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Step One: Build a fence. This is so
the garage could be emptied, and the interior of the car gutted,
and all the stuff hidden from the passerby.
The cut-off tops of the fence posts
would also be handy to rest the car on because I wanted it as
high off the floor as possible.
The neighbors liked it too because it hid
their patio from the alley. |
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First big surprise after the
inside of the car was removed: the back of the car was rotten.
Areas behind the wheels were rusted out and hanging around out
of habit. My car has a rear window washer, and after some poking
under it the top of the tailpipe could be seen through the floor!
Now that it was revealed it had to be fixed. What's the
point of fixing the muscles when the body has cancer.
On the drivers side everything below the belt line
came off.
Evidence reminded me that I had
'fixed' some of this years ago with the only tool I had; a drill
with a wirewheel, and then some fiberglass and bondo. It held
together a remarkable time really. |
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The other side was only one third
bad, but there were several small holes, and the inner fender
wasn't attached to the outer at all. A v-shaped channel was made
to weld them back together. It's much easier to do without an
axle in your spine.
At the back on both sides bolts
were welded in pointing into the bumper cover. The stock bumper
system required removing the interior to get at the nuts. Now
it can be done from underneath.
New metal was welded in and primed,
truck bed liner in a spray can covered it, then two more cans
of undercoat was sprayed inside and under.
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Computer cases are made of surprisingly
thick metal. And they don't rust. Welds a little funny though.
Came in handy on a sunday afternoon.
I could include a dozen pics,
but will leave it as is. All together, it seems like more time
was spent on rust repair than on the project itself.
The rear springs are sitting high right
now. They were found at the wreckers on a Fairmont station wagon.
Two coils were cut to get to this height. The rate was calculated
at 280 lb. Later a half coil was cut and the top sliced flat,
so it's 290 or so now.
I have another pair from a lincoln that are almost brand
new, and are about as thick as a front spring. They are overloader
types, but the tops would need to come off anyway.
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Moving on...
The third link bracket was made on an
8.8 that was rebuilt and sitting on the garage floor.
I wanted the link as low as possible to avoid contact
with the floor, and yet as long as possible, so a piece of angle
plate was used as the basis.
First the axle bushings were pressed out with washers,
tubing, and threaded rod. Aluminium inserts were made on the
lathe and tapped in.
1x1 inch square tube connected to the angle, and three
tabs were bolted to the top of the rear cover. The top edge of
the cover had to be cut off flat to do this.
The mount for the link was added directly over the pinion.
This makes it slightly offset to the passenger side of the axle.
My tape measure location of the pinion is; Drivers side 2ft 3
1/2in, Pass. side 2ft 2 1/2 in.. 1 inch difference.
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Here is a finished picture.
Hard to see it with the fresh gloss black paint.
Easy to see the three rear tabs. The
bad point of welding these on is that the adapter must be lifted
to remove the rear cover. But how often do you do that. |
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Here is another pic after after
several months of dust.
The center tabs are 1/8th, and
then doubled up with a washer. Later a thick rod was welded to
the edge. I thought a pic was taken but apparently not.
Lastly the angle was triangulated
with flat plate and it was finish welded. Between the tabs a
smaller piece triangulated at the back as well.
Do as much welding as possible in place. Mine twisted
and needed to be hammered back into alignment.
These brakes lines were removed
later.
I'm not the greatest weldor, but the
brand of wire that was in the machine was giving me problems.
I've written right on the machine not to use it again.
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The entire axle had to be replaced before
the third link could be installed. I took it apart in pieces
after draining. Old gear oil stinks.
While it was out I did several
'might as wells'. It is much easier without an axle in the way.
The torque boxes were welded up and
a plate added across the bottom. I used a bottle jack to snug
it up, and the car lifted off the wood blocks without the plate
bending. Strong enough.
I got sick of looking at the rust
after this. (although the 500W halogen makes it look worse.)
