Hot Rods whats going on with the front frame on this car???

the angle iron piece I think was added to hang the old exhaust... everything they did was hokey, hokey ass exhaust was removed so no need for the hokey ass angle iron...

 

I think the stance is way better...and with out changing out the rear end to pick up a couple inches... might just call it good...

 

I don't think it was ever in there.. the front wheel just had a little curb rash... my wife fuc's up wheels worse going through the in n out drive through...


when I first was looking at it I stuck my hand up there and felt the spring bolt so thought all was good.... must be just a little bolt holding the top pad.... but for sure it doesn't go through

 

Noted in post #30. ^

 

you are very correct... but... one would assume that who ever fixed it did it right... but all they did was slide it back over and tighten the u bolts... didn't even line the springs back up,,,or put a centering bolt

 

this is what was in there when I took it apart.






so i'm checking everything

 

Yep. Sheared off

 

You said earlier it had a new spring bolt.

 

It does have a new spring bolt

 

Ok. Your pics show a sheared spring center bolt. Which bolt is new?

 

pretty easy... thats the old bolt and the new bolt is in the spring..

 

Righto...

 

so my quest is to make sure every thing is right and safe... I'm happy with the front spring mount...
next the rear end...and making sure the suspension is set right... when building a frame I had a fixture to keep every thing square and straight...kinda hard to X measure with all the running gear in...my lift is level, so I'll call it my plate... I need at least a center controll line, then I could 6-8-10 off it to get a square point, other wise I have to assume too much...who knows if who ever jigged the rails even got them Square....sooooo.


is there an easy wall to do a four wheel aligment that works on a plate without taking too much of the car apart???

 

so I got into the rear of this car...the pipe thingy's that are bolted to the rear ed are too long to start... they are putting a bind in the cross leaf... also... does any one here put a little lead on the passenger side, and yes my passengers ride on the right side, and I drive on the left... if so how much...

 

'Bachelor Lean' is traditional! Never heard of anyone weighting on a typical hotrod.

Might be simpler to get the car on a 4 wheel alignment rig, if only to make an assessment.

Some spring bind shouldn't be too much of a problem, but you could lengthen the radius rods as they look to be adjustable at the front. But it drives nicely, so why bother? And the side to side axle movement allowing the radius rods to touch the frame would concern me more. In a bizarre twist, no pun intended, you might find the spring bind might be helping control the lateral movement some, and fixing the bind causing more contact! Back to the panhard bar!

Chris

 

I’ve aligned em with a string across the rear tires tied to a jack stand.
Using a tape measure to check the thrust angle and measure the front axle relationship with the rear.
Used a caster/camber gauge in the front.
Can also use an angle finder for camber.
Tape measure or tram gauge for toe.
Having the alignment tire plates help.

 

one thing... the rad. rods ended up too long after lowering it and enough to cause the rear spring to twist, I shortened them as much adjustment as I could,,, but still a little long...the rear end is over from center 3/8'' which makes it stick out 3/4'' on one side and makes the other side rub the rad. rod bracket...I think what I really need to do is get it off the rack and do this on the ground w/ tires off... my son builds chassis at the shop.... I have a red nose so I can't post race car and off road pics...but thats what he does... so just Amagine...


I think what I should do is cut off all the mounts and start over...

 

thanks for the post...

 

the reason I wanna get it off the lift is because i could plumb bob a control line , then just 6-8-10 off it to check every thing...in the open air no where to measure off...so you have a lot of assumptions

 

Jig I made to shorten my radius rods
Tacked some washers together. Smoothed and made parallel on a piece of Stickit paper stuck on a smooth surface.


Set up to be cut


Cutting


Finished product.

 

worked on it some more this eve...my rack has the alignment lift... but the plates are at the shop.. got it closer... but need a tap and die so the end can thread in farther.. it probley was fine as is , but I know it's not right so I'm gonna fix it... lifting the wheels off the rack was a huge help..

 

thanks... thats probley the fix I need... I still have threads showing as in your pic,.. but as it is now the pipe end runs out of threads , or its rusted up in side the pipe... so I need to tap it and all my 1/2 and bigger taps are at the shop...so tomorrow I get after it again... most likely use your idea to short'n them up....thanks again...

 

question???? did you just score it all the way around.... then remove the end and cut it the rest of the way through??? last night I was thinking that..... other wise it would mess up the threads on the (what ever you wanna call the rod end)

 

On mine it was the plug welds on the sides that got into the threads.

Yes, cut all the way around as deep as I dared, then pulled the rod end and finished.

 

It looks like you're going to need to add a torque arm to the rear axle as well. Split bones without the torque tube lack the necessary strength.

 

where would you put it???

 

Some close-up pics of how the trailing arms are attached to the axle tubes might be a good idea.
It looks like a truck arm/ladder bar sort of setup. I don't think there is any articulation at the rear of the arms.
A torque arm would be a very good idea.
Good info and pics here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/split-wisbones.999504/

And you will need a Panhard bar. There is no way to get the required pre-load in that almost flat rear spring.

 

ya hoo,... got her done...I used one of my all in one home made welders to remove the spring pad and move it over to center the rear in the car and weld it in,...... the bones have the old old school pete and jakes 11/16'' rod ends... had to go to mcFaden dales to get 11/16 tap and die....90 bucks!!!!!!!so every thing checks out now with a tape measure... drove it with a chase truck following to check for dog walk... none... goes straight with no hands on the wheel and stops the same way.. i'm right at 1/4 toe in,.. a little strong for me... and a little over7 degrees caster... probley picked up a degree or so lowering the rear..

 

and with the rear centered she is real stable now....so till I see some reason for a rear panhard bar... probley hold up on that project....

 

what the movement was, was the frame hitting the top of mount then sliding over it pushing the frame to the side....