Greetings to all: I am 56 years old and have been around the block several times. Among other things, I have worked for many roundy round and road race teams as a chassis technician and have a good grasp of suspension and chassis dynamics on most equipment types. I am currently building a '32 roadster project and have noticed some interesting things that set the transverse spring/solid axle thing apart from most systems. Do any of you have any observations on handling qwerks with the early FORD system that you would share with me? TY, Miz
henry ford did his homework when he designed his chassis'.i have built/worked on several transverse spring chassis,and have found that they are a good place to start.with a little bit of upgrades they work very well.the most important thing about making them handle is to add anti-roll bars.you can get away with just a rear on a pre-34 chassis,but on a 35-48 it is a must to run one on the front and rear.the reason for them is to keep the frame from rocking back and forth on top of the spring.the more top heavy the car is the worse it gets. here are some pictures of a 32 chassis im working on,it is using a model "A" spring with a sway bar in front of the rearend. hope this helps. -danny http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brucesrodshop@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=8768re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos
My $.02 There are distinct differences between a traditional chassis and a modern chassis when you consider the improvements you will incorporate. For the sake of this discussion, lets assume you are employing transverse leaf springs. Antiroll bars are definitely an important addition, although a bit cumbersome on the front of a pre 35 chassis. Whereas a legitimate "traditional" car wouldn't have them, one on the rear would be inconspicuous enough. Another "modern" improvement than can be effecively (inconspicuously packaged) is Panhard rods. The purpose on a transverse spring application is to prevent handling inconsitencies from the car "swinging" on the shackles. Basically, on a transverse sprung car, the roll axis is going to be where the spring bolts to the chassis. The lower you get the roll axis (relative to the spindle/axle centerline), the lower the vehicle CG is going to be, and therefore the less of an effect the vehicles mass is going to have on roll. This can be accomplished using traditional lowering methods like a dropped axle and reversed eye main leafs. Another way to lower the car (and the CG) is to use a flat front crossmember, and to Z (or C notch) the rear of the frame. Tire stagger (diameter differential between the front and rear) means that you also have to consider net caster. With the front of the car lower than the rear, you have to induce more gross caster into the front crossmember so that you can arrive at the required caster when the vehicle is on the tires. This is especially true if you are using a split wishbone, since once the wishbone is mounted, there is no caster adjustment (modern hairpins have adjustment clevises to compensate for minor caster changes) Again, just my $.02
The biggest quirk or disadvantage, as I see it, is the high unsprung weight and short spring base of a beam setup. I have always thought a aluminum beam axle, sprung by inboard parrallel torsion bars, (ala 60s sprint car) would go a long way to making a beam axle more responsive. If you want a cross spring, a mono leaf may be the way to go. I don't know the weight difference between a mono/multi leaf spring but any little bit would help.
you are overthinking this , put the axle in...drive it and have fun i-beam axle and a cross spring will be just fine if set up properly
Awesome pictures, Dan. Nice work too. Dolla: Yah, I hear that...lol Rear anti-roll bar. Root: It will never be a Ferrari for sure...Funny you should mention Sprint cars, I have been talking to the old Sprint car guys at Manzinita Speedway about "the good old days" and their set-ups for some old tricks. 36: Car guys tend to overthink things. It is sort of a disease...lol I think i'll wind up with: fewest spring leaves as possible, F & R panhard bars, rear sway bar only if I need to, and possibly use some 4 corner weight jacker bolts even though it plays havoc with ride quality. (The sprint car guys swore by them ) TY guys, it gives me food for thought. MIZ
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