RHD Steering Pitman Arm

[StephenJohns]

After much searching for a RHD pitman arm without any luck, I have taken it upon myself to get some made.
The more I get made the cheaper it will be. I have a contact in the motorsport engineering industry who makes components for V8 supercars in Australia who has advised that his company can make a RHD version off my LHD pitman arm sample which is off a 1960 LHD 356B T5.

Does anyone need a RHD Pitman arm here in Australia and want to place an order?
Details below from my contact.

We would make this from a material called 4340 steel and get it stress relived and hardened after machining.

$475.00 each if I get 3 made.
$420.00 each if I get 4-8 made.

– includes material, reverse engineering, machining, spline, heat treatment and blackening.

I personally need 1 myself so only need to get another 2 takers to get it happening.

PM me if interested with contact details.

Regards, Steve

[Albert Tiedemann]

After much searching for a RHD pitman arm without any luck, I have taken it upon myself to get some made.

Details below from my contact.

We would make this from a material called 4340 steel and get it stress relived and hardened after machining.

$475.00 each if I get 3 made.
$420.00 each if I get 4-8 made.

– includes material, reverse engineering, machining, spline, heat treatment and blackening.

I had a similar inquiry from another part of the world on making this part. Here was my response.

Whatever reason has created the small demand for the subject part, it cannot be from component failure. Being a closed die forging, grain flow has been optimized, stress risers all but eliminated and production to near net shape has produced a part with the requisite strength at minimum volume.

Tie rod proportion is more than adequate to sustain the lateral loads envisioned even in the race environment; a likely curb encounter could be severe enough to fail the tie rod [elastic stability load exceeded] but the resultant transferred load would be less than that needed to fail the Pitman arm lug.

It is a critical application and the material choice and manufacturing process attendant thereto must be chosen commensurate with the application. A closed die forging to near net shape is appropriate [original choice]. A material composition analysis could be carried out yielding an appropriate material selection; it would be expensive but would likely be lost in cost insensitivity. Duplication of the part correctly in "small demand" volumes would place it in the category of a cost insensitive application ---like carbon fiber panels in lieu of sheet steel.

Regardless, the effort would require that you furnish a copy of the actual production drawing for the part [very unlikely to be forthcoming as intellectual property may be embedded]; or, you furnish a good [NOS preferred] part that can be reverse engineered via methods enabling a drawing/file to be created for manufacture. Today, with all the schema for doing things in the digital world this task is eased immeasurably, but at significant cost [often buried in the cost of the part when you give a good part to a manufacturer with some specifications [e.g. part to be closed die, 4340 forging to configuration and finishes on sample part furnished.] and say "make me a few". Without a drawing to control locational and dimensional limits [tolerances], the price of each or the lot quantity may be higher. But, in a cost insensitive application,* it may not make a difference.

* needed, but not available.

I am not certain just what you are going to get for $475. If the part were made like original, this would represent a fraction of the real cost of producing "a few" like the three you mention. I would ask how the part will be made to conform--if at all--to original profiles and sections and whether it will be monolithic [billet in today's glossary], built up or a homogeneous 4340 casting. In former times, and in the horrific environment of projectile launch, I have used gun components fabricated like the latter.

[StephenJohns]

These will be made from one solid piece of 4340 steel (billet) and machined using specialised 4 and 5-axis high-speed CNC mills and designed using the latest CAD/CAM technology.
My friends company services the aerospace, automotive, mining, defence, agriculture, tooling, automation and motorsport industries so they are no new-comer in the engineering and fabrication industry.
The cost is low as being a close friend, are willing to reduce profit on their end to assist me.
The first 1 will cost the most (quoted $600-$700) as that is where all design and time programming the machines etc will be but after that, the price will be dramatically reduced as more numbers are produced.
I am sure that if I walked into a machine shop off the street asking for the same part to be produced, the cost would be significantly higher.

These guys make components for V8 supercars which are very tough on suspension and steering components so know what they are talking about in regards to which material to use and processes etc. so I have full confidence that the end result will be better than the OEM version in regards to strength etc.

[Mike Smith]

Stephen,

Suggest that you contact Kip Colvey - he is on the same mission

[Frazer Carless]

Stephen, e mail too me your e mail address and all details of the Pitman arms and I will put an ad. in the Australian Porsche 356 Register magazine, cheers. Frazer Carless.

[StephenJohns]

Thanks Mike,

I have emailed Kip regarding these.

Frazer...Once I know final details on pricing, I will send you all information for the 356 Register Magazine.

Regards, Steve

[Brad Ripley]

Didn't Kevin Pedder do that pitman arm, maybe now some years ago?

[StephenJohns]

Pitman arm being designed right now using latest Cad/Cam technology.
Should be ready for be started in the machine shop late this week.
I will post a picture up as it goes along.
5 sold so far. 4 left out of first batch if anyone else interested.

Happy to get another batch done if there is more interest and help out those that have been like myself, having trouble locating such an arm for RH drive.

[StephenJohns]

Hi Guys,

Here is an update on these and comments below from the engineer. He is trying to fit this job in between running the business and other jobs so it may take a little longer than expected. Hopefully another month or so will see a nicely designed and manufactured RHD pitman arm come out of the shop.

Attached is a picture of where I am up to, in total so far I have spent 3-4 hours trying to reverse engineer the part, but due to the complexity of the part as far as offset and tapered hole detail I need to spend more time on it before we can cut metal.

It will still be weeks before we get to have some of them finished.

I am trying to prioritise your job but the design issue as mentioned above is the problem at the moment.

[StephenJohns]

Just a quick update on these.

My friend has had some very large jobs come in and as such has put this small job aside for the moment.
He will pick it up again soon and hopefully we will have the finished part March/April.
I cannot push him to get it completed any sooner as all of the design time is his own spare time hence the low price.
If I went anywhere else to get this done, the end price would be triple so its not an option.

I apologise for the delays and understand the frustration from some of you but I too am in the same boat. I am ready to trial fit my steering box so as I can get the hole in bulkhead in correct spot but cant as he has my steering box for the design work etc.

I will post an update ASAP.

[Dick Weiss]

The real problem will be the shallow tapered spline hole to fit the output shaft's spline.

Dick

[Dick Weiss]

OOPs--and its orientation line/mark referance.

Dick

[StephenJohns]

We now have an original RHD pitman arm to work off
Thanks to Brian Jones and David Cashel for arranging this for me.

Dropped off pitman arm today at engineers and he advised that he has made many specialty tool to do this job plus is now doing the spline in house as has spent many hours writing the programme to do the angled splines.
ETA on finished pitman arms is the end of March. We have 30 being made with 20 pre sold.
Please email me at the following address if anyone would like one. steve@onlineracingspares.com.au

For those interested, below is an example of his fine workmanship.
This is an aluminium wheel centre nut for a V8 touring car.
The programme took 1 day to write and they take 23 minutes from start to finish to make.

[Phil Planck]

That's a lot nice than this setup to get right hand steering:

[Steve Proctor]

Yeah, I'd feel real safe in that setup...