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Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:39 pm

I was feeling ambitious, and had nothing better to do this weekend, so I decided to take a crack at building a 6-inch wider BJ beam. I picked up a complete BJ beam (minus spindles) for free:

I stripped it all down, pulled the trailing arms and steering box off, pulled the springs out, and cleaned up the areas to be welded. I started off by marking the beam with horizontal and vertical lines through the grub screw. I then extended the horizontal line three inches, for a reference mark. I used a small piece of angle iron to make sure that the line was straight on the tube.

Then, because this is a BJ beam, I had to draw another line 1 9/16 inch above the first, so I marked a piece of string and used that to transfer the measurement to the tube

Then I used the same piece of angle iron to draw another 3-inch line. This is the line that I'll use to position the adjusters later. Then, I marked a vertical line 1-inch on either side of the center mark, so I knew where to cut out the center anchor.

With all the lines, I'm ready to start cutting. I have a tubing cutter, but I couldn't get it to cut all the way through, so I basically used it to score lines to guide my reciprocating saw.

I finished the cuts with my recip saw and removed the centers.

Once I had the beam apart, I took the time to clean out the tubes and since I'm going to go with urethane bushings, I drove out the needle bearing on the inside. I've heard it's easier to do from the center out, but it was still a bitch!! But, I got them out, and cleaned most of the grease out.

I'm going to use 4 adjusters with a section of 2-inch .120 DOM between them, so I only need one set of springs. Each adjuster is 2 inches wide (total of 4 inches), and since I cut out two inches when I removed the center anchor, that piece of DOM will be 4 inches wide to give me my 6-inch wider beam.
I used my cut off saw on the DOM, cleaned up the edges, and then got ready to weld the anchors and tubing together. I clamped a piece of 1 1/2in angle iron in my bench vice, and then set everthing in place. At this point the adjusters have to be in line with each other, and the edge of the angle iron takes care of that. It also lines up all the pieces so they are in the same plane.

I tacked it all together, and here you can see I got my eight inches.

Now it's time to clamp it all together and tack it in place. Before I did that, I had to put the anchors back in the adjusters. I had to make sure it went in correctly. There are two threaded holes through the clamp, one for a small set screw (you don't see that), and one for the large screw that's used to rotate the clamp. When I put the centers back in, I had remove the small set screws, and make sure that the hole for it is toward the back of the beam (away from the adjuster bracket)

Then, because I want all my adjustment in the up position, I pulled the adjustment screw out, set the adjuster all the way down, and drew a line through the center of the screw. This line will line up with the upper line that I marked on the beam earlier. In this pic you can see that all my adjustment will be going up.

In order to get everything lined up I had to grind smooth the tack welds I'd already done on the center section, but one I did that I was able to clamp everything to the angle iron, and tack it together.

Here you can see that the original beam was just over 31 inches:

and the new beam is just over 37 inches:

And here's what it looks like at this point:

I won't finish welding it all together until I cut and check the fit of the springs and the trailing arms, and I'm waiting on the urethane bushings to do that. I also need to move the beam clamps as well. I am debating whether to swap to a rack and pinion and ditch the stock box. If I do that I have to weld on a bracket for that, but if I don't I need to move the steering box centering bolt and the pitman arm stop. I don't think I'll move the damper bracket, I'll just move the clamp on the new tie rod. I think that's it for today, it's over 90 in that garage and I'm ready for a beer!!

Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:10 pm

I vote sticky!
Its somewhat redundant, with all that work you might as well go link pin, but still good work. Especially if you are on a budget, have a street baja, and don't want to change frame heads. Very nice! 8)

Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:26 pm

neanders wrote: I'm going to use 4 adjusters with a section of 2-inch .120 DOM between them, so I only need one set of springs.
actually, the way you did it you'll need two sets of leaves, each cut just beyond the half way point.

Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:03 pm

I just went out and re-measured, and I think you might be right! It looks like I might come up about an inch short. Hmmmm, not sure where I screwed that up. I guess I could have put the adjusters outside of the mounting brackets, but I was concerned about have those welded joints unsupported. Guess I need to find a second set of springs. That's easy...

Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:46 pm

vaderoni wrote: I vote sticky!
Its somewhat redundant, with all that work you might as well go link pin, but still good work. Especially if you are on a budget, have a street baja, and don't want to change frame heads. Very nice! 8)

Thanks! This is one of those things where I had the stuff essentially lying around, so it didn't cost much but my time, and I thought "Why not?" Besides, if you have Thing spindles and trailing arms, you already have a BJ beam. This might work out well to widen it.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 2:07 am

I was wondering on a project like this, if you cut a little more out of the center and add material between the adjuster screws, could you use 1 set of springs? Essentially you would be moving the adjusters closer to the outer bearings and then you could cut the springs in half and they would work?

Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:27 am

Neil, Great job on the beam.
Modifying a late model beam is going to become more and more popular since OG Link Pin springs are getting harder to find and the price of after market ones so high.