I cleaned up the loose stuff with power tools and used a touch-up
gun to spray a few coats of anti-rust black on everything. |
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The lower arms and springs were given
a bath in the rust removal solution. The urethane bushings were
removed for this. The rear center bushings were very rusted,
and even after cleaning looked more like archeological artifacts
than car parts.
Looking around the garage two tubes
were found that fit together, and the outer one was aluminium.
The inner piece was knurled slightly, lubed with anti-seize,
and pushed into the outer with a vise. |
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The axle was put together outside
the car. To move it into positon by myself it was put on a board
and slid across the floor with my legs. Under the car each end
was raised on boards until a jack could get under it.
After it was raised I realized the new
axle brackets had not been drilled out to 1/2 inch. While doing
that it fell off the jack and I had to start again. |
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Yes, I had a panhard bar with a four
link before I knew it was a bad thing. I even had urethane bushings
for a while before I went back to rubber on top.
Now the bar seemed like it might rub on the new rear cover.
So the bracket was cut off and moved back as much as possible
before re-welding. Should just clear now.
You can see this bracket has been re-worked
several times before. |
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The axle end has this little bracket
bolted to the lower axle bracket. It was sturdy enough before
so it was re-used. In fact when the urethane caused a bind it
was the panhard that bent not the tab.
It is made from 1x1 cut and welded at an angle to point
straight back. The end has another threaded tube sleeved in.
Tubes are tacked into the bolt holes as well.
The two side bolts are from the McStrut of an escort or
something. The small heads are needed to clear the stock arm
bushing.
An angular piece was welded to the
axle bracket to stiffen it up.
The panhard has ends made from
shock eyes. Urethane bushings are used. The one at the frame
has an inner bushing with a 1/2 in bolt, while the axle has a
5/8 bolt, because it is held by one side in single shear. |
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Before working on the 3rd link
the axle had to be in position. So everything was bolted up and
the car was raised lightly off the wooden blocks to put the weight
on the axle.
To adjust the pinion angle and
hold the axle in place without the upper arms this link was used.
It is a rear toe link from a Dodge Intrepid. I was going to use
it as the 3rd link, but thought it might be a bit spindly. Too
long as is but perfect for this job however.
There are many sites with info on setting
pinion angle and they are all different, and often contradictory.
I used a pdf from Steeda, which was at least straight-forward.
Two degrees down.
I was curious to test drive the
car using this as a 3rd link, but nothing else was hooked up.
One of you will have to try that. |
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Finally I could start the project.
After two weeks of this and that the rear seat area was cleared
out and a cut was made in the floor.
All the bracketry was going to
be welded in. But when trial fits were made I realized there
were no truly flat surfaces in the car. To weld in pieces would
require cutting somewhere.
While eyeballing things with a
1x1 inch tube, it was set on bolts turned into the seat belt
holes. A thought ocurred that the tube could be used and bolted
on. And if the rear was bolted in it didn't make sense to weld
the front half. So it became a bolt-on project. Kind of a production
prototype.
The only pic I have was somehow
made small with no backup. |
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Here is the tip of the 3rd link
peeking through the hole in the floor. I had made the link extra
long, so I believed. But the end was right around the center
line of the finished bolt hole.
This is the only shot of the bare piece.
As it turned out the hole is almost the finished size. Three
holes have also been drilled above the area for 3/8 bolts.
At this point nothing else had been
made yet. The entire project was 'do one step, then figure out
the next one'. Without coming to dead end. |
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The link is made from a 1x1 square tube,
rubber bushings from a Mustang rack and pinion, and a thick walled
tube that happened to be around. The center tube was from the
old Energy Suspension urethane upper links. It all fit tightly,
and had to be rubber hammered together.
Seemed pretty tough. And stiffer
bushings are available as replacements if needed. I think the
stiffness goes; mustang, taurus, aviator, urethane.
