CR Rear suspension mods

[Aussie Mike]

I'm a bit limited in what I can do by the chassis and the location of the existing mounts. I didn't really want to make any drastic changes to the chassis. So I'm just trying to change things to what I reckon might perform better within the existing mountings.

Currently the big rotation of the upright is a result of the track locator rod (if that's what it's called) working in a different arc to the upper and lower unequal length arms. With this type of setup I think it would be pretty difficult to eliminate all of the bump steer.

With the new setup I'm tying the track locator to the lower arm rather than the chassis. I can still adjust the toe OK and I can tune a certain ammount of bump steer in or out depending on the height I place the pivot point on the upright and how it relates to the pivot where the upright attaches to the lower arm. I can also dial in a lot more negative camber than the stock setup if I need it.

I have to say I'm having fun with all of this and the thought process involved.

Cheers

[Beejay]

I have serious offset envy Mike!

I wish all of the classic revival cars had a few of inches of dish!

Perhaps the new chassis on the way will address this.

Ben

[Aussie Mike]

Phil N mentioned he'd been and seen Ians new chassis. Suposedly he's using fabricated suspension rather than donor stuff. Hopefully he'll get on the forum and give us a sneak peek and some info on it.

Cheers

[Aussie Mike]

I've made a bit more progress this last couple of nights. I've really got to get cracking on it or I won't be ready for Shelby fest. I'm also working up in India for the next couple of weeks so time is short.

Here'a pic of the new lower arm in the jig sitting next to the original arm. The bushings used in the jig are all machined from aluminum and locate all the pieces so they don't move when welding. They arms do spring a little when they come out of the jig so I still have to tweek them a little in the hydraulic press afterwards. I made some fixtures to let me do that accurately.

You can also see in this pic how the shock mout position is about the same place as the original. I've tried to move it in closer to the center line so it doesn't put as much of a twisting force on the arm.



Here's the finished upper arm in it's jig sitting next to the original. This took a bit of thinking to make an arm that would clear the upper chassis rail without having to cut anything.



The upper arm turned out nice and looks pretty cool with it's swoopy curves.



Both Jigs are made from some heavy wall RHS and are designed to make standard length or shortened arms. You wouldn't want to drop one on your toe either as they weigh a ton.

The next thing to sort out is the supension bushes. I've given away the idea of using nylon as I reckon it would pound out into an oval shape over time. I setled on Urethane as it has a little give in it that should make it last.

My local auto parts shop (who I often frequent) kindly let me go over their range of urethane bushes with a vernier caliper looking for something suitable. I finally found some bushes that had about the right dimensions or ID and OD. I made a small fixture that let me clamp the bush in the lathe and then with some very sharp tooling and a fast spindle speed I was able to trim them down to exactly what I wanted. I also machined up some steel sleeves for them to run on and they should work a treat.

The bushes on the right are the original. The ones on the left have been trimmed.



Now I've got to build the arms for the passengers side and paint everything ready for assembly.

Cheers

[Rebel1]

That's gonna be one nice ride when you're finished Mike.

By the way.... The trick for machining urethane is to put the bushes into the freezer for a few hours prior to turning.

Now....back to the shed to work on my simple jag based ars....ermmmm.....rear end.

[Aussie Mike]

Peter from Ozwheel just sent me a couple of pics of my new rear wheels. Hopefully I should have them by Thursday.

It's only 50mm more dish than the old setup but I reckon it makes quite a difference in the look. The spinner is almost all inside the wheel now and not sticking out like Ben Hur's Charriot.



I ordered them with the centers un coated as I plan to get all 4 centers recoated together and wanted them all to match.



Cheers

[acecob]

Awsome wheels Mike they look magic.
what colour are they going to be

[Aussie Mike]

The centers are going to be HPC coated silver the same as the side pipes.

I restored Garrett's (Justbetter)wheels a little while back. I stripped them down and had the rims re polished and sent the centers away to be HPC coated. They came up magic. Probably as close as you'll get one of these cast centers to looking like polished aluminum.

I'll see if I took a pic of them. Otherwise I'll call in and see Garrett and snap a pic. I think he's using them as a fancy coffee table

Cheers