Rat rod to beauty queen project

[Bad Bob]

I'm in the process of acquiring this somewhat homely little lady from a guy who "needs the room". After replacing all of the motor gaskets, he let it sit for a year and is now wanting the real estate.
The front end is pretty much fine, but the back end is a hot mess, as you can see.
(Yes, it looks like some of the stuff here came straight from Home Depot... yikes)
My instinct was to do coil overs, but I can count on one hand how many T buckets I've seen with the wishbone rear suspension, so I'm going to keep it. The welds seem solid on the axle, so I don't have to mess with that, just the frame bracket.
I have some serious cutting and welding to do, but it's mainly so I can drop the fuel tank about 6 inches or so.
She's got good solid bones (Chevy 350 with Edelbrock 1405, TH350 trans, 9" rear) so I feel like I have a head start on that front.
My plan is to make her into a daily driver, a perk of living in Arizona, which, as some of you may know, is just 3 blocks north of hell this time of year...
A color combination of red/black seems appropriate, so once all the mechanical is completed, I'll work on the interior and do something with the paint.

 

[Spanky]

That's awesome, Bob. Yes, I agree . . . the basics are there, and your plans sound great for upgrading things. Keep the pics coming!

 

[Guy]

Just need to make it safe now then think about being pretty

 

[Bad Bob]

Agreed, Guy.
First things first...
I laughed when I saw that piece of channel iron on top of the spring...
I thought "WTF? That's a bit crude..."

 

[Gerry]

Ackerman. That's all I'm saying

 

[Island Girl]

Ackerman. That's all I'm saying

Since it's a spring over axle, there may be enough room to run the drag link behind, under the frame.

 

[Bad Bob]

Since it's a spring over axle, there may be enough room to run the drag link behind, under the frame.

Possibly... though I kind of like the way it just comes out the side and under the exhaust.
Once I get the back end of the cab raised, it will depend on the final clearances.
If anything starts rubbing, I'll have to change it up... hopefully not...

 

[Bad Bob]

Ackerman. That's all I'm saying

Yep.
The front tires show very little wear, while the back ones are going bald from burnouts.
To me, a lack of noticeable wear on the front tires would indicate that it is properly aligned, but I plan on checking toe-in once I get it home, for my own piece of mind.
The thing steers fine and doesn't wander or wobble, so I suspect the angles are pretty close.

 

[Island Girl]

I think what he's trying to tell you is that as long as the drag link is in front, and more importantly, pivots inboard of the kingpin, your Ackerman angle is all wrong.

There are a lot of T's built that way, so it's not necessarily a deal breaker, but it will make the car push in the turns, and that can lessen your wet surface traction.
With such light front ends and ample sized tires, you probably won't see the extra wear.

The drag link connects the left spindle to the right one.

 

[Bad Bob]

I guess I kept saying the wrong thing.
"Buggy Springs" is the common term for an "arched transverse spring assembly"... I have since been corrected.

 

[Bad Bob]

I think what he's trying to tell you is that as long as the drag link is in front, and more importantly, pivots inboard of the kingpin, your Ackerman angle is all wrong.

There are a lot of T's built that way, so it's not necessarily a deal breaker, but it will make the car push in the turns, and that can lessen your wet surface traction.
With such light front ends and ample sized tires, you probably won't see the extra wear.

The drag link connects the left spindle to the right one.

Got it. I was going off of this Wikipedia picture:

 

[lincolnuT]

Drag link is from the steering box/pitman arm to the left spindle.

The rod between the left spindle & the right one is called the tie rod at least in New Mexico.

 

[Neshkoro]

Yep. I agree. Everybody calls it something. Right or wrong. .

 

[Bad Bob]

I'm still learning... even though I sometimes forget words due to early Alzheimer's.
I've always done better with pictures anyways, and I tend to use the Interweb to verify stuff I'm unsure of.
My goal is to get this lady/beast up and running before I run out of brain cells.
(One could call it a race against time.)
Thanks one and all for the info.

 

[Gerry]

'He' thought this may help. Loads of threads on here about this, just do a search.

 

[Neshkoro]

Gerry, that's a good visual!

 

[Bad Bob]

Yep.
This is the what I googled first, which led me to Wikipedia's "Ackerman Steering Geometry".

My plan is to get this correct before checking the alignment.
Seems to be the place to start...