I have an anglia gasser recreation. have a speedway straiht axle w/ buggy springs. the questions i have: 1- on springs- shackle on front or rear? 2- the anglia has a 90" wheel base. if i lengthened it would it be more stable at speed? (concrened about it nosing over at the end of the track) 2a - if i change the wheel base from 90" to (say) 95 or 98" would it make a difference? 2b- what is the optimum drag racing wheel bace for a car of similar size, weight etc.? 3- would it be a good idea to widen the front track on the anglia. it is 48" now. 3a- if i widened the front track what is the optimum for a drag car of similar size, weight etc.?
I also think shackles to the front and the idea of stretching the wheelbase unless very subtle sounds gross.
can you tell me why? is it a camber issue when the axle travels? i heard that the rear is better because the shackle can't fip over like it could when on the front. i have seen them both ways and many opinions geo.
If you read my 55 Chevy install tech thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296954 you will see differing opinions on this. 440roadrunner above gave a good explanation as well. I have done plenty with the shackle up front and it works fine! My Anglia, the Blair's Speed Shop car still has the 90" wheel base and has run as quick as 9.20 at 160 with no problems. If you are trying to recreate a gasser then leave it at 90". If you are doing a more modern car, then you can stretch it to 95-96" and it doesn't look TOO goofy. Someone even sells a stretched glass nose for doing this. BUT it WON"T look like a period Gasser!
Well said, but in a cross steer setup you may have a better ride with the shackles in the rear since the axle tends to want to move rearward when experiencing a bump in the road. At least that's the opinion of a lot of Jeep guys.
I believe the shackle can go in the front or the rear and work just fine check out the way this car was done, it is fast and runs straight and hard. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=230636 and check out this : http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236244 here is some good reading on anglias http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=231948&highlight=anglia .
I have been in fast cars with shackles in front and rear, its a matter of opinion, and you will get alot of different opinions on here. Any time you can lengthen the wheel base, or widen the track a car will handle better. But lets keep the most important thing in mind, how it looks
I/ ME / WE Always installed them in the rear for movement, I vote for the rear and stay with 90 inch wheel base.. Its yours ,do as you wish..........
If I was going to build a axle car it WOULD be cross steer, just like shakey puddin' george do you have any pics of your project???
seems like a wide axle for anglia... mine was a 38" or so wide straight with hairpins and cross spring. used the stock crossmember and boxed the rails from the trans crossmember forward... used a vega box set up cross steer... had to use some spacers on the drag links to get most of the bump steer out ..ran about 8 or so degrees of castor....had it triple digits on more than one occassion. my car had a fairly wide rear that came out of a old drag car anglia. think it was around 53" wheel to wheel. as for lengthening the wheel base....if you want a longer car , build a willys....
i just installed one in my anglia gasser,my shackles are in the front,i moved the wheels forward a couple inches,i had to narrow my front axle,i think it looks better,but i think i need to remove a spring,way to high in the front,i will know more after i have some wieght on it and a few miles,
shackles in front makes for better braking stability. Shackles in the back would have braking forces trying to flatten the spring down, and push the shacklest steeply towards the rear, thus there's probably a lot more downward diving with rear shackles during braking. I HAVE NO REAL EXPERIENCE TO BACK THIS UP. Just what I think would be a concern. I love this design talk so much I just jump right in EVEN IF I HAVE NO CLUE! -90% Jimmy
Every 30's era car I've owned that had parallel front springs had the shackles in the rear. Look at all the Mopar's, Hudson, Essex, etc. all are solid front spring mount and shackles in the rear. Gassers had a minimum wheelbase, but I don't believe any Anglia, Thames or Austin was ever moved into the Altered Class because the wheelbase was minimally extended. Now if you add a foot or more, than I think the tech guis would have an issue.
yes i do, they are in my photo album that is (some how connected to my account....can't tell i'm new here can.
anglia/thames and such were not legal for a while...prefect got ya in with 94" w/b....think that changed around 65 or 66
Here is my opinion---- Why not go with the buggy spring up front like they were stock? As far as the wheelbase, you can move the rear wheels back a little bit (1-1 1/2") and move the front foward (1/2-1"). This is what I did on my Austin. As far as width don't make the front to wide or it look funny with the tires sticking out in the front but in the back they should stick out about 1"from the stock width fenders. As far as steering you can't go wrong with the reversed Corvair box or the Vega cross steer. Again these are just my opinions
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