Ford A/FX Torsion front suspension

Has anybody got any experience or detailed info on the '65 Ford front suspension setup as used on the A/FX drag cars?They used a unique torsion leaf front suspension that I would like to accurately and safely replicate for my A/FX project car,but this is pretty obscure stuff,and I'm having a tough time finding any info on sources for parts,what the original applications were,etc.
This setup is pretty essential to stuffing a 427 FE into an early car like Bonner's Falcon,or the Mustangs that were run by Brannan,Tasca Ford,and others.
Any help,or pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.

Scott

 

Scott, I can't personally answer your question.But there are loads of folks on this thread who can. AF/X Dave is on the Comet thread and can surely help.Good luck.


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=335534

 

Thanks a bunch ClearSpot.
I really want to do this car justice.Too bad 427 Cammers are priced about the same as my current house.Guess I will be starting with a 427 wedge while I save up for the Cammer parts...

 

Where did you hear or see this ? I can't remember reading about torsion bars on the Ford and Mercs..I know there was various ways from what I read in the magazines..The towers were notched down to the a arm mounts, some had the towers cut out and the A arm pivot moved out with shortened upper A arms, some had the towers reversed so the spring top was moved out and pretty sure there were some axled cars too as the OHC engines were/are even wider than the FE's...If you can do an archieve search in HRM or CC mags I'm sure something will turn up..By 68 or 69 a FE could bolt into a Falcon with all factory mounts as they widened the engine bay to F'lane/Comet, Mustang size but they never told anyone....

 

Hi Seb,
Muttley was cool enough to send me some Super Stock magazines from '65 that had some pretty decent photos and articles about the buildup of the prototype '65 Mustang A/FX car,and a couple articles about Bonner's Falcon,which had the same front suspension.
It was like a single leaf spring,twisted about 45 degrees in the middle,mounted where the strut rods are usually located on a Mustang or Falcon,and look to be solidly mounted to the top of the lower control arm.
They removed the shock towers on these cars and never even put a filler panel in,just left them open,as it left them lighter,and left more access to reach into the engine compartment from the wheel well too,I imagine.
I just have no idea where to source a spring like that,what the overall length would be,the spring rate,mechanics of mounting it,etc...
It was totally unlike the Mopar longitudinal torsion bar setups we're used to seeing,and in my opinion,superior,due to its smaller size and lighter weight.

 

I got to drive Bonner's Falcon and it didn't have anything like that. The shock towers were just cut back.

 

32 for me: When did you drive Bonner's Falcon?Recently?Cause it was built with this suspension setup.See page 27 of the October 1965 Super Stock and Drag Illustrated.

See the complete lack of shock towers,or even inner fender aprons<And the steering box mounted OUTBOARD of the framerail?Pretty cool stuff!

 

32 for me,did you seriously restore the Mooneyham & Sharp coupe?Cause that is pretty much my favorite car of all time!!!!!!
Sorry,got a wee bit sidetracked there...See how the leaf/torsion spring runs from the control arm to the front of the car?Its so simple it's brilliant.I just need to figure out how to reproduce this safely and accurately.

 

Looks like 1/4 elliptic setup........front of spring anchored to chassis

 

It is and it isn't....Other pictures I have seen show the front mounting point to be a soilid shaft,but it doesnt allow up and down movement of the leaf,just a twisting motion as the control arm goes through it's range of motion....I've never even HEARD of anything like this before,have you...?
It's pretty crazy stuff.

Scott

 

I drove the Falcon in the late '80's, I sure don't remember it being that way.
Yes I restored Mooneyham and Sharp's coupe and drove it for 2 years touring all over the country. I also restored Mickey Thompson's Thunderbolt and it had the traditional front suspension, not that this matters I thought I would just compare the two cars.

 

The M/T car that Butch Leal drove?With the aluminum hemi heads?I think I just peed a little.....Saw that car in some magazines when it was freshly restored.All I can say is WOW.Nice job!
And yes,the T-Bolts didn't recieve this suspension,as it was easier to fit the wedge into them with less mods,but the later A/FX cars were a tighter fit with the S.O.H.C. motors,or so I'm told.
I'm guessing that by the late '80's the Falcon had been raced/modified/updated/wrecked/repaired a bunch of times like most other old race cars,so maybe somebody stuck a stock front clip on it to repair crash damage at some point or something...?I know that to fit my 289 between the towers is VERY tight,a 427 wedge would require a bunch of surgery,and with the 427 S.O.H.C. heads being as wide as they are,by the time you cut the shock towers back far enough to clear,there would be no room for a coil spring anymore....

 

I think I'm going to try calling Curt Voght at Cobra Automotive tomorrow.I'm pretty sure Cobra Automotive restored the Bob Ford/Harvey Ford Nicholson/Platt/Harvey '65 A/FX car,so he should have some info on this.....

 

Hey powrshftr, is this what you are talking about? Just trying to figure out if this might be what you are looking for....

 

That's EXACTLY what I'm after!
Now,I believe that that one is Brannan's altered wheelbase car,and that would explain why the front valence had to be trimmed for clearance,but yes,that is exactly the setup I am talking about!
Maybe a spring shop would have some ideas on reproducing something like this...?
And by the way,thanks so much for that picture.It's a good one.

 

I just saw a set up like that in a old circle track car with jacking bolts, let the frame be real close to the ground..!! Its not so much a worry about the spring twisting as in pic as there is no load and suspension is at full droup they probably didn't worry about it as drag strip is way different [we hope] than contours/bumps of the road and leaf spring will handle a certain amount of twist.. ... It locates the bottom A arm by replacing the strut rod...Neat idea..Never knew it was done...

 

Yeah Seb,
I had heard of this setup 20 yrs ago but could never find anyone who had actually SEEN it in person.....Since joining the HAMB I have learned more about it in a month than in the previous 20 yrs...!lol!
Guys like Muttley are absolute gems.He supplied me with a ton of old magzines at a great price,and provided me with a ton of information to get me started in the right direction.
You guys rock.

Scott

 

Cool, you are welcome. I believe I got the photo off of one of the threads on here. Sorry to the original poster who's photo that was. It's been a while since I first saw it and copied it for reference. I also have these two photo's. Again, sorry but I can't remember where or who these came from. Hope they help with your build.

 

Thanks again Born....I think the photos didn't load in your last post though...Or maybe my laptop is having a brainfart...

 

.....

 

Aaaahhh...there we go!!!!!

 

So does anybody recognize the part used to secure the spring to the top of the control arm..?Pretty sure it could be fabricated pretty easily,but it would be neat to figure out what it was originally used on.
I'm assuming some kind of Ford product,as they were factory A/FX cars,after all....

 

Born,is that from an eBay listing..?

 

My fault, I didn't load them right. No problem, hope they help.

 

No,I was definitely NOT complaining Man!
I was just shocked that if something had come across eBay in the last hundred years,that I hadn't seen it...!lol!

 

Honestly, I don't know if they are. I took them off of the hamb.

 

It looks to me like a stock control arm Seb,but it definitely has a reinforcing plate welded on for the spring mounting plate to bolt to or through.....
This just keeps getting better and better!What a nerd I am....Lmao!

 

Yeah, apologizes for the size of the pictures. Thinking about the pictures I posted, I really think I got them from the thread ClearSpot posted a link of earlier.

 

Heavy truck part maybe? The fact that it doesn't quite seem to fit right does lead credence to the idea that its an off th shelf bit.


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