Ive been working hard on the '53 chevy, getting allot done! the rear suspension, front suspension ****** crossmember, carrier bearing crossmember, steering(column, linkage, ect), motor is all mounted in and ready to come out, pretty much everything on the ch***is is complete. just about time for body work and paint! heres some pics of the rear suspension, ill get some more of the rest up as soon as i get batteries for the camera! Thanks for looking, let me know what you think! The column, shaved the factory column hump thing in the dash, used a swivel mount drop bracket to the the wheel comfortable.
I really like that setup, but I don't think the panhard bar was necessary with the lower links triangualted the way they are for bag mounts. I think you'll see some binding with any suspension travel. Have you run it through the full range yet? Really nice bends and slick arrangement.
Nice looking work. With the bags that far forward do you think the ride will be harsher or softer? Just wondering because i'm not that familiar with bags but thinking about going that way.
I had the same thought about the panhard bar once i got the lower link bars done, but with a bunch of pusing around on the rear end I decided to add it, it still had quite a bit of side to side slop, and since this is going to be a shop truck going to have to haul a trailer I wanted this thing to be stout! As for binding, I can lift the rear suspension by hand wen the cab isn't on. If the bars are all in proportion and mounted at the exact lengths(the bottom bar) then their is no prob, if the inner and outter part of the bottom were outta wack then their would def be problems. The suspension has about 12-14" of travel nice and smooth. As for the ride quality, IVe always herd you get a softer ride with the bags mounted on the link bars. We shall see and I will keep you all posted on that. Thank you all for the complements!
looks cool - pretty interesting setup - looks like the panhard is level at bag bottomout - Ive always been told panhard should be level at ride height, but not familar with bags, and especially your setup - just curious what others think also curious on bed setup and how/will bag interfere.
Just curious...have you tried articulating the axle (lifting just one side). Wondering how far it will move without picking up the other side. I know it isn't a rock crawler, but it needs some roll capability for traction. Seriously, I'd like to know. We have students want to do this a lot, and I try to discourage them for that reason. But I'll admit I've never driven one done that way.
Looks like the work of a former mini trucker. No offense, it just looks like an approach you would see on Street Trucks covers. I really like the setup and I am sure it's going to work awesome. Keep us updated.
To tell you the truth I havent lifted each side individually yet, but when I go to work on mon i will mess around with that and let you know. Im very curious to see how it rides also, hoping for the best of course No offense taken: my(well used to be mine) 01 s-10 i built:
Your tube bending and welding all look very nice. However... My apologies if I sound like a jerk here, but you're going to have big problems fast with those lower control arms. They're going to bend where the curved tube is welded to the straight tube. The straight tube is carrying the entire weight of the rear end of the vehicle at that point. Also, when one wheel rises and the other doesn't, the lower control arm must swing towards the centre of the vehicle slightly, which is not possible with the double forward pivots. Once again, the lower straight tube will try to bend beyond the weld where the curved tube joins. I'd suggest you remove the curved tube and go to a conventional four link with the bags over the rear axle.
i dont see a problem with those bag mounts or the lower bars failing from weight, cause this setup looks to be PLENTY stout and well built... i can tell you one thing tho, its gonna be a bouncy sum *****. even the slightest bag movement is amplified along the length of those bars... maybe el polacko has something to add here... hows about it steve?
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