Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Maier
This project remind me of my yellow mustang. When I first started I built my own suspension, several times. I think beyond purchasing kits. Which please understand this is no dig at your set up Ron but more of a state of mind of a craftsman. For example my father in law had plenty of funds to buy an old boat but he decided to completely restore a Chris Craft instead. It looks like this might be a little of that. So when I was researching set ups I looked for the fastest sedans I could find ( which are very similar to Ron's set up) Trans am cars. This became My inspiration in a lot of ways. They have very efficient ways of mounting things, Frame rail locations and sway bar packaging. If you do this on your own make it tunable. Design in the ability to change things up when you learn what you did could be a little better.
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I agree with Mike -- fabricating it yourself has a lot of rewards and you get an end product that compliments (fits) the vehicle you started with. But, you need to be realistic about how long it might take and cost. If you have a big shop. lots of time, excellent fabrication skills, and good tools, you might have a fighting chance. If you don't, then you might be money ahead to go with a professionally built set-up, like Ron's. He has the latest technology and years of experience in suspension design. If you do a lot of research, trial-and-error fabrication, and tons of experimentation, you will end up where he is anyway, because it is the right answer. I have been working on the same car for 39 years -- 4 rear suspension designs, and I just finished the 4th front suspension install. I have thousands of dollars in "new", unused parts that were superceded by the next evolution. Although I have better equipment now, I started with a hacksaw and a file, and the time factor pain was excruciating. I now have what I believe is a very workable suspension, but as Mike suggests, I made every suspension pick-up point adjustable in case I am "off" a little, for tunability, and to compensate for things like changes in tire technology that may affect the set-up down the road. Good luck.
Pappy