Made new panhard mounts today, I have made it fully adjustable for different ride heights, a few pics. Glen
Put engine / gearbox back in chassis to measure tail shaft to cross member clearance, had rear set on lowest setting ( 1/2 inch lower than original ) and there was 1 1/2 inch clearance at front of cross member and 2 inch at the rear. From this setting there is 3 1/2 inch of travel until tail shaft hits cross member. Also made a tail shaft loop, check out pics, Glen
Have u removed coil overs and cycled rear max up one side while max down other side then switch sides. Solid rod ends make me wonder if u will bind except for rubber bushings. Just trying to learn & understand. Hope it works well for u.
Mike. I’m sure your well aware there will always be a certain amount of bind with any 4-bar rear. But mostlydoing as you suggested. My only concern for Glen at this point would be how high he has his panhard mounted, and drive-shaft clearance. In hindsight I would of liked to see him flip that rear k-member. He’ll sort it.
Pulled springs of rear shocks and checked tailshaft clearance today, I have three possible rear end height settings to choose from, ( all one inch apart ) on lowest setting shocks compressed 3 1/4 inch before shaft touched crossmember ( shocks have 4 inch stroke ), see pics. I will put body back on to determine which setting I use for correct ride height and then decide if I need to modify crossmember, will only need to if using lowest setting, this will also determine correct panhard bar mounts / height. I have also sectioned my front wish bones for tie rod clearance, I did not want to use dropped ends as I wanted to keep it all above or the same as front axle height. Not finished yet, plate is 3/16 or 5mm thick - any advice before I weld, thanks in advance, Glen
Angled 4 bar rear makes no sense to me. As they move ends on rear get further apart only if rear steel stretch’s. Raced late model GM with that suspension & stock huge rubber bushings that gave soft quiet ride. To race we stiffed them up & locked up rear suspension. Parallel 4 bar + panhard make lot more sense
This car will be mainly street driven with occasional drag racing duties. From what I have been reading triangled 4 link is more user friendly for street cars, parallel 4 link is better suited for drag racing but cornering can place more stress on link ends. A few pics of todays progress, made some 5/8 thick plates for wishbones. Glen
You're doing really good work. Thank you for taking to time to share. I see its too late for this suggestion, but Ill throw it up here just as a thought in case your not dead set on keeping the panhard bar. For what its worth, (had I seen this post before you got along as far as you are) my suggestion would be to eliminate the panhard bar because many people desire to run the exhaust all the way out the back of the car, running it up and over the rear end. Doesn't seem to apply to your plan since you are doing your exhaust differently , but it might help someone else that reads this thread and does something similar. Anyway, I think you could have gained that additional 5 degrees on each upper 4 link bar (for the additional 10 degrees you needed) by moving the upper 4 link brackets more inward on the rear end like a lot of factory triangulated 4 link set-ups are. I'm pretty sure that most of the 8.8 Fox Bodied Mustangs had them cast in the housing at the upper top section of the pumpkin. Here are a few pic to see what I'm trying to convey. I doubt this will help you, but it might help someone in the future that reads your post and follows this thread.
