Re: [Amc-list] corner carving rear drive cars

["Armand Eshleman" <aje1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim,
the first thing that must be done and is relatively affordable is replace
all the bushings front and rear with poly bushings or aluminum bushings.
There's lots of slop in those rubber bushings. The gawd awful thing about
this is the AMC suspension (or any make for that matter) will be intolerable
on the average bull crap bumpy road. The rough ride and racket from loose
trim etc. will drive you nuts. The front suspension won't like to be allowed
to go to full droop, because of the additional stress placed on the strut
rods when drooping. this could be disastrous to the strut rods if they are
marginal at all. However the car will handle better to begin with,
especially with the correct alignment. If you add the 1-1/8 diameter front
sway bar and the 3/4 rear sway bar you'll see even more improvement.
After you out grow that set up a full on custom designed and engineered
suspension is necessary. I think Penske had the AMC figured out rather well
for the early 70s but with today's technology and computer aided engineering
and drawing I'm sure a good suspension engineer could whip out something
very impressive. Besides I think all of Penskes secrets are either gone or
no one wants to share them with us, I've been asking and searching to no
avail.
Nick Alfano was working on something special to do with AMC suspension, was
that a rack and pinion steering kit?? Where did that idea go to??

Armand




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Blair" <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 11:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Amc-list] corner carving rear drive cars


Thanks for that! I've been looking for something to help me sort out the
"loose" feeling in my '82. Steering is too twitchy for my liking and the
rear gets too out of synche (like I have rear steer that isn't controlled)
I'm thinking maybe new rear spring bushings may help. I don't see any leaves
broken, but it almost feels like it. (I do tend to carry more stuff than I
should, but it still feels almost as bad empty) My '87 MJ with 6" of lift
handles far tighter, especially in the corners like I-405 SB to I-520 EB
where the corner speed is posted at 15 mph. The Jeep sleds through the
corner on bald tires (2wd) at 40, even in the rain. Spirit feels like it's
going to slide off the road at 20 on the same corner (and it's not tire
traction as they are brand new Michelins. It's all suspension slop)

Jim Blair, Lynnwood, WA '87 Comanche, '83 Jeep J10, '84 Jeep J10
From: "Armand Eshleman" <aje1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Amc-list] corner carving rear drive cars
To: "AMC/Rambler owners, drivers and fans." <amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID: <005d01c8bace$75e91ce0$6601a8c0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I really don't want to beat a dead horse over this one, but I thought it so
ironic that right after posting a response to Tom's comments about front
wheel drive handling and his comments about not getting his AMCs to work
good on a track, that an article shows up in the June issue of Hemmings
Muscle Machines all about a guy named Earl Daugharthy and his son Dean from
Hinckley, OH who have been campaigning an 81 AMC Spirit, that routinely
beats all opposition, including non turbo'ed Porches and Vipers.
All I can say is this guy knows how to make an AMC handle. I will give
credit to very heavy modifications but none the less it is remarkable what
the article states about the car and the handling even before the heavy
modifications were done.
Read it, it's a great article about our AMCs.

Armand

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