I know there are a lot of Model A guys on here and I'm sure some of you are running ladder bars. Hopefully someone can help me out. On the 30 coupe I'm building I'm going to be running rear ladder bars from RJays speed shop (very similar to the ones from Pete and Jakes. I have 2 choices either a dropped crossmember or a straight one. Which one should I use. I will be running a Ford 8" rear from a 65/66 Mustang and I'm going to do a "Tardell" step in the rear. I am also have a 26/27T rear spring. Obviously I don't want to use the wrong one. Thanks, Todd
I used the dropped cross member on my A with P&J ladder bars and an 8" rear end. You might be better off using a '40 rear spring rather than the T spring you have. Then you wouldn't have a big hump in the trunk floor.
I'm not a model a guy, but I think you should mock the rearend and ladder bars up in the positions you want them. After that, you should be able to determine which crossmember you need for clearance on the driveshaft and any other items. Sorry if this doesn't help any.
My set up is quite different and i didnt use the curved mount. My k member type deal had mounts in it. But i would have needed the curved one to clear the drive shaft. Check out the bare naked rolling chassis thread, you may be able to see the two of them and how their used.
My 28 on 32 rails has a X member in it and the P&J ladder bars mount to that. I am using a 29 spring in the back but if I had it to do over I would use a 40 front spring.
My chassis setup is almost the same as HVspeed's. Only real difference is I am adding 2 tubes connecting both drop x-members for more strength.
Thanks for all your insights. I really appreciate it! I think I am going to go with the dropped crossmember. If it doesn't look like it will work out during mockup I can switch to the straight one. Todd Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Looking at his photos I thought of that, but it would be nice to be able to remove the trans mount member to drop the trans which means you can't weld the two members together..... maybe use bolts on the forward member?
I've thought about it alot and decided to weld them both in. If I'm going to pull the trans, it's not coming out the bottom. It's faster and easier to pull the hood and radiator and pull the engine and trans out the front in one piece. With the leverage of the ladders on a dropped x-member, I'm more concerned about the twisting motion on the welds at the rails than ease of removal. I don't know how much HP it'll eventually have, so better take it into account now.
I got this frame already setup with a straight. I just mock up my engine. Here what it looks like. Sent from my DROID X2 using H.A.M.B. mobile app