took the rambler to the shop today and removed the front suspension will start building the frame under it in the morning. Feels great to get started on the build!
I was concerned that all you were doing was building the car in your mind and on here. Glad to see you are taking action. Keep us posted.
Dude.....where ya been?? And Rambler guy...looks like a cool project. Ignore the naysayers....1/2 of the builds here aren't really "traditional" either, but sometimes get a "p***" just because it's a ****ing Model A or a Duece....
O.K., I like the little ragtop. I'd also go the axle route. As far as HAMB requirements, I doubt he is 'required' to either de-fender it or extend it and taildrag it with skirts & chopped Carson...The G***er direction is perfunctory. And what's with the authenticating of 'g***ers'? Did they have to have run in the '60s? Real 'g***ers' were NEVER driven on the street? (ever been to Hayward?) Never were any ragtops run in Gas cl***es? (Ever been to Fremont?) Somebody oughta do a search. This isn't Pebble Beach.
63 g***er,I love the g***er look,keep the faith and dont let those guys hit you wid those negative waves.
I like this build! It's your car do what you want with it. I'm building one too. I don't really care if people like it or not. It's my build, my money, my time. Last time I checked it was "The Home Of The Free" not " you must conform".
Straight Axle - King Pin Centers 48'' - Tube Axle 2'' OD x .250 wall with Ford spindles Leaf Springs are 32" Long 6 Leaf Springs as far as a name im looking for a good one it is going to be candy apple red so i like "candy g***er" if any one has a good name let me know!!
That little ******* should be fast. Looks like it has a nice short wheelbase and should be light weight. Be sure to put a really cool cage in this thing. An x in the hoop or something. I've seen old pictures of a volvo g***er and an international scout g***er.. don't forget both of the Flintstone Flyers.. I look at your car and I say, yeah looks like a pretty good platform for a fast car, should be cool. I guess my 2 cents on the project is (not that it really matters), if you decide to call it a g***er, do your best to keep to the escence of what a g***er is. Small car, big motor, no ********. If it's there, it serves a purpose to make the car faster. I'm ***uming you already know the g***er specs on crank shaft height, engine setback, etc. With that being said, I hope some of these other guys are done hijacking your thread and good luck on your project. You have already started a good parts collection. That is ridiculous how cheap you got that moon tank for.
just been working on taking out the old and making all the frame for the new front end. lots of cutting and grinding. opened up the fender wells still a lot of finish work to be done today. should have every thing welded today...more to come
this is some of the frame work that i was building because of the unibody...a lot more then i was thinking would need to be done..
went shopping today for more parts this is what i picked up....new early ford round type spindles with king pins...new super bell tie rod arms and tie rod...ford rotors and calipers... complete bearing kit with all races bearings and grease seals..and super bell caliper brackets! this should keep me working for a little while. i will post up pics tomorrow evening everyone!
That's a bit high in the front even for a g***er! You might want to take a few leaves out of those springs. Would only drop it an inch or so. You also have no travel in the front shackles. The shackles should be in the back too. Instead of shackles I'd use sliders. That will reduce height just a little (maybe an inch) and be much neater looking.
if you look the shackles are held down by vice grips and no motor yet I'm sure he will set it all when its all mocked up
Yup...looks a bit high but thats gonna drop a bit with the engine etc...plus you can adjust it a bit with the springs as Farna says. Your steering arms are designed to give proper Ackerman with the arms facing the rear. It almost/kinda looks like your kingpin angle is backwards too. (In the first pic...but its hard to be certain!) Are you sure the axle was put in the right way around??? I'd check the caster angle on the spindles and would absolutely run the tierod out back. Seeing you have lots of room theres no sense in running with bad Ackerman. Some guys HAVE to live with it, but with all the room you have, no reason you need to! Cool car. I like!
Keep up the great progress, man you are cranking on this thing! It is funny how this place makes it so easy to be critical of other people's cars or fabrication even when it is innovative. It is interesting to see the correlation of the people that are most critical and the car(s) they own on their bio, vs. the supportive members and the cars & projects they have. All I have to say is, it puts things in perspective!
Now that will be a great g***er, wish I had my 61 Rambler, never thought of it, I am thinking on making my 60 Chevy a g***er. Good Luck!!
I would recommend checking what Hackerbilt mentioned here. The kingpins should be leaned back a bit. I set mine at 7 degrees. Too vertical, the car will tend to dodge, too far back will wear tires more and steer funny ( look at pictures of old dragsters). For the tie rod. You should be able to draw one line from the center of the rear end, through the tie rod end, and through the kinpin center. Steering arms with the tie rod in back should be angle in, steering arms with the tie rod out from should be angled out just a bit. The way you have it set up will cause it to steer a bit "pidgeon toed".
The car looks pretty tough with that nose bleed stance. I would just be concerned with the way it would handle at high speed. They will tend to catch air and float if the rake on the car it too much The stance of the strange bird falcon is great for a g***er, and might be something to consider translating to your car.