Here’s a good example of how not to design an inboard suspension pivot bracket: a wide bracket welded to a narrow tube (as many Locosts have.) In the first picture, this passenger-side bracket has nearly failed – note the crack. How was this noticed? Because the same thing happened on the driver’s side, but wasn’t caught until the suspension broke off (second picture); the grinding marks are from it dragging on the asphalt. In both failures, note the angle of the A-arm tube, how a line drawn along its axis intersects the crack? All the bending force is aimed right at an unsupported portion of the bracket, so it’s guaranteed to flex the bracket and therefore is a guaranteed eventual failure… These brackets will be fixed by adding top and bottom plates to box-in the structure, though the right way is to make the bracket and tube the same width to start with.
Visited several animal shelters to check out the doggies… so many of them. What bothers me is that it seems like Cooper’s been gone a long time. I don’t understand and expected more of a “seems like he was here just yesterday” feeling. I feel bad, guilty really, that his sense of presence is fading so quickly. Of course he’ll never really be gone from my memories, but with only nine days gone by it feels like a year already, with just a dull uncomfortable emptiness in the house. We gave his bedding, pull rope, and leash to the local animal shelter. As we stood in line I noticed that the lady ahead of us also had a bed and leash. Sure enough, she’d gone through the same thing and slowly broke into tears; I gave her a hug and did the same. Life goes on…