Bead blasted tie rods. I reinforced the long tie rod by hammering it into 1"x0.120" tube (a very tight fit that required some grinding on the tie rod and 20-minutes with a 5lb sledge). I welded the ends and re-tapped the threads. A cheap project, except for the cost of left and right hand taps ($60). I'll do the short rod also, although it's probably not as necessary. Now I'm looking for any other 14x1.5 threads that need to be chased in order to justify the purchase of the taps.