Welding this piece was the only
part that worried me. If it breaks, major chaos. I vee'd the
metal, did a pass, ground it lightly, sandblasted it, and did
wider passes twice more. This finally made me totally confident
in the finished piece. |
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Here's the axle end. The pieces
were put together to mock it up, then the next day they wouldn't
come apart and the hammer started to damage the center bushing.
So they were painted in place.
The rubber bushing was belt sanded down
to the width of the center tube. The grooves were filled with
marine white grease before final installation.
I was surprised by the length,
thinking it would be 8 to 10 inches. Finished size was 13 1/4
center to center. Hey ladies, CHECK OUT MY 13 INCH MEMBER!! |
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The tops of the muffler hanger
pockets were cut off earlier. Now flat metal was welded in. Nice
job. Last task of the day. Should have photochopped it to make
it look pretty.
The undercoat on the other side kept
catching fire.
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The assembly is shaping up. Two
tubes have been welded to the square tube over the seat belt
holes. (newer mustangs have bolts on the floor.) Longer bolts
are used to hold the assembly in tight for every step. These
tubes will also allow the seat belts to be re-installed in the
same place.
Two tabs are located near each end right
over the frame flanges.
The finished areas were painted ford
engine blue. Didn't think of painting the axle piece this color
until it was installed. |
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The top piece is cut from 3/16
inch plate. Four 7/16 holes were drilled before it was tacked
in place. An angle finder was used to ensure the plate was the
same angle as the car.
Location was a guess-timation, with the seat above and
the driveshaft below, keeping the angle of the link in mind.
A piece of angle is welded to
the top with plugs and stitches. Three 3/8 are welded in.
The finished 3rd link is trying to get
into the shot. |
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The side pieces are 1/8th plate.
Strips of 1/2 were laying around
so that's what was used. Holes were drilled before they were
twisted into shape and tack welded. Their backs were bent up
simply to close off the box from the outside.
All three sides were tacked in before it was finished off
the car and de-splattered. |
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Getting there. Notice the rear of the
plate is level with the tube, so any bracket can slide over it
if needed.
The front piece happened to be made
of 3/16, which came in handy later.
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The bottom plate was tack
welded to the top before the holes were drilled. This way I knew
they would align without doing precise calculation. The down
side is that they may only fit together one way.
All the pieces are made from the same
3/16 plate cutoff that was bought from a metal shop.
To assemble the bracket properly,
the bottom plate was bolted to the top plate, while the sides
were bolted to the 3rd link. With the axle raised to put weight
on it, and the pinion angle set, the link was held up and the
sides were tack welded to the top.
Then finish weld and paint. |
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While drilling holes for the 3/16 rivets
I noticed how thin the sheetmetal was. I thought this might cause
vibration and fatigue over time. So an extension with four bolt
holes was added along the spine to the crossmember. I wanted
to use two smaller tubes but this is what I had, and I had to
stick two scraps together to get it.
My Three Link has a Torque Arm! |
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Now we're getting somewhere.
Looks better painted.
The floor was covered with spraycan truck bed liner and
the 'T-Bar' ford engine blue.
There are 9 bolts, 8 self tapping screws,
and 16 rivets holding it to the car. It's not going to tear out
anytime soon. I almost forgot to weld in the four top bolts before
painting.
The width of the crosspiece was three
feet. Then I widened it to reach the inner fenders. Then I realized
there was nothing there with any real strength, and it was hard
to get in and out of the car, so it was cut back down. When measured
again, it was three feet.
The piece on the passenger side is rust
repair. The spring bracket is behind there, and gunk built up
between the pieces and rotted out.
Bigger
Pic. |
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3/16 rivets circle the box. Bathroom
caulk was added as a seal before final assembly.
The seatbelts are re-installed with
3/8 Fine thread bolts and thick washers. Teflon tape was wrapped
around the tube to prevent rattles.
The sheetmetal had a few cuts from the
AngryGrinder that had to be welded up.
Bigger
Pic. |
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Underneath, the bracket is installed.
While building it, somehow I forgot that a
bolt had to be installed. It just barely fit, after it was cut
exactly to length.