Thanks for reply, I should have researched the upper 4 link angle a bit better but thought that it would be ok as 4 link kit was a heavy duty unit and car is small and light. Unable to go further up the pumpkin due to ride height issues ( having upper bars level at ride height ) but could have gone out wider at other end if I shortend the bars. Anyway its done now and I dont mind the panhard bar for added insurance. I would like the exhaust out the back, I will be putting the body back on soon for trial fit and to determine final ride height and suspension settings. I will leave panhard off for now and decide the best way forward when body back on - panhard can be redesigned to suit and who know's I may even redesign the upper 4 link mounts as its only a few days with the angle grinder. Ive come this far so I may as well do it right. Glen
Looks to me that you have built a triangulated 4 bar rear suspension, as such you do not want to add a panhard bar doing so will introduce more bind between the 5 bars during compression and extension
I plan to remount my upper 4 link bars and forget about the panhard bar. I will move mounts up the pumpkin about 1/4 inch and shorten bars about 1 1/2 inch and use a threaded bung similar to what is already there but recessed into the chassis, this will give me the extra 5 degree's needed. Will post pics soon on how I will achieve this. Put body back on today to determine suspension settings and ride height and to make new mounts for body, also plan to mount brake booster and exhaust while body on. Pics show how low car can go before tail shaft touches cross member. Current setting on rear is on middle setting which is the one I will be using - so no tail shaft issues. Glen
A few pics of today's progress, setting potential ride height, before and after pics will be more noticeable when I have new front tyre;s and can push outside, also check out fuel cap. Glen
If it needs to be licensed how is it that it has plates showing now? From what I understood, LHD hot rods were not able to be licensed in Australia. Other thing is that when a car is export out from the USA the Title document still accompanies the vehicle for it to be imported into Australia. If your vehicle has never been licensed before in Australia it is possible that you maybe required to present this document firstly and secondly, the Title could be a good source of information to discover who owned the car and you could try and contact them to learn its history. I've seen on YouTube, I believe where several owners of muscle cars have followed that route to learn the history of their imported vehicles. Good luck with your search and please report back if you do find out more information. By the way nice hot rod and any improvements can only do it greater justice.
Plates are old ones I used to test drive car - please dont tell anyone I have broken the rules. LHD vehicles can be registered if identified as original and meet the requirements of Aust rules. . Because I wanted to convert to RHD and improve vehicles performance / drive ability buy changing suspension eg brakes etc. I plan to register as a new build and apply for street rod registration, I could have gone for historic rego ( the easy way ) but any insurance claims would have been voided due to being registered as an original vehicle - not a modified unit. I want this car to fully comply with the rules and to be registered legally. If anyone knows differently please enlighten me. Glen
You are doing a great job and I am sure at the end of the day you will be driving with peace of mind. Good strategy.
Finished steering shaft today, only had 4130 bar stock so nice and strong, now car is officially RHD, also working on front panhard bar - reusing the one I made for the rear, pics soon. Glen
Glen, throw your wheels at full lock, which obviously pushes the drag link forward. Now you can check for clearances to add a panhard. Bracket from bottom of right rail, all the way over to your split bone, and level. What are your brake pedal plans.
Thats excatly how I have been going about it, nearly finished chassis mount and about to fabricate mount for the bone. I have purchased a new underfloor booster unit similar to what was already in the car when I purchased and I plan to modify the pedal assembly to suit. I was even thinking of mounting it under dash as there is heaps of room but would have to design a new pedal setup, so I may just go underneath - what would you reccomend and why. Glen
Zero experience with under dash type. Under floor works fine, been done a million times, just requires a clever design to fit in that tight space. As long as you can depress brake without kicking the column and gas pedal, all good.
Column will be an issue due to so little room as you said, I am unsure of best way to go about this. If going under floor I would need to locate pedal on left side of column and left foot brake to avoid kicking the column if using right foot to brake. They both could be on the right but it would be a very tight fit. I also plan to have seat as far back as possible so that maybe I can mount pedals further away from column if you no what I mean. My wife and I are not that tall so this could be an option - leg room in this car is so limited, I would hate to be any taller than the five foot five that I am. I feel that a under dash unit may give me more options for pedal location but it has its own issues with clever design and mount strength. Any pics or info / tips on brake and gas pedal design would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Glen
Definitely not an option going on left. That will fail compliance. Snap a pic, maybe mount the pedal to exit almost below column. But in saying that, you won't want the master and booster hanging too far below rails.
Pic of my brothers 28/29 we swapped to right. It can be done with the right manipulation. Heated and slight bend to get around column.
Thanks for info, I see what you mean, I will just have to make it all fit then - I will be tackling this over the next weeks, stay tuned. Glen
I just stumbled on your thread. Great workmanship so far. The finished product will be something to be proud of.
Been busy working and not much time to work on car, I have left brake booster and pedals for now as I need to make new seats to determine final seating and pedal position. I plan to make a pair of buckets out of steel sheet and cover with Kirkey vintage race seat covers. But I have finished my wishbones, I ended up making some more thicker 1/4 inch plates and tig welded it together. Also made some tail lights, I did use 59 caddy units - I know they are overused a lot but Im happy with the result. Check out pics. Glen
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