Hot Rods Anyone using ladder bars on their hot rods?

Used to grab all the swap meet ladder bars I could get my hands on. Just changed the front mounts to heims to handle articulation.

 

Yes ! I build my own ladder bars from scratch to fit my car design.

 

I have used P and J type ladder bars on numerous vehicles. the longer the bar the less chance of bind on tight turn, uneven terrain...going up steep driveways. triangulated 4 bar seems to have taken on a real following.. no need for a panhard/tracking bar and pretty easy to install..Put these P and J bars on my latest build 33 chassis

 

My '33 Willys
- ladder bars with Heim ends in double shear
- coil overs
- Watts linkage
- 4-pinion posi 9"

Launches like JackTheBear. The best setup on the street for stoplite-to-stoplite.

 

Looks nice!

 

I run them on my Willys. I made a front mount using Mustang II strut rod donuts to allow for leaf spring movement.

 

My 64 Fairlane T'Bolt clone has them however no sliders on the leaf springs.

 

A bit of overkill, but this heap has a bunch of motor and slicks.





And, the ghetto ladder bar/ torque arm on the '40.



The shackle lets it get longer and shorter as the rear goes through it's arc.



-Abone.

 

Comp engineering on my Austin:


Hand built on my '39 Chev coupe:



Hand built on my Falcon too:

 

A lot of what we see we call ladder bars because of the shape of them but they are really little more than hairpins. Nothing wrong with that either that is also a '60s styling cue.

I think that in my mind a ladder bar suspension is a little more refined than your common '60s style suspension. What you normally saw on a '60s car was the bars reaching way up under the doors and pretty much static, the more modern rendition has some adjustability to find instant center and offset track conditions.

 

I prefer adjustment at 3 points, and on two of mine I have inline adjusters on the bottom one of the two rear points. Makes them more versatile to square up the wheels, but also set pinion angle too.

 

This Chevy II use to prowl the streets in Anderson back in the 60's, you can barely see the ladder bars.

 

Thats not a bad idea

 

Maurice was the John Miller back in the day around here, He just drove a different kind of Deuce. HRP

 

Today's ladder bars are more tucked in and look more streamlined than than the ones seen in the hay day of the jacked up hot rods we use to see.

 

These look good. HRP

 

P and J bars on an A frame. Went with them rather than the more common 4 bar systems because I didn’t want to see the lower bar from the sides. These are unseen from the outside.

 

I used the P&J ladder bars under my '32 Ford pickup. HRP

 

That looks like a serious hot rod ready to do business. HRP

 

When I freshened up the chassis on my ‘32 I left the old ladder bars/spring assembly that were there. It’s not how I would have set things up if I was starting from scratch, but it’s true late 60’s technology.

 

My 33 plymouth will get ladder bars, wish I'd done it to start with instead of the 4 link. I want to build a set out of DOM tubing with 3/4 heim joints, CM and do them like Rjays have theirs set up. Next winter's project.

 

Basically the same thing I have under my 32 and it works.