Thread: 61 Bel Air
View Single Post
  #76  
Old 03-04-2014, 07:23 AM
ProTouring442's Avatar
ProTouring442 ProTouring442 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Harriman, TN
Posts: 1,330
Thanks: 19
Thanked 34 Times in 16 Posts
Default

A piece of unsolicited advice. Clean and re-weld the factory lower control arm mounts where they attach to the frame. You might even consider bracing the lower arm mounts.

Because of the three link design, a hard shift causes the rear to want to pivot on the upper link, putting added stress on the lowers. How do I know this? Because when I was younger, a nice second gear ripped the right lower control arm mount right off the frame, with near disastrous effects. To this day, I cannot tell you how I kept the car from flipping, as it kept trying to bounce completely sideways each time the now liberated control arm dug into the pavement. I crossed two lanes to my right, then back again and into the turn lane before I got the damned thing stopped.

This occurred on car on which my father had performed a frame off restoration, including cleaning and painting the frame. After my little bucking bronco of a ride, we opened a section of the rear floor board (under the rear seat if I recall correctly) to reattach the mount. There were no signs of rust, and neither the frame itself, nor the mount had torn. The then 30 year old weld had simply failed given the shock of a good second gear shift (admittedly, I was running a bored and stroked 409 (482 cubes) and a muncie 4 speed), but add the additional twisting forces of urethane bushings (which it looks to me like you are running), and those lower mounts might not be long for this world.

I added a second upper link when I repaired mine, but you really can't do that with urethane bushings. It still might be something to think about.

Please don't take this as a dig on your build, I am very much enjoying it, but I nearly lost my car that night to a simple, have a little fun hard throttle second gear. I'd just hate to see lose their car over something so easy to prevent.
__________________
You ever wonder what medieval cook looked at the guts of a pig and thought, "I bet if you washed out that poop tube, you could stuff it with meat and eat it."
Reply With Quote