Anyone ever try this suspension setup??

found this on ebay, just wondering if anyone has tried it or used it? says it for either chevy or ford cars otr trucks(specify whether ford/or chevy when ordering i guess) from years 46-54? I run a stock parallel straight i beam axle on a 40 chevy pickup with traditional sidesteering. Would a setup like this help or work with such a setup? seems the steering arms would have to be reversed and or go back to using the original chevy arms? Anyhow just wanted to get some input on this, thanx

 

????? hummm looks awfull chincy???/

 

true

 

Saw a setup with the same design as that but was homemade. Used a cross spring. Looked like he drove it to the getogether but it also would be called a rat rod in most circles

 

Its kind of rat roddy looking but I dont see strength as an issue. The plate the hairpins mount to look plenty thick.

 

That's no different than mounting a batwing through the perch bolt hole on a Ford axle.

 

Ackerman is all wrong

 

It looks like the mixing of several designs, which could cause some problems. It just looks like a kluge, not very clean looking.

 

yea it does look like if that plate could bend or break

 

Mr MOJO if you plan on istalling it on the truck in your avitar I think it would hold up OK. I wouldn't install it on a heavy vehicle though,it looks a little light ( material ) .And please screw the clevices in all the way!
ps: You already have a Picture-build your own-......Pat

 

As Brokenspoke stated "the Ackerman is wrong". For this to work correctly the tie rod must be behind the axle not in front. The FOGGER

 

There is a guy in the Cle Elum, Wa area that runs a couple of rods with similar setups that are welded on A T bucket and something else. I don't know the name but he has a Mean blown A I think Coupe that usually shows up at the Run to Roslyn. The setup he had on one of the T buckets a few years ago looked pretty strong. I'm pretty sure he had the batwings between the bolts that held it to the axle. I've got some detail photos in the archives somewhere but I'm sitting a hundred miles from the house right now and for the next three days earning a bit of extra cash to spend with Welder Series on his front end kit.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

 

nothing wrong with ackerman... but the hairpins pointing to the front of the car might pose a problem

I'm not seeing a spring there. better check with ol skool rods to see if this is acceptable.

 

This is simply untrue.



Front steering arms Ae & Bf have exactly the same input as rear steering arms Ac & Bd. Putting the arms in front is less convenient to package and usually presents some compromises in bump steer to squeeze it in, but it is not a requirement that it be in the rear.

We now return you to your regular programming...

 

Scotty your drawing is correct, but to reposition the steering arms far enough outward to follow the correct line they would either be into and past the backing plates or hitting the wheels. In practical application I have only seen the forward facing steering arms on brakeless front axles. But again your drawing is correct just not practical. If you have a shot of a tierod in front of a axel with the correct ackerman i'd like to see it. The FOGGER

 

Ever look under a jeep? Pretty standard fare in 4x4 trucks. If you read my post, I already stated it is difficult to package, but it can be done. In the off-road world the arms are really short to maximize clearance or really long and tucked into the backspace of the wheel. There are a great many variables, but my statement stands. It is untrue that proper ackerman can only be achieved with tie-rod behind the axle. If you doubt that it is correct ackerman angle, try making a u-turn in a YJ sometime.

 

I have seen that type setup done on a 55 chevy pickup. It was set up by a ch***is guy for one of the NASCAR teams located in Charlotte. The guy who owned it said it worked fine. That said, I saw the car at an indoor car show 25 years ago , so I don't know how many miles he actually puts on the vehicle.

 

There are many many T-buckets running the tie rod up front and a good number of them have good Ackerman angles.

 

Looks like the perfect recipe for constructing a deathtrap.

 

Over the last 40 years Total Performance built over 1,000 T's with the tie rod in front. Add to that the thousands of component parts sold by them and other's.

 

Corvair & MII IFS has the steering arms in front from the factory.

 

After closer inspection of the setup in the photo the one I saw was setup with a similar axle mount but the builder used a four bar setup and a transverse leaf spring and tube shocks. The stock steering arms were not used as a vega cross steer setup replaced the stock steering box.

 

good answer

 

Aesthetics on the other hand....

 

The clevis's look to be entirely inadequate for suspension use.

 

What, it's got a little pointy thingy on the steel to make it look fancy.

 

Those look to be the same clevisis that Mr. Roadster sells with the hairpin kits. Again with a light weight build MIGHT be ok, but you have to ask why? Like everyone else has said.... Not pleasing to the eye at all.

 

Yeah, needs little pointy things on the clevis's to make'em safe!

 

It is Different, but needs to be beefed up in certain areas.

 

Well it my look chincy, but I was faced with the same situation. Living in the Islands you use what you got. I had a 65 Chevy Van solid axle, dropped, Hyd brakes, FREE, so I used it. Took a couple of changes to make it right along the way, where it needed improving. But it workes very well, and it was all on Island. Shipping and taxes will kill a project here.Its a little wider them the Ford axle but I also used the Van rear axle and you don't notice a thing and it handles VERY well. Iceman