Fear Commitment? It's a Chassis Update!

Really nice design add implementation. Welds look good too! Very Neat work place. Too neat for my shop.

 

Hey, Thanks! It's not as neat as it looks. I am still traveling, so not much progress. I hope to get the front suspension in when I get a little vacation in August. May be setting the motor back a little more, too.

PM me sometime. Being so close, we need to get together and tell lies.

 

Very nice fabrication, please keep it coming!

Thanks,
--mika

 

Well, I got a couple of hours alone with the mistress this weekend. Here's a peek at the front suspension. I've been planning a spring-behind, but a quick mock-up has me wondering. I may have to put it on the ground this way, with a fall back of using a spring-behind install if it sits too high.
This is only the main leaf with no spacer for the pack, so I am still guessing. Stay tuned.

 

So I'm still traveling. I have probably only been home a total of 30 days this year. Two weeks of that was a vacation I took mid-August. I was able to get the rear cab mounts worked out and most of the front suspension done. I carried the frame to Cam's shop so he could weld out a few things while I was in Amsterdam and Houston. Labor Day weekend has let me bring it home and reassemble the front suspension. Here's a link to the thread on that and a few shots to clue you in on what's next. The only big items left for the chassis are the tranny cross-member and steering. As soon as I order axle shafts, I will have everything to finish the roller. Stay tuned.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290533









Yes, my cnc cutting guy has been busy and no, I don't expect to use them all. I just couldn't decide what I might want so I covered the bases.

 

Nice work.

I'm curious if you plan to run a sway bar?

I have one in my 32 roadster and I think it adds a lot to it's good handling on the road . . . straight or otherwise.

Far as fish-plating the frame cuts where it was upswept, why not use an old aircraft construction trick?

Cut a 1/8" slit longitudinally at the top and bottom of the frame and make it long enough to bridge the cuts/welds and then some.

Slip a piece of 1/8" steel into the slits and weld it top and bottom.
That'll give you three vertical pieces in that area and you won't have an exposed fish-plate on the sides of the frame.

 

Again, nice work! Your rear suspension setup is impressive and I'm curious to see how it works out on the road with the levered coilovers. I was thinking of a similar design for just the front shocks on my next build, to tuck them into the grille shell and behind a shroud. Cool!

 

C9, I really like that idea. SOLD! Rather than a sway bar, I will probably use tubular anti-roll bars, rear for sure, front if necessary.

TBE, I really tried to work out the same setup on the front and couldn't get it under the body with all the parts in that area.

I think the only thing I would do different is runn better rod ends. I expected better quality with these when I ordered them. I have plans to replace them with conventional rod ends.

 

A small fwiw, Roy Fjastad commented that a rear sway bar was all that was required on these small cars.

You don't need too big of one and the Deuce Factory sway bar is fairly small and compact.

It does the job on my 32 and it's been pushed a bit on the twisties going up the mountain roads in Central California.

Anti Roll Bar?
Are we talking the same thing here?

I've heard some guys call the panhard bar a sway bar, but I'm pretty sure you've got that one figured out.


You may want to take a look at the Chris Alston website for some polyurethane bushing ends.
Kind of a cross between a Heim joint and a typical street rod 4-bar end bushing.

You'll find them on the 4-link kits.
The ones I have are for a 1 1/4" 4-link, but I think they make them in smaller sizes as well.

No pics at present other than the assembled under the car (31 A on 32 rails roadster) 4-link setup.

From what I see, they have the benefits of the usual 4-bar ends, but will take a bit more twisting.

 

Is this for a race car or a street car? Here's why I ask: If one side of the axle goes up on a bump, in the worst case with the other wheel going down in a hole at the same time, is there a way for the suspension to handle this twisting motion? If not, something will eventually break. I realize that this is not much of a problem on a drag race or salt flats car.

 

Go here: http://www.cachassisworks.com/cac_catalogs.html

Download pages 42-54 . . . check page 47.

Download pages 56-64 . . check pages 61 & 62.

Interesting stuff....

 

It looks like it will be ok if you run Heim joints on all the trailing arms and the bars that go from the rear to the shock actuators. Does that make any sense??
Looks good, but thats alot of work to mount some shocks!

 

I built a similar shock setup for an IMCA mod several years ago, but I had several holes on the rocker arm that would allow you to change the ratio from 1:1 to get a softer or stiffer spring rate depending on which hole you had the link in. I also built a triangulated three link exactly like yours a couple of years ago on an air ride '55 Chevy truck, except that the point at the rearend was free to rotate in the wishbone so that there was no binding at all. Awesome work.

