Now it is time to locate the pick up points on the nose section so we can assemble all of the components of the front suspension. It's got me in suspense because I want to see if it goes together like planned. Pick ups simply refer to the point at which the control arms are connected to the nose section. They are made of 1/8" thick steel with a 1/2" hole drilled at the appropriate spot to receive the 1/2" spherical joints that are screwed into the ends of the control arms. The easiest way to get the pickups to line up with the arms is to first locate one pick up and tack it in place. Now you can connect the arm to this first pick up and the second pick up will automatically be spaced for you. Just swing the arm over with the second set of pick ups to the side of the Nose and tack them on.

The next photo shows the control arms connected to the Nose and ready to receive the spindles.

The spindles are connected by simply screwing the upper arm into the 1/2" nut and the lower arm into the 5/8" nut on the spindle.

The next photo shows the spindles connected and ready for some wheels.

We not only need to connect the wheels to the spindles but they need to roll freely. Bearings are a wonderful yet simple way to make something rotate smoothly as well as acurately. Here is a picture of the front wheel hub and a set of bearings. It just so happens that it will fit a 3/4" bolt like the one we welded on the spindle. Wow! How did that happen? I guess I got lucky this time.

Now the main consideration when choosing a set of wheels is "what will look good". Not really. Yeah really. I see cars all over town with a set of wheels that are worth twice the value of the car. The rest of the car looks like a piecer but they are rolling in style. I chose a 16" diameter wheel x 6 1/2" width. I could explain what all the different sizing numbers for tires really means now that I was forced to learn them but that truly is some good bed time reading. You can find it on line if you are really interested. Maybe you already know. But the point is that most terms mean something specific in an industry and the way we use those terms may not be technically correct. For instance, the term wheel actually refers to the metal center portion which is bolted to the hub. Of course tire refers to the rubber portion. So don't ever go into a tire store and say you need a new set of wheels because that will really get them excited and all that glitters is not chrome.



Here is the wheel set I chose for the cart. How do I know that 16" will look good and work well for this project? I don't. But I saw a picture of another cart and it looked good on it. Later on we will be estimating the speed of this vehicle with a formula that includes the diameter of the wheel. More on that later.

Now that we have the wheels connected it is time to be sure they will move the way we intended before welding everything up. But first we need to see how the rack and pinion steering is going to fit.