Technical Ladder bars

So my build saga continues. Keeping with my shoestring budget and using. What I have I looked through my steel collection and discovered a bunch of 1x1 heavy wall square tubing. I think I'm going to use ladder bars. I have never built a set of ladder bars like these. Going to use coils on The back (speedway kit I picked up for like $120) and weld tabs to my axle housing to mount them and a lanyard bar to keep everything centered up. Is there a hard fast rule of thumb for figuring out length and seperation? I have some 3/8" plate to make the tabs out of and adjustability isn't really possible. Heinz are expensive. They will also be mounted inside the frame about 24" apart.

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Ladder bars need "sliders" to keep from binding during turns. If your car is street/strip I would find another solution. Had them on a '55 and regretted it, terrible ride quality and with fat tires and a tight turn they had some scrub.

 

I've offered some corrections in bold to your copied post above in the interest of education only. I'm not trying to be condescending by any means.

If you do build ladder bars, keeping the forward ends mounted as close to each other at the forward pivots near the transmission in a "V" configuration will reduce the problems that occur when they're mounted on the frame rails in a more-or-less parallel fashion.

Lynn

 

As long as you can make them, and still have them fit. About 8-10" apart at the front, as wide as the chassis will allow in the rear.

You will need a panhard bar.

 

Mount the panhard as level as possible, makes a big difference.

 

Would I be better off with a what's link?

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Watts link

 

You're on a shoestring budget? Forget the Watts Link, go with the panhard.

 

Why is that? You can vulture a complete watts link system out of some OEM applications [ Alfa Romeo's , Falcon's etc]

If the OP used 3 x rubber bushings on each ladder bar, he might get enough articulation [similar to truck arms]
And run a real stiff front anti roll bar to minimalize the rear oversteer situation.

Personally I don't like ladder bars, and would prefer to disguise a triangulated 4 link to look like ladder bars.
Put the upper ladder bar bolt onto a slider or a shackle [above the axle tube], so the ladder bar is effectively acting like a lower link
This would look traditional [ish] and not need a panhard/watts

 

If you use a panhard bar, the longer ( wider ) the better

 

Reinforced wishbones?

 

That is a very interesting idea, I kind of like it. good thinking , on using what you have handy

 

I have mechanical engineers at work that'll do the design for free. Step is cheap, and frankly most of what I been using has come out of my scrap pile.

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