im about to start setting up my front axle, its a 28 model a axle, at what degree do i set it at? i think ive heard of 7 degree down, but not sure...could u guys help me thanks
air bagged i-beam axle on a model A, how do you plan to do that? also 5-7degrees leaning back is standard
I've seen a few cars have it and some were very safe others not so much! the best one is the sedan in newstalgia wheels ad it has the bags located on gussets on the hairpins and attached to the frame. The axle is held by a panhardand typical hairpin radius rod set up still has shocks just has bags at the corners of the front crossmember and you really only notice it when yo go how the F!@$ did they do that! but it has straight axle looks and adjustabilty of air! to the OP run 5-7 degrees back and youl be fine!
why dont u think i can put airbags on the front... wishbones, panhard bar , bags and shocks am i missing something?/?/
just asking dude,,,im new in to this ive tried looking it up but cant find anything that says it wouldnt work u tell me,
No reason it won't work.It has been done successfully,but these guys are going to beat on you for not being "traditional".
I agree it might work but it sure ain't gonna be very pretty, there is this saying that goes something like this "Just because you can doesn't mean you should"
no pictures , yet but im thinking bags on the outside of the frame welded to the frame and axle with a panhard bar from the axle to the driver side frame rail. with shocks and wish bones........
7 degrees has worked out very well for me. Re-think the bags! Trad' or not, it's going to be hard to get the "look" right.
Wait a minute. What sort of build are you looking at? Fenders or no? Wheelbase? Hood? I think what a lot of the guys are picking up is, bags are ugly as hell. You'd rather want to hide them somehow. But it can definitely be done. How about this: make up some bell cranks. On either side of the car there's a bell crank with one arm pointing forwards and one arm pointing up. The forwards-pointing arm is on the outside of the rail, with a short link or shackle at its free end, attaching around where the stock spring perch is on the axle. The upwards-pointing arm is on the inside of the rail and activates a bag (perhaps with damper e.g. "Shockwave" - otherwise run dampers in the conventional position) lying on its side. The forwards and up arms are connected together by a short splined shaft running in a bearing in the frame rail: try a single-type front wheel bearing for a front-drive car. That's****uming there's enough room for the bags in the engine compartment. Keep the arms the same length. That way the required spring rate is the same as would be the case if the bags were directly on the axle, meaning you'll probably need the little cylindrical bags rather than the big sphericalish ones. Keep in mind there's more to bags than being able to adjust ride height. In fact I'd say there's something to be said for bags with no compressors or control systems at all, that you simply pump up from the filling station air line. Bags are rising-rate springs. Set up right, you'll be able to manipulate the gain in spring rate over travel so as to get a much cushier ride at ride height than any steel set-up, while ensuring enough rate gain over the next 2½-3" of bump for proper control. Finally make sure nothing touches the bags, especially if it is hot. But to answer your original question, it depends how much weight you've got on your front end and you want your steering to behave. The lighter the front end, the more caster you want. The more straight-line stability you want, the more caster you want. The more steering response you want, the less caster you want. The range is from zero if you want to slalom a COE truck, to 12° or more if you want to keep a FED on the straight and narrow. Most of the guys are saying 5-7°: that sounds about right.
The Gas Monkeys had a bagged A sedan at WOW in Dallas a few years back. Fenderless with a 500 caddy. They had the bags fairly well concealed, not totally fugly. Not sure who built that car but they always said it was sold when they showed it. Don't want to get a***** storm going about those guys tho.
It may not be for everybody but I have a Cen-Pen Speed Shop air bag set up on the front of my '29 truck. It works good and most people don't even know its there. http://www.cenpen.com/traditionalair.htm
Did you look at any other cars on this site? I'm just curious as to why you think anyone here would understand let alone have experience in what you want to do. The problem with trying to be different is there won't be much help or it wouldn't be different. The mental picture that I get from your ideas really looks ugly in my mind. The "RR" term comes to mind. Most of the guys here want to look at a car because it's beautiful and not because it is "outrageous"
thanks for the help guys,,,,i see everyone has there own opinion on it but i have traditional cars also but i want this one a little different.....and yes bags on the outside of the frame closer to the wheels give it better handling.... i hope u feel better dude,,,next time throw up in a trash can, would hate to see someone choke on a nut,,,,,
Well... technically, you can have**** with your sister... but it ain't right! Here's the deal, no BAGS and it handled like a slot car. I HATE to hear a compressor run, flip switches and watch gauges when I could be driving.... Not to mention the fact they are UGLY.... But, you could prove me wrong. I'm just some OLD (37) guy with a keyboard.