A really bad idea...

OK, I don't plan on doing this...yet. Just wondering if anyone has seen it done. We're probably all familiar with hard-tail motorcycles but has anyone ever built a hard-tail rod? I mean welded the rear axle right to the frame? Did it work or was it scary as hell to drive? Hell, if enough people tell me its a bad idea I'll just do it.

 

One vote Bad Idea.

 

bad idea, also one rough ride. i also thick the "purple people eater" car is a rigid.

 

well i have rode a few hard tail harleys in my day..and that was a bad idea too..even back than it was a bad idea..my back still reminds me of it to this day!

 

Anybody got pics of the PPE rear setup?

 

Another vote for bad idea. What would be the purpose?

 

Yes it's done all the time ...ON TRACTORS!!!



You can't drive a car on a road if the diff cannot swivel on a center line,One wheel will lift off the ground some where...anywhere in fact.
Seen it done on a 36 V8 a long time ago where the diff housing was welded to the chassis to lower a coupe...Dumb really Dumb!

 

Ummm, can I lie? The truth is that I'm getting lazy and it sure would be an easy way to drop the pile I'm working on 10 inches. The rear axle would end up above the frame.

Just looking to see if anyone has done it. I don't think it is a good idea or anything but...if people do it.

 

start shopping around for a chiropractor.

 

Bad idea. If you have no rear suspension, the only ways your car can adapt to what would be a load on the suspension is tire deflection and frame deflection. Safety and ride quality aside, part of why they get away with this on bikes is that the frames are usually overlly strong(which I like), and they only have two wheels so the vehicle isn't under torsional strain like it is in a car. You'd really have to beef the hell out of your frame just so it wouldn't brake so you probably wouldn't be saving yourself any work anyway.

 

bad idea. not only do you need up & down movement, you also need torsional movement.
you want to drop it 10 inches ??
there has to be a better way.

 

Yeah, well actually 10 more than it is now. It's already dropped about 4-5. Not enough.

 

I had "aquired" a rod from a guy that didn't know what he was doing. The rear suspension was set up in such a way that it fought itself- therefore eliminating the possibility of travel. not to mention that he had conjured up what he thought was a stiff-as-shit quarter elliptic spring setup. He never got it running so I bought it for the body and parts, but before I tore it apart I got it running and drove it. It broke. Fast. Long story short-Norrie is 100% right. The frame took everything and just gave up. So one more vote for bad idea. Dragsters and salt-cars aside, of course.


To lower it that much You'll probably have to go with air bags and notching...

 

My heavy 3/4 ton truck with 1 ton axle daily driver 2wd suburban is already beating me to death. I cannot imagine a solid axle car. Also, I can tell you that if you run Shockwave air ride suspension too low in pressure, it feels near solid and it will knock your teeth out if you hit a bump in the road (never mind potentially destroying a wheel or more... A vote for bad idea here, but I would be the first to want to see some video when you get it done!

 

REAL bad idea if you actually plan to drive it! I put Rancho torsion bars on an old 4 X 4 I had and cranked them up all the way for tire clearance so In effect I had NO suspension. Every little tar strip made the front tires jump off the ground! That lasted about 10 hours and I backed them way off and got out the sawzall. It was a Datsun so no harm done. Your back end will be hopping all over the road and you will have NO control whatsoever.

 

Let's put it this way, when I was young and dumb, my dad had a '62 Nova SS Convertible with the original wheels and I wanted to put my L-60's on it. As there were no air shocks on the car, there was nothing to do but jack it up, take a pair of muffler clamps and tighten them up on the bottom half of the shocks. Trust me, 2 "laps" through town and I had a killer headache! The muffler clamps and L-60's came off before Dad got home and he never knew, but I'll never forget that first hit at the railroad tracks at 20 m.p.h.!

 

Go for it, just get a couple of kidney donors lined up ahead of time.

 

Look up the boneshaker here on the hamb.... then ask the builder how it was.....

 

My take on it is' if you're too damn lazy to Z your frame and set up a safe rear suspension, maybe you should take up Chess and leave hot rods to somebody else!

I'm glad you live in California so I don't have to put with you bouncing towards me coming down the hiway.

Mick

 

Perfect! Way helpfull in the search section. Thanks!

 

isn't HemiRambler building a car with a solidly mounted rearend?

(a front engine dragster)

 

Geez, who pissed in your Wheaties? That ain't the response I'd expect from a good Mormon boy.

 

wasn't the uncertain-T a ridgid rear suspension???

maybe that's why it disappeared.

 

Doing something different, because people say it can't be done is cool and all.....but to do something DUMB to be different is well.....DUMB.

It WILL NOT work. It WON'T WORK well enough to drive 10mph + in your neighborhood...

 

Have Jack make you up some of those fancy 9" to mog, or whatever junk, and run some portals on it. That way you won't have to take out the floor in the tub. Now that the people on this board have no clue as to what I'm saying........

Your other realistic choice is going to be to z the frame. Then at the very least run a transverse spring and links, with a panhard. You are then contending with the low/flat floor. Not a big deal. But it's another thing to have to mess with.

 

Yeah. I pretty much have to cut up the floor now. I think I'll just hack off the rear of the frame and build a new one. Although I've searched and found a few other rigid rods that are in fact being driven on the road despite the impossibility many have stamped it with.

 

The only true way to take advantage of this solid mounted thing is to have a giant blown Chrysler in front of you and a Pontiac rear axle hard mounted to a Fuller style chasis. Only drive it at full throttle for 1320 feet at a time with some big spongy sticky tires on the back and small spoked fronts. Then you'll be ok. to all you nay sayers out there go turn over another rock Hey it's Friday and I'm feeling spry!


Terpu

 

The body panels will crack and rip apart at the bolt holes eventually from the stress of every bump and crack in the road. It will also be a miserable ride and you wont want to drive it and enjoy it.

Bad idea.

 

Then think of it like a TJ vs a YJ you need to outboard the frame. Like on those Jeeps. On a TJ they made a much larger upward sweep so it would articulate more. You need to put in a similar thing, with c notches, or just build it that way. Yet you are doing it to get it lower. You could inset the springs into the frame, like Mello did on his old Mod Stock rig. Run a smaller shackle, then still run leafs. Or if you have enough room put the springs up as high as you can on the inside of the frame. Run the skinny springs if you have to.

 

What the hell are you building that needs to go down that much?