 

plym49, being a 3 link with the single point on the top center of the housing allows a lot more articulation than any 4-link. That makes a good sway bar or anti-roll bar all the more important.
I am trying to cover all the roles of a true all weather air superiority fighter here. It is fully adjustable so I can tune the launch at the strip. I put a lot of time into the geometry to make sure I am in the right range for moving the instant center around. It will also have far more ride height adjustment than a conventional coil-over install which will come in handy if I ever do get a chance to put in on a really long straight course. I also came up with a way to leave my options open on castor adjustment, so that will be available if speeds above 175 come into play.

C9, I like those urethane rod ends, but all my links use 5/8-18 studs and they only list 3/4 and 1". I should call to see if they offer 5/8", though.

You can see an anti-roll bar on page 15 of their catalog. It is a more compact install and more about straight line. Sway-bars tighten things up well for twisties, but aren't so adjustable. With an anti-roll bar, you can swap out the shaft for lighter and heavier material at any time.

35ratbstr, it was a lot of work, but they will be out of sight and as mentioned above, I get huge adjustability that you don't get in a straight-up coil-over install.

Thanks for all the feedback fellas.

 

Yes, agreed. So your rod ends can articulate? I wasn't sure. If they can, then I agree that you should be covered. If they can't, does the needed freedom come from resilient bushings?

I can see that you have thought this all through pretty well. Your workmanship is top notch, too. My questions are only to clarify my understanding, especially since the photos are not the same as seeing it in real life.

One other question: how do you keep your shop so clean? No pieces of metal, shavings, welding slag, grinding dust. How do you do it!?

 

Wow, that is really cool work there. I would imagine when looking up under the rear end, you'd only really see the axle and lower bars. KUH-lean!

 

Keeping the garage clean? It's an illusion. All the carnage is behind the camera. 1 hour work = 2 hours cleaning.

So I finally turned off the PC and got some work done. The trans cross-member is in and all the major parts are back on. The to-do list is getting shorter.

finish frame reinforcements
weld out bottom side on a couple of things
front cab mounts
axle shafts
steering

All this gets me to roller stage. If I can manage that by Christmas, there might be an outside chance of making...dare I say it?... Round Up '09. (fingers crossed)

today's achievement: still needs some cosmetic work

 

One more...

 

Thanks Russ! That from someone who does great workof his own, means a lot.

I am probably looking like a post whore, but I am really stoked about it. It's nice to be in a position to get some work done.

 

very nice work, and i will take your dirty shop anyday over my cookie cutter two car garage i am building my car in.

 

You race car guys make neat stuff!

 

Wow nice work, keep us posted.

 

D.W. I think those wheel stands you were pulling at the Hamb Drags makes you a race car guy, too. Need me to help you take some of the twist out of that launch?

When I last posted, I still had some bind in the front spring due to too much castor. Here's what I did.

The problem... See the light? That's 12.5* castor on the cross-member after sweeping up the rails with 7* already built in.


The answer. A precision machined billet steel shim, 4.5*.


Fit it carefully...


Problem solved...


Weld it in, 3 passes at each end. (I know, not pretty)


Measure, mark and drill the spring alignment hole...


Install the spring pack and suspension...


Check clearances...


I did relieve the back a little with 2 cuts and a hammer. When finished, you won't know what I did. If I ever want to cut the shim out and set it up for really high speed, I can. I may never need it, but at least all that pretty welding on the top side is still intact.
I hope to order axles in the next week or so, then I may have a roller. Back to the day job.

 

Looks awesome!

I see you've got one of those new "axle-over" concept suspensions...

 

D.W. I think those wheel stands you were pulling at the Hamb Drags makes you a race car guy, too. Need me to help you take some of the twist out of that launch?

Yeah, I guess thats how my little buggy spring setup be-haves.
Your thoughts?

 

Thanks Mr. Horton! Betchya never seen one of them, huh?

D.W. That could turn into a whole new thread. I'll PM ya.

 

Well, just so everyone knows I haven't given up, here are a couple of shots of the work I got done today. This is just the start of all the gussets I want to put on all the round tubes where they meet the boxed frame. My welding is finally getting presentable. I also ordered axle shafts for my 9 inch housing. There is an outside chance this thing will be a roller by January 1. I have a couple of weeks off at the end of December, so I'll pray for cash flow.

 

Very nice!! Thanks for the updates...


Malcolm

 

Welds look great man.

 

Looking good! Plan on coming to see you in December when I come down

Rusty