I have a 'Bones 3w coupe and I can attest after driving the car from Denver to Bonneville and back, their suspension setups work just fine. Ya gotta remember, these are 80 year old parts so it aint never gonna ride like a new Caddy.....
I studied tonnes of spring behind axle setups in mags and on-line, never seen one in person..... I do love the look, I originally wanted to do my car that way...hense the studying. Honestly though, it's so much easier to just run a spring above axle. Way less complicated when it comes to hooking up steering, shocks, panhard etc. The spring behind setup is a pretty trick way to run your suspension, but it's kind of like reinventing the wheel a bit. Why would you do it with a stock axle when you could just use a dropped axle/spring over and end up with your frame height in the exact same place? The obvious answer is that it's for the look and to be different.... Another thing is, I only like the look of that style setup with the deuce grille shell still out in front of the axle. I don't think it looks right with the axle out in front of a Model A shell. I ran an A shell and spring above axle with a 4'' drop axle and a low arch spring. Looks pretty sharp, classic and is simple. The spring behind setup is form and function when done correctly and definately sets the cars apart from everyone else on the road.....It can make a car if it's the right car and the right set up..... Just not sure that attempting it on a scratch built frame is for everybody out there.
The main thing I wrestle is that I love the look and aesthetics of an undropped axle. When one is dropped for some reason it doesn't look as cool as it did in stock form. It's like defacing the Mona Lisa. However, I realize the beauty and simplicity in a dropped axle and doing it as they once did so I have both.
Don Moyer's Lazy 8 must turn your crank then? The aesthetics of the undropped, matched with the innovation and creativity. I don't know the full story of the suspension, but it looks to me like a guy making the car a little lower with the parts he had at the time. I have to be careful how I say this next part, because I think it's awesome that guys can make a living making hot rods.....and I bought an expensive 'shop made' deuce frame with tube crossmembers for my hot rod and bought alot of other expensive custom pieces from sheetmetal shops etc.... BUT...It's just so much cooler to see a setup like that on a period car like the lazy 8, rather than a modern day high dollar shop built car. Necessity is no longer the mother of invention I guess.
Mines a tad different... spring inside the grill.... the ride is perfect. Mine is 109. The RB guys are great folks......
Cowl steering the best way to go with this set up? Just picked up a really nice 36 axle and bones from a low mileage car that had been in dry storage for close to 50 years, I am happy. Love the look of this style front end. John
I hope nobody takes me wrong, I'm not trashing the RB guys or anybody else out there doing their own thing. The RB guys are super creative and do slick work....I especially dig the hidden lever shocks inside the framerails. I'm just talking about the complications with your standard do-it-your selfer trying to set their car up like that in modern times.....form vs. function and time and money vs. end result for the avg. joe. Shop built cars are in a totally different league than most guys cars.... The Bones cars are like rolling art and are built with expensive early parts and pricey ford tin. The build style sets them apart and makes them a super desirable car.... But what makes it different is that the availability of parts or budget is not really a factor in the design. Also trying to bring to light the reason why a handful of creative guys set up their cars like that back in the day. Not solely for the look, but for the need of lowering their rides....reworking and rethinking the parts they had easily available to them. Apples and oranges.
Mike..Don't be too quick to stick with a shorter hood/wheelbase. You're a tall guy and once you decide to move the front spring you open a whole new bunch of possibilities up like an extra couple of inches in the body at the doors and a bit longer hood for proportion. See if you can find some picks of Bill Burnham's (sp?) "ol Blue" 29 hiboy featured in R&C back in the 70's. You've got the talent and the taste. Can't wait to see what you come up with. I know it'll be outstanding.
I met Dave at the Nugget and talked to him for a bit. Very nice guy and a very nice...no...bad ass car. I like his motor mount for his 292. I copied it for my 292. Talked to Keith for a minute and he was a nice guy too. I did something like the bones set up on my 38. My approach was using what I had and I ended up close to where they end up. Undroped axle, spring behind mounted to wishbones with no frame horns and the grill is right in front of the axle. The motor will come up a bit when I put the flat head mount pads. It is also moved back a couple of inches to clear the crossmember.
Bill, I hear what you are saying. It will be tough to fit a Nailhead in this car as it is, without moving the crossmember back. I think the crossmember needs to stay in the stock location. Now I am trying to decide if I should use an original straight axle or a dropped one. I think figuring out what you want is the hardest part. I have owned this body since 1986 and I want this car to be right. Mike
are there any problems that come up with puting all that presure on the wishbones like that ?? i didnt see any real modifications to the wishbones other than the spring mount .... no bracing or re inforcment and there still ok ?
Should be fine..Foose has the hanger close to the yoke where the bending moment is least. The oval shape of the wishbone is plenty strong in bending. I would also weld a tube through the wishbone to slide the hanger bolt through. If there is any weakness in the design it may be the shear force on the hanger bolt. Might check with a race car supplier for a good hanger or at least choose carefully from the aftermarket catalogs. Bottom line..should be fine as Foose has it.
I would use forged spring perchs (like ones from Magnum) for a spring hanger which it appears is what Foose did. It can be shortened and rethreaded to the proper length. Doing it like Foose takes the possibility of spring bind out of the picture.
Mike, I hope you are keeping the sedan. I like the Pinkee's rod shop front suspension which is different from the RB's but has the same effect of lowering the front end. Here are a few shots from their site. Are you building a roadster this time?
Dale, I'm going to start on the chassis for my Model "A" that I have owned for a very long time. The car was running and driving but was really a street rod. Unfortunately, I am super busy with my house and my rental now and don't have time to work on it. I want to figure out this chassis so I can at least start collecting parts. Also, I have to finish a roadster. Work, Work, Work. Mike
The sedan is not for sale. My wife would kill me. This will be a new build. The roadster I am working on had the same chassis set up as my sedan. Thanks for the pictures of the Pinkees front set up. I know I will get crap for this, but I think that kind of has a T bucket type of look to it. It is very well done and lowers the car, just not my style. Mike
Yup...thats the one...As the RB guys call it "The Orange Blossom Special" and, they call me "Tigger"......lol
As far as looking "goofy" without the front frame horns, thats to each ones own personal taste. If you have ever seen a Deuce coupe low with the horns on it, they damn near scrape the ground. That, in my opinion, looks "Goofy".........JMO
The horns don't do ANYTHING on a fenderless car, cutting them off makes the car look like a race car IMO.
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