The particular Ol' Yeller I'm talking about had simple parallel leaf suspension with no visible weaponry against torque wrap (401 Buick motor!) or against roll. The secret was at the rear shackles...they were connected across the car by a torsion bar, forcing the springs to support one another against violence at either side. I think this was used on only one generation, then things got more elaborate.
I like Johns work...but I always thought of him as the King of simplicity! That, in spite of how well it might work for a time, is ultimately nothing but a hodge podge of wear points and monkey motion. It does serve to reinforce the absolute genius of Henrys simple wishbone and transverse spring suspension.
I was thinking that very thing about half way through putting an IRS in one of my projects. Even with a large number of modifications, many hand made components, and a ton of money, I never let the "monkey motion" stop me. And by the way, the inspiration came from none other than a project Lil John and his son Chris built.
Ok...but consider this. Your "hodge podge/monkey motion" gave you the very real benefit of IRS. THIS is to suspend a regular solid axle housing. I'm a little hard pressed to find the benefit with this setup. My guess is Lil John was either bored or building to customer spec. As per usual the workmanship is above and beyond...just that the complex look is a bit beyond what I would expect from him. Usually everything just flows....
It may be a roll of tape sitting on some angle iron. If it's steel, we are seeing the drive pulley for a belt final drive...
Based on Johns body of work, I'm guessing that he was bored for about one hour of his life. AFAIK, the Nova was a father/son project.
Nova? The proportions and body layout don't look much like a Nova to me! Regardless...I'm sure you're correct about Lil' John's boredom to work ratio! LoL
And what tape! Buttera extruded miles of titanium "Thread" with a machine of his own design, wove it into a mesh, covered it with kevlar fabric, and added adhesive made from a custom blend of loctite and structural adhesive. It later became the first duct tape approved for repair of Space Shuttle main engine nozzles. He was not one to be satisfied with ordinary products of any sort...
Due to the OT nature, I didn't want to derail the thread any more than I already had so I kept it short. I was referring to the first gen Nova that John and Chris built many years ago with the IRS. It is what inspired me to do the same with my (OT) Nova. With respect to the OP, I wll exit this discussion to keep it on track.
Ohhhh...I get you now. I thought you were talking about the vehicle pictured here and not the one that had inspired you personally! No harm done...and I'm pretty sure its ok for you to stick around!!!
I can't believe the famous [or infamous] Ned Ludd is stumped. It is a simple 4 link with the lower link attached to a "keyed" shaft [front pivot] from the outside. On the inside the shaft is attached to a bellcrank as seen in photo 1 When the suspension compresses the rocker rotates forward pushing the upper rod forward The upper rod moves forward rotating the lower front bellcrank rearward This compresses the coilover spring which is mounted between the 2 bellcranks . This method alters the motion ratio so the suspension can be reasonably stiff and still have a soft spring. This would also help counteract the motion ratio created by the lower arm/bellcrank. It is a totally unneccesary and complicated engineering but, "mission accomplished" it even has most experts scratching their heads
Pretty much the same concept as my street dragster deal--get the shock out of the way and add rising rate to make the ride better. Roo
Then there can't be more than a degree of rotation at the link pivot for every inch or two of wheel travel? Need tight joints and no flex. And what about articulation? Does that cross shaft twist?
Paul, look at the first photo. I cant exactly measure this , but if we assume the lower 4-link arm is 30" and the bellcrank attached to it is 6" For every 1" of suspension travel the bellcrank pushrod moves forward 0.200" and the coilover below the pushrod [being approx 2/3 leverage ratio] moves forward 0.130" The other bellcrank appears to have approx 4:1 leverage from the central pivot. So the pushrod moving forward the same 0.200" would then move the lower part of the bellcrank rearward 0.800" 0.800" movement on the rear combined with 0.130 movement at the coilover point of the front bellcrank = 0.93" spring compression for 1" of suspension travel [which is similar motion ratio to normal coilovers leaning inwards.] Articulation could be the same as any 4-link . The pivot point at the lower 4-link/bellcrank could easily have a spherical bearing in there [as long as the lower 4-link/bellcrank are keyed together on a pivot/pin/shaft]
Kerry, does your calculation take into consideration the mounting points of the shock that are in motion towards each other as the rockers move ? I'm not sure I picked that up or completely missed in your post.
From what I can see is the top bar changes the amount of compression on the coilover to be equal to the movement of the longer arm. Heres two photos as i was experimenting. I dont have a shock to play with so I just used some strips of metal to see how it moved. Brilliant idea when space is a concern and you have to have a unequal lever. Sent from my LGMS550 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
From when you could go to the local if you had one aircraft manufactures surplus store and buy chunks of aluminum by the pound across the scales. I remember stories of how Lil John would go to his friends shops that had machine equipment in the early days to carve out many of his parts .
The Jalopy Journal
