...any one know any more about this unusual T? This image is swiped from the new HOT ROD DELUXE (annual?) the 60's! I've seen hot rods that use VW beams in the past but this one appears to have the rear VW torsion housing suspending the rear axle! I wonder if it was crudely/solidly attached to the springplate (which would have offered a severe pitch on the rear axle at the very least) or was it jointed with another set of triangulated links? Whatever...it's cool. The blurb only mentions that the show sign said it had 4 corner torsion suspension by German craftsmen!
I like the stance and I've worked with a few Midget cars with torsion bar suspension but that looks wild with all that hardware sticking out! I'd be interested in seeing better photo's... as well as a tech write-up.
I've got that issue (of Hot Rod) stashed somewhere but think that those photos were from an indoor show that was covered in the magazine. That car might have a frame made of parallel round tubes.
TOTALLY want to see what he did with the rear axle, as I've had "wrong" thoughts about doing just what I think this guy may have done.
Definitely VW/Porsche origins, including the front wheels. Those "trailing arms" could easily be mounted to the rear end with links to provide the necessary pivots. The other cool thing about this car is the ChryCo poly engine!
I saw that car in the latest Hot Rod Deluxe, and I think it's too flippin' cool. I really like the stance and the wheel/tire sizes, and didn't even catch the VW front suspension until I read the blurb on it. The car might look kind of odd if you were able to get it out in the daylight and check it from every angle, but you've got to hand it to the builder for being crafty. You don't see much of that "outside the box" thinking anymore, and it's unfortunate. I'd rather see something innovative and crafty versus a collection of off-the-shelf- parts out of a catalog.
Hahahaa I've already sketched how I would cut out the springplate to accept tubing and 4 bar bushing at the (rear) axle!
If they used the stock VW rear torsion tube I suspect they must have split and separated it for the driveshaft to pass through.
Years ago when I worked for Don Marks, there was a V8 bug sitting at his old shop down on 32nd and Madison. I stared at the rear suspension the most, simply because he increased the size of the notch on the spring plates and welded three bolt adaptors to the unremembered V8type rear axle. The snout of the pinion hung down far enough that it wasn't really the clearance issue that you would think it to be. Got to remember two things on this deal. First, spring plates were called that because they could flex any different direction. Two, VW REAR torsion bars are split in the middle and there is a right and left bar. Creating a tunnel for drive shaft wouldn't be completely impossible...
I actually dug out photos of the Johnny Hartman car because of this thread, but they wound up on Richards thread, so I figured I'll just link them here. These two threads started in very different places, but are kind of converging... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9222840#post9222840
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