Rear suspension pic.s

My car is a streetcar also. I like turning corners over going straight. I'm think about coils so it would ride & handle better. I leafsprings are dearched so they dont have near the spring rate they originally came with, witch allowed me to bottom out the last time I tried going around cones do 50 mph's or so. Mav1970 How do the coils handle?

 

I don't know yet. I'm still in the asking questions & building stage. I did cut all of my spring perches off of my 9 inch so there is no turning back now. If you like corners, you might want to consider doing what I am doing to locate the rear. I'm building a Watts link setup. You get rear steer with a panhard bar and the only thing that you can do is use the longest bar that will fit and you will get the least amount of rear steer. A Watts has a pivot and 2 bars that keep the rear centered in the frame rails as it moves up and down. I used one in the last oval track car that I built and the driver said that it was the most stable car that he ever drove.

 

I talked to with a company that makes those. I have moved so much of the rear suspension around that a I need to take some measurements to get one that fits the car.

 

Question...

Would that upper crossmember be strong enough for street use if it was NOT put beneath a roll cage?

If it was just straddling the 2 rear frame rails... No other support.

 

Wow, with this kinda room I'd be going for a 600 cube Lima block with aluminum CJ heads!

Takes cubic cash too though.
And I am power hungry.

Couldn't just settle for a Windsor.

 

looks nice. I see big 's in your future.

 

Ohh... I can get my hands on a 460 built by Lamar Walden that powered a big heavy '72 Ranchero into the mid 10's. Has on old polished aluminum Offenhauser intake and M/T valve covers, gear drive on the cam. It would do just dandy in that engine bay. My grandpa has the engine, and I've got dibs on it for a certain Grabber.

 

Mav1970,You are right,a watts link is really slick,I used to run a dirt car also and the side bite was great........ratio411,yes that crossmember is .136 wall cage tubing,just weld a 6" to 8" x 1/8 plate to the rail first to spread stress and it would be fine....Ya even a little SVO 514 or 620 would be nice,with the towers out of it it leaves a lot of possibilities,I've had Must II under a lot of Rods and it really handles so nice.....To who ever asked,ladder bar is really not the hot setup for cornering,triangular 4 bar and coil overs or leafs and shock setup from early Mustangs (Shelby)You can make a leaf car really handle IF you learn how to set it up.

 

My circle track car was a Limited Late Model running a long 3 link set up with the Watts Linkage on a 3/8 mile paved track in the Pocono Mountains. There was a full blown Late Model that came down from CT. every week with a 14 year old driver by the name of Michael Ruttkampt (he's running the Hooters Tour now). He had 4 wins and was turning the fastest times all year long. The car was built by Butch Shaw and the one thing different about the car was the Watts Linkage. No one else had it.

My own driver told me that with the panhard bar you could feel the rear shifting through the corners and hear all of the heims clanging but with the Watts it cornered like a Beemer on rails.

 

Finally got back on my own Mav,here are some pics.of the fuel cell and brackets,I made it so the bottom braces unbolt to drop cell out the bottom if needed.

 

Nice work!

 

lot of work, but it sure looks nice.

 

help from the suspension guru's on this one,
how do you think this car will launch with the 27" ladder bars compared to the 33" bars? do maverick like the shorter, what is it called, instent center? or do they prefer the longer type set-up? or am i thinking of the moment arm? i'm new to all this suspenion mumbo jumbo, i'm trying to understand it.

 

Watts linkage

 

That look great. Looks just like my Jazz Fuels Cell. I need to put some sort of cage around it.