I had a buddy who was running a Opel and had trouble hooking up at launch. So to add weight to rear he filled fuel tank with water and put a Moon tank up front and man did it hook up after that really lowered his ET.
Adding water in his gas tank and then adding a moon tank? Water isnt that much heavier than gas. The wieght difference between a tank full of gas and one full of water would be about 20 pounds. Adding a moon tank the the front would add another 40 pounds to the nose. Adding the nose wieght was what helped it hook, if the story is true.
i dont have any trouble hooking up.i dont even have to do a burnout,i just like too.i just dont like the way it leaves crooked.well im going outside to load up for thompson.im going to mess with the wheelie bars and se if i can adjust them and get it to lift straighter,ill let you guys know.
well thompson didnt prep the track very good so no real wheelies.a guy came over and told me how to do the anti roll bar inside the trunk and im going to try that.he also didnt like the pinion angle so im going to adjust that also.i prob.wont go racing again this year so ill have to see next year if the changes work.
Transverse torsion bar, available from any of the big chassis shops, all the Pro stock cars run them. Looks cool twisted, but of course that translates to loading one tire harder than the other. Very, very nice hot rod! I've always like those Opel Cadet gassers!
from the pictures ive noticed theres nothing in that car that keeps the chassis square except maybe the ladder bars. Roll cages arent only used to protect your head! especially in a little car like that. killer ride though
Photos make me believe the whole left side of the car is lifting more than the right - on launch, the distance between the left rear wheel opening and tire appears to be several inches more than the distance on the right; so the entire chassis is moving on the suspension, not twisting. Maybe add a leaf on the right rear (or subtract one on the left rear)? I seem to recall some cars running an additional right rear leaf. I also remember a car in Hot Rod mag that ran a load helper airbag or something on the right rear in addition to the normal leaf setup. That would have been late 80's/ early 90's IIRC. Personally, I think the coolest wheelies are the ones where the front tires lift evenly, or where the car is way more torqued over than yours (yeah I like extremes! ); so I see why you want it to launch different. But bottom line is any car that launches like yours and runs straight down the track is cool like a fan.
thanks!the rear of my car is STOCK opel unibody.i do have the bars going to the front frame 2x4 box.the cage goes to the front box frame ,rear crossmember and also farther back in the trunk.there is also kidney bars that run from front to back of the car.
Google Welder Series, you will find their online catalog and in it is a weld-on anti-roll bar. Good pics of it, priced under $300 if I remember right.
thats not bad, this is bad <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w6jo6gVug48&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w6jo6gVug48&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Bingo. You need more preload on the right rear spring. More arch, an extra leaf, longer shackle, air bag(recommended because it's adjustable), coil shock, etc. That's a classic issue, the engine and driveshaft torque is leaning the entire car.
Are you sure you're thinking of the right type of anti roll bar? Not a stock sway bar, or any stock sway bar parts involved. You mount a torsion bar sideways in the chassis. Both ends are splined. Little arms slide over the end, and have links reaching to the axle housing. You preload one side or the other by either adjusting the links, or reclocking the arm on a different spline to use the torsion bar as a spring to control body rotation. There's not really a way to cut one up so to speak. good luck with a cool car
In the 4 link cars i work with we make an antiroll bar, as others have mentioned, it works great on those cars but the rears in those cars are more independant than yours with leaf springs. In the 4 link cars the chassis has little flex and the antiroll bar keeps the torque spread evenly from side to side across the rear, it can't counter chassis flex. What i see going on in your car is chassis flex. I could easily make you an antiroll bar but it'll will flex right along with the chassis it is welded to. What you need is some serious frame rails, have a look at an altered. You should have the same chassis, the opel body is just window dressing.
i plan on welding it to the roll cage.there are four bars coming down right infront {2}and right behind the axle{2}there is also the horizontal bars that go from the rear bar all the way to the front of the car{it is actually 4 bars per side welded to the cage steering hoop then front.i put the pics back up so you could see what i was talking about.
I just looked closer at your pics. You need some tube frame rails to run above the 2x4 front frame, adding a couple gussets along the way. It needs to be at least 6" above the 2x4 to box the distance (hope that sounds right). A reply above mentioned a shear plate. EXACTLY! Short lil cars like a nice thick mid plate that acts as a structural member instead of a mount. Look at dragsters and funnycars, altereds, 4 point mounting through thicker aluminum or steel using 3/4 fine thread bolts. All the multiplied TQ is AFTER THE FLYWHEEL. The front of the motor can be held in place with less than what's percieved. Again look at a funnycar...aircraft clamps on sliding tubes. Old leaf suspension needs all the help it can get, a plate would be a big help for relatively modest cost. For your get-up an anti roll bar is a bandaid.
i do have some running above the frame.and they are about 6'' above.the anly thing i dont have is gussets because i wont be able to get the headers out.the bar that holds my brake and stering is right behind the flywheel.
I see room for enough 1 1/4" tube gussets that will help. 1 vertical in line with the alternator, then a diagonal, up in front, down under the header as far back as possible. Big help with twist there. Someone mentioned adding a leaf... consider a 1/2 leaf on the right side going forward to resist axle rotation. Engine TQ does not roll a car over on it's own. It's mutiplied through the entire drive line by the convertor and gears. The axle is trying to bury the right rear wheel up into the car. Looking from the rear the axle rotates counter-clockwise on launch. It's a bit hard to imagine but when you think about TQ, could 500lbs on a 1 foot lever lift and kick your car that hard if it was suddenly dropped? Of course not. Work from there. Not to be arrogant or condecending, but better you think these things through for yourself, it's your car and you know it better than anyone. I hope this helps.
I went back thru the post, readind and looking at pics. I may be off on that frame flex thing, that frame is so short and you don't have a lot of power - 350hp? - if you could show us better pics of your rear suspension. The pic i saw showed the axle bolted to the spring pad while there was some kind of forward link like a traction bar. That will be a problem, the springs on the rear (by design) move the axle straight up and down while the lower traction bat is pivoting from the front mount and tries to move the rear in an arc. That is binding the rear up un two directions when you launch because of diagonal body roll the right rear side is going up into the wheel tub and the bar is tring to push the rear away thru that arc; the left has seperation and the pull the rear forward. The rear is bolted to the leaf spring and has to move straight up and down, something has to give and it is translating into this twisting. Is the passenger door always twisted out at the top or just on the launch? Is there cracks where the roof meets the quarter panels? Body flex, but i bet the rivets on the firewall are ok. That means the frame is rigid. During the winter i'd get some 'double K' bracing on the frame and cage as other people suggested, there are a lot of tubes in there but seems like many of them run parallel to each other. Anyway, get a floater kit for the leaf springs, competition engineering sells them and they let the springs work independant on the rear; i'd still get an antiroll bar in there too. Looks like a fun car. Later, oj
i guess i could put some up front and maybe one way back.do you think it will really help?i am open to all sugestions to try and fix my problem.
the window frame was cut off another car flush with the door so i put a piece of flat stock in it to hold it in.it does work untill i reach the top end of the track and the air pressure in the car pushes it out then the wind takes it even more.so i just left it treeked out that weekend.no cracks in the body.or roof.i think you are right about the bar fighting with the leafsprings.never thought about it.yes the leafs are just bolted to the rear end.other than the lower "gasser bar"it is a stock style rear.
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