In suspense...
We missed an instalment in June and last month we looked at the engine mounts and front end. In closing we left stating that we would finalise the front end. Things kicked into high gear upon being invited by M.S. Vehicle Certification and LVVTA for the chassis to be displayed at the NZHRA National Show.
The front suspension was mocked up and there was a multitude of ideas to be sorted as we decided to go along the path of torsion suspension. The guys at Rocket Speed Equipment have carried out similar set ups and we tapped the knowledge of famed sprint car racer Phil Game at PG Hydraulics. The benefits of going this route were;
1. The ability to lower the car more in the front.
2. Improved suspension handling.
3. Cleaner looks giving an illusion of a “floating” front end.
4. Something to be a little different from the norm.
For a traditional aspect, torsion bar suspension has been around a lot longer than most people think. Early set-ups date back to some early Indianapolis racing, not to mention early land speed racing and hot rod history. Follow along as we fit this set-up to an early I-beam split wishbone assembly.
With the parts laid out, this is the basis to your torsion bar suspension. The 1” diameter torsion bars, splined arms and stops are all off the shelf at PG Hydraulics – backed with a wealth of information. The brass bushes are off the shelf items from Cardwell Racing Supplies.
Looking from the front of the car one can see the wooden block in the chassis notch. This is our determined ride height and we will now mock up the torsion bars to see how they will fit on the car.
The torsion bars will mount on the inside of the chassis on the boxing plates. We worked out the best position for the stop to sit on the bottom edge of the chassis and established that we would also need to notch the chassis at the front for the torsion arm.
We then made cardboard templates for the brackets to house the torsion bars. Due to the taper of the chassis at the front across the lower edge, we required three different templates to ensure the torsion bar would locate on the same plane either side.
Miller time! After all the work, the suspension works and looks great. The torsion arms can also be linished to look like an early Ford forging. Note the chassis notch for the torsion arm.
After welding the bush housing into the brackets we could then sit the brackets up onto the chassis to trial fit. We lucked out and carried on going. Note the cut-outs for wiring or plumbing to pass through alongside the chassis boxing.
With the torsion bar brackets tacked into the chassis it was time to turn our attention to the torsion arms which were shortened to connect to the radius rod. Shown here are the brackets to locate the torsion arms to the radius rods via a male-to-female rod end. The rod end is used to eliminate “bind” but a panhard rod will be required to prevent sideways axle movement.
Here is what the complete torsion unit looks like out of the chassis. It provides great clearance for tight situations also. Not to mention being very simple.
We missed an instalment in June and last month we looked at the engine mounts and front end. In closing we left stating that we would finalise the front end. Things kicked into high gear upon being invited by M.S. Vehicle Certification and LVVTA for the chassis to be displayed at the NZHRA National Show.
The front suspension was mocked up and there was a multitude of ideas to be sorted as we decided to go along the path of torsion suspension. The guys at Rocket Speed Equipment have carried out similar set ups and we tapped the knowledge of famed sprint car racer Phil Game at PG Hydraulics. The benefits of going this route were;
1. The ability to lower the car more in the front.
2. Improved suspension handling.
3. Cleaner looks giving an illusion of a “floating” front end.
4. Something to be a little different from the norm.
For a traditional aspect, torsion bar suspension has been around a lot longer than most people think. Early set-ups date back to some early Indianapolis racing, not to mention early land speed racing and hot rod history. Follow along as we fit this set-up to an early I-beam split wishbone assembly.
With the parts laid out, this is the basis to your torsion bar suspension. The 1” diameter torsion bars, splined arms and stops are all off the shelf at PG Hydraulics – backed with a wealth of information. The brass bushes are off the shelf items from Cardwell Racing Supplies.
Looking from the front of the car one can see the wooden block in the chassis notch. This is our determined ride height and we will now mock up the torsion bars to see how they will fit on the car.
The torsion bars will mount on the inside of the chassis on the boxing plates. We worked out the best position for the stop to sit on the bottom edge of the chassis and established that we would also need to notch the chassis at the front for the torsion arm.
We then made cardboard templates for the brackets to house the torsion bars. Due to the taper of the chassis at the front across the lower edge, we required three different templates to ensure the torsion bar would locate on the same plane either side.
Miller time! After all the work, the suspension works and looks great. The torsion arms can also be linished to look like an early Ford forging. Note the chassis notch for the torsion arm.
After welding the bush housing into the brackets we could then sit the brackets up onto the chassis to trial fit. We lucked out and carried on going. Note the cut-outs for wiring or plumbing to pass through alongside the chassis boxing.
With the torsion bar brackets tacked into the chassis it was time to turn our attention to the torsion arms which were shortened to connect to the radius rod. Shown here are the brackets to locate the torsion arms to the radius rods via a male-to-female rod end. The rod end is used to eliminate “bind” but a panhard rod will be required to prevent sideways axle movement.
Here is what the complete torsion unit looks like out of the chassis. It provides great clearance for tight situations also. Not to mention being very simple.