Joe and I were in the shop and there was a SB Baja in for work. We started chatting about how soon there will be a kit to strengthen the front suspension for them. The darn things all ready have a sudo a-arm set up.

I sure do love Baja Bugs 8)

Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:34 am

The problem (as I see it) is that you have to be careful about the mounting brackets. They are about 10 inches apart, and right now the adjusters are at eight. I miscalculated on my measurements (as Brad pointed out), so the only way I think you could do it is to put the adjust on the outside of the bracket, or skp the brackets altogether and mount it to the cage. The one issue with shortening the spring stacks is that you make it even stiffer than it already is.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:46 am

neanders wrote: The one issue with shortening the spring stacks is that you make it even stiffer than it already is.

That was the main problem I had with the warrior beam on my Baja. At higher speeds, every thing was good. But going slow was very rough. We played with removing springs in a variety of different combinations, but the front end sagged.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:04 am

That's why I'm thinking that using old spring stacks may solve that problem. They'll already be softened up, and I don't need a lot of upward adjustment to get the height I want. Plus, by an unfortunate miscalculation, each my spring stacks should be about stock length, which hopefully means they won't be too stiff.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:50 am

If you cut the spring packs in half right where the center grub screw is and then re dimple the spring pack about 1/2 inch in it wont make hardly any difference at all, especially with the larger than stock wheel & tire combo hangin off of the spindle. You just have to move the adjuster out a little on the beam. Be seure to measure first, because like was said earlier the beam mounts can interfere with the adjuster.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:00 am

BugZyla.com wrote: If you cut the spring packs in half right where the center grub screw is and then re dimple the spring pack about 1/2 inch in it wont make hardly any difference at all, especially with the larger than stock wheel & tire combo hangin off of the spindle. You just have to move the adjuster out a little on the beam. Be seure to measure first, because like was said earlier the beam mounts can interfere with the adjuster.
this is how i did my beam. but the dimples I think were more like 3/4" further in. It's been a while since I built my beam, however. And as Neil pointed it, since you need more of a spacer to make this happen, I think the widest you could probably go without ditching your brackets is about 5" or so over stock.

Sun Jul 05, 2009 1:40 am

when i built my 6 inch wider ball joint beam i used two beams, i measured 3 inches out from the grub nut on both beams, 3 inches to the left on one beam 3 inches to the right on the other beam then butt welded the beams together, it took all the spring packs from both beams, but i didnt have to drill the dimples in the spring pack as the distance stayed the same , works great, ball joint beams are easy to come by and for cheap

Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:03 pm

Well, I got some more work done on the beam yesterday and today, but my camera died, so I don't have any good pics of some of the work. I cut off and moved the damper and mounting brackets, and welded them back in place. I also cut off the pitman arm stop. I welded up the seams, and put a coat of paint on it. I also cut and installed the first pair of stock springs, and I picked up another set of springs (free!) this afternoon that I'm going to cut and install tomorrow. I still need to get the bushings and hook stop kit.

The beam is now six over, and as you can see in the pic, you could probably go to eight inches over and still fit between the mounting brackets.

Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:11 am

Is the main reason for widening the beam for stability or tire clearance? I have some decent coilovers that are about 12" and am wondering if this would be better off since I already have them

Mon Jul 06, 2009 11:47 am

With the BTR's and the tires I have, my rear track is 6 inches wider than the front. So, I have noticed that the car pushes pretty bad in cornering, presumably because of the differences in track. And, with the car being as high as it is, I think the wider track will improve stability.

Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:33 pm

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but for future reference, when you weld two pieces of metal together, to gain strength, you need to bevel the edges like a "V" when they are put together-this increases the surface area of the weld beads dramatically.

Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:53 pm

tundrawolf wrote: I'm not sure if you know this or not, but for future reference, when you weld two pieces of metal together, to gain strength, you need to bevel the edges like a "V" when they are put together-this increases the surface area of the weld beads dramatically.

That's very true but in the case of installing adjusters you don't need to worry about it as much. The reason being that they will always be inside of the frame head brackets and they wont see as much load as they would if you just butt welded the beam on the out side of the brackets. The only thing the welds have to support where they are is the rotational force of the leaf pack.

Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:02 pm

tundrawolf wrote: I'm not sure if you know this or not, but for future reference, when you weld two pieces of metal together, to gain strength, you need to bevel the edges like a "V" when they are put together-this increases the surface area of the weld beads dramatically.

It doesn't show up well in the pics (perhaps because I didn't bevel them enough?), but I did. I guess time will tell if they are strong enough.

Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:06 pm

runslikeapenguin wrote: That's very true but in the case of installing adjusters you don't need to worry about it as much. The reason being that they will always be inside of the frame head brackets and they wont see as much load as they would if you just butt welded the beam on the out side of the brackets. The only thing the welds have to support where they are is the rotational force of the leaf pack.

I'm also going to add support tubes to the top and bottom of the beam, to add more support since there is more stress now at the clamp. Someday, when I finish my bender, I will extend the cage all the way out to the beam. Someday...