Ok guys I posted some pics earlier today of my newest project...a steel tbucket with a coil over shock suspension set-up. Most everyone doesn't like the big beefy hairpins and larger coil, that's fine. Some of ya'll mention that you didn't think the batwings and clevis would hold up and might break, this I'm interested in getting some opinions on. Beside don't do it! I'm not say I know they will hold up or won't. Just a guy trying to do something different ok, but I don't want my front end coming apart on the highway either. Here's some info - I'm running a straight six not a v8, everything has been tig welded, the batwings and clevis are from speedway. The design thought is that most of the weight of the motor, vehicle, etc and the shock will be absorbed thought the coils and shocks and little would transfer up front, but I'm not a ch***is engineer so this is just my thought. I can see a valid point in some of the feedback I got, I don't know the strength or make up of speedway batwings, maybe an option would be to build custom batwings are stronger than the speedway style ones. Thought please? I'm looking for some good ideas and experienced knowledge, I like the look of this set up alot and changing it to a normal setup is not really an option....Thanks alot guys
I say the axle will swing left and right with the extra leverage created by the positon of the coil springs and break the p***enger side batwing That is too much leverage to mount on such a small point. The coil spring tower will fail....probably at the frame rail. it looks like the frame tabs at the back of the hairpins are very thin and not braced, those will fail too.
I've seen the coil buckets mounted to the axle and frame but this is very different. I see alot of stress on the clevis mounts and bat wings, stress from potholes, curbs and such. Maybe some re enforcement on the bat wings and 5/8 inch precision hiem joints at all 3 points would make more sense. I would also triangulate the open spaces in the batwings fore and aft of the spring buckets. Some good shocks and keep an eye on it, Good luck!
Clevis bolts are tiny, clevises themselves don't look very stout. All are VERY heavily loaded here. At a minimum...heavier stock for batwings, truck tie rod ends for the clevises.
Those rear hair pin mounts are WAY TOO SMALL. I also agree that the stress the batwings will get are more than those will take. Good luck
I think the frame mounts for the rear hairpins are to light.... alot of stress on the clevis bolts and batwings.....
I dont know much about this set up at all. I dont even understand what a bat wing or clevis is. But from a fabrication stand point those rear mounts from the front control arms arent going to work at all. Suspension is going to be trying to move side to side and eventually those little tabs are going to snap right off. Id box them in with an access hole for the nut.
Please, for safety, cut the spring pockets off the frame rails. You can then move them up front, above the axle. Roth used coil springs for his front suspensions, and you have the right to do so also! You said, - I like the look of this set up alot and changing it to a normal setup is not really an option....- That is fine, yet from an engineered design point of view, change it a little, so the front suspension will function properly. Thus, you can use all the parts that you already have, just have the springs located out front. Your T bucket will have a different look, which is what you are after, and it will be safe to blast down the road. Anyway shockvalue built rods are not muched liked here on the Hamb.
my A built it 65-67 has run 10.69 was driven&raced hard since then >still same 40+years later....has always pulled the front wheels on the 1-2 shift has worked &steered perfect ....when built did not copy anything but others have used same setup..........same cup type holders are used in rear suspensions which see more abuse in the rear?
Agree that tabs which hang down from frame to connect hairpins need to be beefed up, The rest of it, who knows, motor mounts look a good long way back, so probably not that much weight on the front end, Hence may not work as badly as first glance suggests. Without knowing real numbers for the load, the wall thickness of the material etc, I would not wish to say for sure, Having got this far I figure you might as well ***emble to a point where you can measure deflections under load and then brace the other parts as required.
Take note that no one here is knocking you, but simply offering advice, of which most, is quite good. I see: Radius rods are torsionally loading the radius rods/hairpins. They are not designed for constant torque loads. The panhard is creating side thrust on the right side clevis mount and Heim - Heims are not designed to resist side loads. I'd guess that the Heim will be the first failure and with no other axle centering device other than the coils and shocks the car will dart to one side or the other when - and not if - something breaks. Rear radius rod mounts don't look sturdy enough for the loads that will be impressed on it. Looking at your other post, you have a long enough frame to shorten the wheelbase by bringing the front axle back far enough to use a transverse spring with suicide spring mount. That will allow the radius rods to operate like they're supposed to - no torsional loads, just compression and tension and to resist bending forces from braking. Get the panhard mount off the radius rod and weld a bracket or cut down shock stud similar to 63 or so Chevy pickup front shock mount to the axle. (These have threads on both ends and can be found in the HELP section of the parts house.) Both the SuperBell and other tube axles can be welded upon as can the gennie Ford axles since the Fords are forged. Cast axles aren't easy to weld on and I wouldn't trust the weld anyway. You're at a good point to make changes. Set up the steering. Make the panhard a little longer. Connect it to left side frame rail and axle close to the clevis. Make a pair of gussets or box the rear radius rod mount. Roadsters are supposed to have a somewhat delicate look to them. Delicate in that brackets and the like don't need to be made from overly heavy steel plate. For example, a motor mount looks better made from 3/16" steel with gussets or boxed reinforcement than does flinging a chunk of 3/8" steel plate down and calling it good. Factory's use 3/16" boxed/gusseted motor mounts on their cars so that tells you that 3/16" is good for that particular purpose. You'll find that a transverse leaf spring is way more tune-able than is a coil spring. And a lot less expensive to pull leafs or add them than it is to try and find the correct coil spring. Need I mention that transverse front springs are trad? You're not gaining anything in ride quality by using coil springs with a solid axle.
Thanks alot guys I really do appreciate all the advice. This is what I was looking for...I'll keep you updated on the progress
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