The white around the edges is caulk,
while the white in the middle is white marine grease.
The black on the link is overspray from
undercoating. That bedliner stuff is impossible to get off.
MY 13 INCH MEMBER HAS BLACK SPOTS ON IT!!
Bigger
Pic. |
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Getting on with my life...
I stuck the camera up above the axle
and straightened out the shots in Photoshop. This one is approximately
level.
There's the bracket with the rod welded
to the edge. Looks nicer. Should have welded it in solid, but
I went thru 3 lb. of wire as is and my eyes are throbbing. The
welding had to be arranged for only a certain amount each day.
The bracket in the background is from
the old Rancho adjustable sway bar kit.
Bigger
Pic. |
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On the frame, you can see there is only
a finger width of space over the link, but it is near the front
pivot. The back would probably hit the floor first.
The five bolts ring the link for strength, and there is
a stock crossmember right above made from sheetmetal. Later mustangs
don't have the giant seatbelt washers there, and the sheetmetal
is slightly changed, but the idea would still work.
The bracket bolts are long enough to drop
the bracket with a spacer. Of course the holes would have to
be slotted to keep the same pinion angle. As is, the driveshaft
is five fingers below.
The top of the axle mount is also about
five fingers from the floor, while the axles' rubber snubbers
have a hand width.
Bigger
Pic. |
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A shot of all the bottom bolts. The
front ones have a strip of plate that conforms to the floorpan.
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Here is the rear seat bottom test
fitted. The metal brace at the rear will have to be altered before
it falls totally into place.
The seat back should fit the same as
before, but I'm kind of burnt out right now. Lots of upgrades
on the car this year. It feels as if I worked on it more than
it was driven. |
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The Intrepid link was removed
easily and the axle didn't collapse. So far so good.
Next re-install the sway bar kit. The
entire thing was taken off, de-rusted, and painted.
Years ago Rancho sold adjustable sway bars for
cars. The one shortcoming was the rod ends were too small. They
soon crapped out, and the design made it difficult to add bigger
ones. Luckily my kit also came with dogbones with urethane bushings.
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Of eight bushings only one
went bad. Pretty good after all this time. A replacement was
turned using a front swaybar link bushing. It had to be cut slowly
or else the urethane squirmed away from the cutter.
The old one was probably that color
once. |
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The sway bar installed. Big U-bolts
hold it the axle. These bolts were rubbing on the tailpipes before
so they were moved inwards.
Teflon tape was wrapped under the bushings.
They say this makes it more slippery and prevents wear. I had
previously tapped them for grease fittings .
The bar is one inch with adjustable ends.
The ends were cut down years ago as they hit the frame.
Third Link Project completed. But before
a drive; brakes. |
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The first few drives revealed
a clunk, so the relocated bump stops were cut, but it didn't
help. Now I think it is the panhard bar hitting the frame bracket.
Using various suspension programs on
the Web the anti-squat came in at somewhere over 100%, which
I found hard to believe. I was thinking it would be about 60%.
So out came the pencil and paper and a scale ruler.
It was hard to find web info of CofG height for a mustang . If
16in in then Anti-squat was 65%, if 18 then 60%. But the web
programs kept disagreeing with that.
One program also said at 1in movement
the axle has no RC shift or Toe-In Gain. Cool. But that program
also said I had 143% A/S. Another said
it was 122%, with very slight RC and toe change. |
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Finally I realized that
the drawings I based my design on were flawed. Here
is the same basic drawing that was in many Steve Smith stock
car type books. I have altered it on the left hand side.
It says Antisquat is at 'A', directly under the CG. But
everyone else says it is at the intersection of the Force Vector,
and the front axle centerline, aa compared to CG Height. Even
the text mentions CGH, not CG.
You can see the difference. At 'A' is
is about 40% A/S, compared to about 120% at the front axle.
