Offset Rear Axle?

[Burgs]

Larry,

I'm pretty sure Jason cut it down when they had it back in the shop. I've got it lowered to the point it might be too low. The panhard is as short as it goes, and I'm as real close to centered. I need to spend some more time under there with a straight edge, clamps, and some reading glasses.

A lot of honey-do's are keeping me out of the garage.

Brad

[496fe]

Burgs,

I am hesitant to post this because of the risk of getting flamed. I've been road racing a long time now, so I'm just going by experience on the track as well as the street.

Move the axle so that you can get the body down over the wheels. If the axle is off less than 1", that's actually pretty close. Again, from experience, I've found the a live axle moves around considerably more than 1" when on the road with body lean and bumps and all. A live axle is not high tech, but works quite well when set up correctly.

Try to get the panhard bar as close to horizontal as possible when the car is sitting on the ground. An sloped panhard bar makes for evil feelings in corners, especially when they are short. I would direct my efforts at relocating the panhard mountings to get the longest, most horizontal bar possible. The worst feeling is having the rear of the car wiggling around over bumps and in corners because the panhard bar arc is moving the rear end laterally.

If it were my car, I'd be using the waning good weather driving the car, not laying under it .

JMHO

[Burgs]

Originally Posted by 496fe

If it were my car, I'd be using the waning good weather driving the car, not laying under it .

JMHO

We have been having some unseasonably warm weather, and it appears I've started my winter projects about a month too soon. Another rookie mistake!

I appreciate your stepping in at the risk of the need for fire suppression, but the parallel panhard bar itself is probably the best suggestion yet, aside from driving in late November, in Michigan, when the weather permits. Do you have any tips for the three link??? The bottom two bars run from below the axles, with a choice of three locations vertically, and run forward to the frame. The top bar runs from the top of the axle, offset and forward, towards the rear to a frame mount with a choice of three locations vertically.

Thank You,
Brad

[Wayne Maybury]

When I purchased my Johnex, I was told that the original body used to make the mold was "off" a bit, side to side in the rear. The Johnex uses a live axle that is mounted with a modified DeDion (sp?) suspension which is fully adjustable. Recently a friend who races Dirt modifieds was visiting me and described my rear suspension as a form of a "Z" link setup. This suspension allows me to adjust it just about any which way.

With the live axle right center on the frame, one tire would be about to rub the body while the other one had a good inch to spare. I moved the axle sideways about a half inch and then squared up all four wheels. Now the body appears to centered over the tires. That was 5 years ago and the car has always tracked perfectly straight with no problems. What 496fe said worked for me.

Wayne

[496fe]

Brad,

The 3-link setup works great in a Cobra, IF you can fabricate a strong forward bracket about even with your right elbow in driving position for the top link. I don't know the Hurricane, but most Cobras are pretty weak in this area.

I don't know about your fabrication skills, but another option is the torque-arm/ladder-bar arrangement. It was used on Gen3 and 4 Camaros and on Buick GNX's. I'm using this arrangement and love it. Power is transferred smoothly and predictably - no wiggling, tramping, hopping. It looks like you have plenty of power and it's a lot more fun to get it to the ground than to be pedaling and puckering all the time.

Let me know if you need any more info on the torque arm setup.

Brian