I should only have to hack 3/8 off the top of the cradle support tubing, I'd still have part of the U recess for the bushing shell, but it's minimal and could be filled without much issue. I've got a fair amount of measuring to do so it might change anyways. :beer:

 

[bat-stang]

Great wisdom found here; I had a hard tail mount fabbed for my car some years ago and have had no issues. I don't race it, however. After reading this, I think I will add the bottom mount to my fox conversion. Definitely wont hurt.