I wonder how many people were screwed
up by this drawing over the years? You might think that because
they used this drawing again and again, Someone Might Have CHECKED
THE FREAKING MATH ON THE THING!!!
On the other hand, several of these books
said 'not to use over 50% A/S', but they were the ones with the
bad drawing. If they are re-calculated the other way, their examples
are over 100%. So I'm not so far off after all. |
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Here are some programs I downloaded.
http://www.performancetrends.com/SuspAnzr.htm A Demo. I used the 99mustang file for some numbers,
then glued them into the 3 link file found in Vehicle Specs.
It says I have 141% A/S.
http://mysite.verizon.net/triaged/files/3LinkV1.0bBETA.zip It says I have 121% A/S. Same numbers used.
http://rapidshare.com/files/95118335/carFactorySetupV1.8.2.zip
Here's an article on how the calculate CG
Height, if you have car scales.
http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=22
I found a program for Torque Arms at;
http://www.rossautoracing.com/antisquat.html
Using the rather common 48 inch arm
the A/S is 162%. Also very high, yet these type are widely used.
EVM sells a 3 link, and states
it "...allows for adjustment of the anti-squat from 90%
- 105%.".
Steedas' 5 link blurb says "...geometry lets
you choose between 65% and 98% anti-squat ".
Lateral Dynamics 3 link "..the nominal A/S is about
70%....there are six possible settings for any given ride height." |
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My own measurements using pencil,
paper, and a scale ruler came up with: 115.27% A/S, IC 41in.
at 8in. from the ground, at half a tank of gas. [assuming 18in
CGH.]
So my conclusion is, drive it more and
see how theory compares to direct experience. I have driven it
on the highway and around town, but only in the snow.
If I do need to alter the amount of
A/S, then there is room at the axle bracket. The center can come
forward and down, as the photo chopped pics shows.
Then the frame bracket can be altered,
or my member can be shortened an inch.
Ouch. |
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In January unusually warm weather
moved in for a week. I used the time to revise the bracketry
on the rearend.
The clunk had to be dealt with at least.
If both tires hit a big bump at the same time you had to grit
your teeth as it felt like someone hit the chassis with a sledgehammer.
After checking it over, the only sign was a small line
at the front of the link, right where I said there was a finger
width of space between it and the center of the 'T' frame. That
wasn't enough space after all.
Lowering the rear pivot seemed like
a cure for both the AS and the clunk.
The link was shortened, as I didn't want to put it
deeper into the tunnel, as it would clunk worse. The frame sheetmetal
was ground a bit higher as well.
The axle bracket was removed and the center cut out. Then
two 3/16" plates were bolted to the link and the bracket
re-installed.
When the rearend was originally centered the bracket was off
by 3/16, so this was now perfect to overlap the new pieces on
the bracket.
The plates were tack welded in place and finished
outside.
You can see the old hole still
in place.
The paint was cleaned off with
a cute little sandblasting pistol that looked like a paintball
gun, with the sand going into a top hopper. Fifteen bucks. |
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I could only get two blurry pictures
before the batteries went dead. This digital eats them like candy.
The bracket was painted a nice blue and then I scraped
the crap out of it getting it in, as it warped slightly.
The weight off the car is on the axle
here but the suspension is not compressed.
I roughly calculate AS at between 80
and 100%. And there's no big clunk. White grease was placed on
the top of the link and axle to see if it transfers to the frame
or not.
The next day the weather was back
in the deep freeze. |
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But still there was a thump. Different
than before though. So when the weather gave me another break
I looked again.
No grease had transferred. But I saw
was the shock bracket was bent. This had happened before but
I thought the floor jack had bent it when the axle was lifted,
and so straightened it out and carried on.
Now it became obvious that it was hitting
the sway bar bracket as the axle moved upwards. I had installed
the bolt with the nut to the inside and never looked at it closely
again.
So the bolt was flipped, the bracket trimmed
down, and the head thinned down to be sure.
Goes to show how you can over complicate something.
I was examining the 3rd link and forgot the simple things. |
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