Sorry for the lousy photos. These are on a '53 Stude. I wasn't around back then, so can anyone tell me where these were sourced? Are they off the shelf or did someone make them? Thanks in advance.
An inferior home-made version of Cal-Tracs. http://www.calvertracing.com/caltracs.html In order for these to function properly, they need the "rocker" assembly in the front, otherwise, they will bind.
Thanks guys..! The car has a '53 Caddie 331 that's been in there since, as near as I can tell, the car was new. I've been researching Bill Frick Motors for the last few years and am trying to figure out if this car is one of his conversions or not. I've heard from another Studillac owner that Frick made his own version of Traction Masters for these cars. Just trying to figure out this car. Thanks again.
They used to be made in muffler shops everywhere. Shock rubbers for bushings, The one thing they did was to take out the lift action of the front of the spring. The cars would dip in the back more on acceleration. I had a set on and off in a day or so. POS.
Hey mbstude-- I submitted some info on the "traction master" thread but can't remember what it was. If you can clean the ends of rust look for a cast-in M1 or ????. If so more than likely they are traction masters. I had an original set that I used to make my own version many years back for Gen. 1 Novas, replacing the original rubber bushings with a urethane material will make a huge difference in the effectiveness of these bars. The ones I made were machined to take the readily available flanged urethane bushings that the hot rod industry currently uses for hairpins and four bar setups. I hear these bars are being made again, bet they are a lot more than$42.00 though. Here are some copies of original literature that I have had since the late 80's. If anyone is interested, I can scan more application pages. Doug
My brother worked for Bill Frick back in the late 50's and I used to hang out in his shop. It was the place to be when there were almost no such thing as speed shops at that time. They built some really neat stuff for the period. I knew 2 people with Studillacs, one of them worked there also. They used to build their own 4 link rear suspension when, at that time, was unheard of. The traction bars themselves were Buick sway bars and were fixed using the stock eyelet for attaching the ends. Frick also was famous for his Fordillacs. Next door to his shop was Signal Ford. He would buy a brand new Ford, drive it 300' and yank out the flathead and install his engine mounts and the Caddy, usually with the LaSalle floor shift although some kept the old Ford 3 speed. I have a lot of good memories from those days!
I forgot about the old Buick sway-bars.. I used two of them along with some gas pipe and adjusting nuts and bolts to make my bars. They went from the bottom leaf spring plates to the bottom ends of my sub-frame. AND yes, I soon took them off because they locked my springs up!! I then had my Blacksmith Buddy make me a set of slappers by welding 1/2" x 2" x I forget how long to the bottoms of both plates. They slapped right at the middle of the eyes of the leaf springs and I added 1/2" nuts and bolts so I could adjust their gaps! Suckers along with coil-overs worked GREAT.. But it took me like a good 1/2 a Sat afternoon to tune them so my car left straight as a "Rabbit outta the Box" at the Dog track.. pdq67 Oh, almost forgot that I also added reverse slapper straps to keep them from digging down upon panic braking!!
The Traction Master bars look like Frick's but the mounting plates were different as I recall. On the rear end, there were 2 vertical plates that straddled and mounted each bar over and under the rear. Corresponding plates were welded to the chassis to mount the forward ends. I don't remember any length adjustment either.
I talked to a friend last night in Indiana. He has a '55 Stude Speedster Studillac. A running driving car, but far from perfect. "Aged" is probably a good word to use.. Anyway, it's for sale.. But it's not cheap.
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