Note; There are several designs of truckarms in use by NASCAR teams. I've seen square tube, rectangular tube and original I-beam types available from used race parts places. Tube arms seem to be more common in the street scene and are big buck pieces. I saw a set of I-beam type on ebay recently, I could not decide if they would be a good idea as while the pair was prices at $175 buyitnow and I-beam type they had Monoball ends. I would assume that the mono ball would make for a harsh noise/vibration issue right under the seats! Still thinking and reading and thinking! -- Mark Price Morgantown, WV 1969 AMC Rambler, 4.0L, EFI, T-5 -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Swygert, Francis G MSgt 436 CES/CECM" <Francis.Swygert3@xxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:48 AM > From: Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx> > > Mark, one thing I don't see in a lot of these truck-arm schemes > is explicitly allowing for roll. They all go up and down fine. I > realize also that the angled arms helps, but a flat pivot that > flexes in only one plane simply can't work. > > ------------------------------ > > "Truck Arms" do allow for roll, but as you noted roll is limited. The > angle of the arms and pivots allow for some roll motion, and the length > of the arms. The original Chevy truck arms are I beams, not boxed. The > beam itself twists as the vehicle rolls. It's designed specifically to > twist. The beams are relatively heavy in cross section, but are made > from 10-11 gauge material. They have a high resistance to bending in the > vertical plane due to depth, but a low resistance to twisting in the > horizontal plane. There is at least 6" of flex from one wheel to the > other, though I believe it is more like 8" IIRC. One wheel can be jacked > up for changing easily without affecting the other, or rather affecting > it no more than it would a leaf spring or torque tube suspension. > > Boxed beams are used on NASCAR chassis. Those are much stiffer than the > I beams used by Chevy and Hot Rods to Hell. HRTH sells the arms and > other components for custom installations > (http://www.hotrodstohell.net/catalog/catalog.htm). Stock Car Products > (http://www.stockcarproducts.com/trkarm.htm) also sells them for about > the same price (SCP $225 each, HRTH $220 each). SCP has a universal > crossmember for $96, so it would be about $550 for the parts to put one > in a 63-66 Classic (the most likely recipient) with a little welding. > I'd cut the crossmember to the correct width and weld on end plates that > would bolt under the car. > > I've though to build a set using 1"x3" 16 gauge rectangular tubing. That > should handle moderate power (300-400 hp) and be thin enough to flex > some. Not as much flex as an I beam, but should be enough to mimic a car > with a rear roll bar. I just wonder if a length of tubing could be > placed diagonally from one bar to the other to eliminate the need for a > panhard rod. There would have to be rubber bushings or spherical rod > ends to allow the arms to twist, but there's little enough movement and > pressure on rod ends in that application that they should last. They > won't last on the street when used to replace main suspension bushings, > such as on strut rods and A-arms. > > _______________________________________________ > Amc-list mailing list > Amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx > http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list _______________________________________________ Amc-list mailing list Amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.amc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/amc-list