Hey everyone. I've been lurking for a long time, but now i'm knuckle-deep in my first project car...and I need some experienced help in choosing a rear suspension setup. I'm building a '32 Tudor Sedan and I'm building it to be relatively low. The frame under the doors is set at about 5 1/2" and it is at 6 1/2 inches before the frame kicks up. I'm going to run 30" tires in the rear so i've kicked the frame way up over the 9". Sorry for the huge photos... I originally wanted to channel the car about 5" and chop it 4 1/2" but, alas, I'm 6'3" 265 and would never fit comfortably. So, i'm opting for only the chop. The plan is for a blown BigBlock or a blown Hemi...600-700 horses. Now, given my height, i'm trying to retain as much of the floor in the car as possible before kicking it up in the rear. I was going to use a Triangulated 4-bar, but it will royally ruin the floor to make clearance for the top bars. Then i thought about a standard 4-Link with a watts but I've heard that they ride nasty on the streets. TRUE??? I need input here please. How do they ride? where can i make improvements? Next I thought about a 3-link with a watts; i'm gonna have a tunnel in the car anyway, so big deal if it's a bit taller in the back to clear the third bar. But can they take the horsepower??? Again, I need input here if anyone has used one. I'm not building this as a show rod, nor will it be a strip car...I want to drive it all the time and so i need it to work and be as comfortable as possible...and hook that power to the ground. Any help and insight would be great. Thanks All!!! Don Oh yeah, I'll be selling the jig when i'm done with it if anyone will be interested. It's in Socal, i'll post more details if anyone is interested.
I like my torque arm setups for street use. Very compliant and work well on the strip. Glen has pulled some killer 60 footers with his set up.
Trianle type 4 link , GM used them in lots of cars and they work, car hoks well and articulates well for road driving . You could do leaf also, spring outside frame or inside I suppose and use a reverse shackle like GM trucks use .
I like the 3-link using a torque arm very, very much, but I think you were lied to. A 4-link doesn't ride rough just because of the geometry. It may have tight roll characteristis, but those can be softened up with rubber bushings instead of heim joints or urethane. I am also a big fan of a proper two link like the truck-arm suspensions. In any of these, a watts link is a far better choice than a pan-hard bar IF you will put some time into proper location of the roll center. Any panhard bar is a compromise in that regard, but not really a concern for ride quality unless brutally short. With the power you are talking about, you really want some adjustability so that you can be assured of finding that set-up for traction. I built my rear suspension with 3 positions at each mounting point just for that reason. A standard, fully adjustable 4-link of drag race variety is probably your easiest bet, but far from only option. ELpolacko, Very nice! Don, you should note how large the bushings are. That will keep it civil.
We use the air ride triangeled 4 bar in just about every thing. They use a leaf sping style bushing that holds up really well.
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