about the old 60's FoMoCo built 427 Thunderbolts and Falcons. Now they had a floating rear end...correct?! (Loved how they would "rise" up when they throttle was nailed)...What about the ladder bar set up?! How were they constructed/designed to lift the front of the car and plant the rear slicks? I don't remember a bunch of heim joints and "three-point" adjustments! Looks like Ford took the K.I.S.S. approach. Anybody have any close up pictures/instructions and care to 'splain it to me like I was a 10 year old?!! Hubbie Platt....Ed Skelton...and many more made it work pretty durn good! Thanx 6sally6
They used what were called lift bars. Crites Industries sells lift bars and the cross member they attach to. They're made to fit Falcons, Comets, Fairlanes and early Mustangs. If you check out the Scratch built "Gasser" 57 Vette discussion you can get an idea of what they look like. Except on a Ford you would be using leaf springs and the bars would attach to a cross member. They were non- adjustable and worked very well.
No the Thunderbolts did not have a full floating rear end. I believe that all 127 cars built were equipped with 9" ford rears.
Try reading through these threads I know I posted about just what you want in one of them but forget which but T Bolt one is the best bet. The bars were solidly welded to the axle housing and the front only had a pivot. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/wanted-1964-65-ford-falcon-a-fx-pics.421090/ https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/super-stock-a-fx-match-race-photos.1101449/page-8 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/ford-thunderbolts-photos-wanted.136384/
Bill Ireland busted off the line one day in his Fairlane T-bolt at Madras Oregon and sheared all 5 lugs off on the left rear! Wish I'd had a camera
I saw Hubert Platt wrinkle the rear quarter on his Falcon once "back-in-the-day"! Maybe the lift bars were a contributing factor. Sooooooooooooo if they worked "pretty well"(I thought so too!) why do these SEGA boyz build all these exotic/multi adjustable ladder bars? Are they that much better or is it a case of "monkey-see-monkey-doo"! Don't take this the worng way boyz!!! (; 6sally6
Back in that time period, "worked pretty well" meant there were a few drawbacks, sometimes. Different cars, different drivers, and different tracks often netted different results. There was a lot of experimentation going on then, sometimes, minor adjustments made things work better, sometimes a completely different approach was required. Over time, the ability to easily make those minor adjustments was built into the designs. Different people would have a different ideas on how to make those modifications so the adjustments could be made, and other people tried completely different things to accomplish the task. Some things worked, some didn't, and some worked some places but didn't work other places. It was a great time, when everything didn't have to be the same, like it is today. Gene
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