Ex Junk front suspension

[Jim Henderson]

Hotrod46 show us you shock set up looks nice !

 

[willys t]

Bill, I jacked the front up and let the axle hand loose and the center to center dimension was 1/4" less than what I stated in my earlier post.

Jim

Jim, thank you.Its very much appreciated.

Bill

 

[Hotrod46]

Hotrod46 show us you shock set up looks nice !

Here's a construction shot.

 

[Jim Henderson]

Thank you

 

[PotvinGuy]

By "strong enough" I assume you mean will they carry the weight..? Yes. In fact, the ones I have may be a little too stiff. The good news is leaf spring load rates can be adjusted by adding or deleting leaves.

As for the rubber torsion system - the only adjustability of that system would be through the durometer hardness of the rubber sleeves. The real problem is, those systems usually have all the steel or aluminum parts fabricated and assembled, then the rubber is cast in place and the whole assembly goes into an oven to have the rubber vulcanized. I don't know how you would do that on a street rod chassis. Welding on existing rubber torsion tubes that are pre-fabricated destroys the rubber inside and alters the spring rate. It's an interesting concept, but difficult to achieve.

You mean there is no torsion rod inside? Only a rubber sleeve that somehow attaches to the housing and the arm? Any construction insight would be appreciated.

 

[Hotrod46]

You mean there is no torsion rod inside? Only a rubber sleeve that somehow attaches to the housing and the arm?

I've never seen one with a torsion bar. Just rubber compressed around the internal shaft.

All of them are slightly different, but this is pretty much how they all work.

 

[PotvinGuy]

Wow, thanks for great video. I've never seen anything like that.

 

[meangreen]

You mean there is no torsion rod inside? Only a rubber sleeve that somehow attaches to the housing and the arm? Any construction insight would be appreciated.

Correct. Take a look at the link provided earlier:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200335742_200335742
The inner shaft is usually made from solid square material and the outer housing is usually made of substantially larger square tubing. They are held in some sort of fixture while unvulcanized rubber is injected into the space between the shaft and the tubing. Then the whole assembly is baked in an oven to vulcanize (solidify) the rubber in place. The result is a compact assembly, but notice that these are only for lightweight applications like fishing boat trailers or light duty utility trailers. The advantage is they are self-damping (do not require a shock absorber) and never require lubrication. They could probably be used like torsion bars, but aren't really heavy duty enough for the front end of the typical hotrod and have too limited travel for use in the rear end which would make for a choppy ride.

 

[meangreen]

I stand corrected! I had never seen them used for anything but very light applications until Hotrod46's video above.

 

[PotvinGuy]

The Dexter units come in sizes from 600 to 12,000 lb capacity. My bucket front end is only 900 lb. I wanna try it!

 

[EX JUNK]

My 22' inclosed Haulmark car hauling trailer that I bought in 1999 had Torflex axles. With the modified and completely furbished interior and my 1937 Chevy that weighed 3,750 pounds on board, the total weight was just short of 8,000 pound.

Jim

 

[Hotrod46]

I'm with Meangreen. I don't think I would use them, but if you're determined to then I would look into the bolt on units. That would give you the option to change to heavier or lighter units for adjustment. I imagine a manufacturer like Dexter has several units of similar size in various weight ratings.

Also, you could use the arm on the torsion assembly as the lower arm on a 4-bar. Miller (the one that built Indy cars in the 30's) used leaf springs the same way.

My concern would be making it look good. These units are pretty utilitarian in appearance. Remember, the front end and engine are the first thing people see when looking at your car, but in the end you're the one that has to live with it. Keep in mind too that it you decide to sell the car, a potential buyer may not share your vision.