The last thing I had to fabricate is a toplink. This is not absolutely necessary,
but it will add a bit of stiffness without overloading the toplink bracket. I made
an 11/16" pin to take up the slop in the toplink bracket holes so it fits pretty tightly.
Stiffness in the subframe is very important; flex leads to worn bolt or pin
holes, and eventual metal fatigue and cracking. But don't believe me; just
look at the subframes on serious, purpose-built backhoes. These subframes
feature no visible flex in the frames.
Careful observers will see the similarity of my toplink to a Woods 3-pt enhanced
toplink. I have a bunch of these, so I shortened one up and welded it solid. It
is over one foot shorter than the standard 3-point toplink. Sadly, I ran out of
gloss black paint, so it is flat-black. The show must go on.