http://128.83.80.200/taco/scarysteering.html That link, like this forum does quite often, took a couple of hours from me that I will never get back. Epic reading and although I am no where near as talented as many on this board I feel MUCH better about my work after browsing those pics and stories.
i have been seeing more and more r_t rods with an extreme disregard for a safe scrub line. if some of these cars were to have a flat tire they would surely roll or spin out of control.
Not to steal this thread but........With all these (Rat rods) on the road in Wisconsin we have a major problem with the safety ....To get a Hobbyist license plate(reconstructed vehicle or Motor Homemade vehicle) you have to get the vehicle inspected by a Wisconsin State Patrol Officer at a special location around the state....the problem is...they spend more time on the lights, turn signals,brake lights. seat belts......ect.... and usually no time on the steering and the frame( I really don't think they know a thing about the safety part of it) No disrepect for the officers, I really don't think they know what will work or are educated on this matter.....Guess my main concern is when these (rat rods) fall apart on the roads... and they will some time.... a lot of people will get hurt...After that .maybe all hot rods will be banned .......Wonder if other states have these problems?.
I have a feelin this is goin to be bouncy... It looks like they spent more time cleanin/detailin/paintin than thinkin about what the hell theyre doin. I see only 2 links and no panard to speak of. Everything seem to be undersized to. But im no expert i might be missing something.
You contradict yourself. Why would you want the time back if you learned your work is better than that. You learned some things to not do. Time spent learning is never wasted.
Triangulated four bar. The top links are obvious, running backwards, the bottom links seem to run forward as normal. No Panhard rod needed. I can't work out the diff case thing though. Some custom job?
Friend has a '63 Nova someone was racing. Rear end is jacked up with tall shackles. Front end is straight axled with booger welds holding the brackets for the leafs on. Pitman arm is heated and bent. Drag link or tie rod (I forget which) is also bent and lengthened/spliced with some 1/8" or maybe 1/16th angle iron the entire length welded on both flats to the round bar. Had me sit in it to move it and that was fun, too - seat not bolted down, steering wheel just set on the column. It did steer okay. Then there's the '37 Chevy roundy-round race car that was converted to Ford transverse leaf suspension. Except the split front wishbones were both cut, heated and bent into a V-shape to clear pipes or bars on the front frame. It's an old car, but it ran vintage not terribly long ago. Same buddy has a '32 Chevy 3-window I remember seeing race... he had me help him move it a couple times. Center steering with 2 u-joints, they look like the right ones, welded in - but the steering was near impossible to steer; even if you discounted the wide, nearly flat tires it had a spot where it hung up. This was with no motor in the car, too. I look closer and the steering comes off the box up most of the way to the firewall, angles over at about 45' to go through and to the middle of the car, then back parallell to the driveshaft with about a 6" piece into the wheel. Probably great on a track with little or no straightaways, or maybe it was set up so you only hit the tight spot if you turned right, I've forgotten now. I drove a beater '72 Pontiac for a while that the whole rear section of frame behind the rearend had been patched with thick plate and booger welds. It held okay until the frame rails rotted through at the top and the bumper then sagged 4-5 inches away from the body tub. Parked it for another one not long after; I don't think it would have passed another inspection, and it would have folded up like a paper bag if anyone had hit it. 2bbl 455 was a dog but I sold the motor later for what I'd paid for the whole car, so it wasn't all bad. (I saw another one in a demo derby that must have had frame rot under the rear seat area, because it folded up in that area and the car did *not* get hit in the sides, it only even ran for a few hits).
Picked up a basket case 67 Must. 427, 4spd back in the early 70's. Patched the engine & other things back together and ran it at Detroit Dragway all that summer. Car would run 10.80's and pull the front wheels. A real crowd pleaser. It never occured to me that all those cracks in the unibody that ran from over the rear axle to past the seats on both sides would be unsafe. Finally sold it the next spring and bought a motorcycle. I'm really safe now!
It looks quite underbuilt to me also - plus with the links arcs going in opposite directions, the only suspension movement allowes would be from the play in the rubber bushings..... Might as well welded it solid. It would be much stronger and safer while still giving the same ride.
dooooh! from that pic i could only see the tops. The only visible lower (on the left) i thought it was a strip of light, just like the shorter one next to it. ah ah ah! I still think everything there is rather weak.
I thought the same thing, the four bar set up with two in opposite directions will not work. Its going to pull the mounts off the frame at the weakest point, probably the rear most point. The other thing I would like to know is whats under the round cover over the third member. Its listed as a 8 3/4" Chrysler axle, they didn't have upper mounts, so what are the four link bars tied to? Joe
New to H.A.M.B. Speaking of death traps, has anyone thought about modifying their old cars with three point safety belts (Five point being a little extreme for street use.) collapsible steering column, seats with head rest and a cage for the passenger area? Not a intrusive NASCAR cage but something to keep the passenger area from completely collapsing and an anchor for the three point belt. I am thinking 1960 Buick here. Maybe a modern rack and pinion set up with the off center steering column. I know, I know, safe driving etc. I get the same from bikers but accidents are just that, something you have no control over no matter how well you drive. I am not so young anymore and would rather not have a steering column go through my chest. At least this subject should start some lively debates!
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