Hi all.
Well, it looks like it's time to start seriously planning what I'm going to
do about 1601's chassis & suspension. We should have the original chassis
stripped bare, and a newly fabricated one ordered by the end of January.
Time to start planning & budgeting.
I want to improve handling, especially transient response, reduce body roll
& understeer, and try to take some of the flex out of that chassis.
The things I'm considering:
*** Front Suspension:
At least a set of new poly bushings. As I understand it, I can get these
from AMC performance people. Any sources?
I'm thinking that getting some springs to give a lower ride height and a
progressive rate might be a good idea. Would I have to custom-order these
kind of springs? Either way I'd be appreciative of some pointers to
sources.
At the extreme, I might also want to go for rack & pinion steering gear.
Does this make any sense? How feasable is it? How good/bad is the stock
recirculating ball? Has anyone done this? I'm thinking that a
Pinto/Mustang II unit is likely the way to go if I decide to go this route,
just because it's what everybody uses. Any thoughts?
*** Rear Suspension:
At least a posi unit with disc brakes (like the 9" unit from a Lincoln
Versailes).
Again, I think some lowering and stiffening may be in order. Can I just
add leaves & spacers to the orignal springs, or is there another solution
out there?
I'm also considering going to an independant rear suspension, either a
Vette or Jag rear end. I believe that this would be the most expensive of
any of the chassis/suspension mods I'm thinking about, so I'd really like
to hear some feedback. Has anyone done this kind of conversion? Was it
worth it? Has anyone considered this and decided against it? Why?
*** General Chassis:
A few months ago when I posted about this, I got a nice, detailed response
from Gregory Monfort. He suggested the following:
1) Gusseting all joints.
2) A hoop in front of the firewall with other braces running from the
two
bends in the hoop, to the towers, then down to the frame.
3) A cross brace across the towers.
4) Make channel braces to effect 'X' frame bracing in the center
portion
to tie the four corners to the existing cross brace. *
* That one is a quote - I'm not sure I get it. Is there room under the car
to weld up an 'X' frame brace? With the passenger compartment hanging down
below the frame, wouldn't this be awfully difficult? If Gregory or someone
else could email me some kind of diagram I'd really appreciate it.
I'm also curious about the "torque boxes" at the 4 corners of the main
perimeter frame. we were told by Terry that they were engineered for a
certain amount or type of flex, and that this is important. Can that
really be true? Why wouldn't I want that chassis as stiff as I can get it?
Any advice, info, insight, flames, or encouragement would be very much
appreciated.
Thanks,
--
Phil Martin pmartin@isgtec.com
"This room smells like Hotel Illness,
The scars I hide are not your business."
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