61 Volkswagen V8 Single Cab Street Rod

Bama, the axle is bolted to the cradle sort of like ladder bars. It won't wrap.

8literbeater said:

Bama, the axle is bolted to the cradle sort of like ladder bars. It won't wrap.

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I understand that at the rear.....the front of the cradle is what I was referring to.

Bamamav said:

Only thing I see, and I may be over thinking this, is if you get any spring wrap, it will force the cradle forward, putting strain on the shackles on the single spring, and possibly binding the cradle against the frame. Does that make sense?

Digging the stretched Bug! Looks a lot like a Fiat Topolino!

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Thanks for the question. There should not be a problem. Both of the fully welded shackles on the front of the cradle have a grade 8 bolt affixed, like a stud, with a sufficient amount of room on both the front and back sides of the leaf spring eye to allow for horizontal fore and aft movement caused by the flattening and arching of the rear leaf springs. I replaced the original inserts in the front leaf spring with high impact nylon pieces that can withstand constant sliding of the studs thru the spring.
Wrap in the rear is not an issue as 8literbeater mentioned.
So if my thinking is correct, it should work well. The only difference between this setup and the V8 Daihatsu cradle (which is working very well) is the front pivot. The Hijet has a single stud going thru a rubber motor mount instead of a front leaf spring arrangement. I knew that the VW would launch much harder and I was concerned that the single pivot point would not be up to the task.
Your question did make me realize that I need an upgrade to this setup. I am hopeful that between the big tires, stall convertor, trans brake and weight distribution, that the truck will lift a front wheel on launch. That said, I need to incorporate a snubber above the front of the cradle to protect the front leaf spring on a hard launch.

Bamamav said:

I understand that at the rear.....the front of the cradle is what I was referring to.

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With the axle bolted to the cradle and the support bars eliminate wrap or flex and the leaf spring running flat shouldn't be much forward and back motion

sneakysnake said:

With the axle bolted to the cradle and the support bars eliminate wrap or flex and the leaf spring running flat shouldn't be much forward and back motion

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From a stationary positon, as in the photo, to a flat spring position, moves the axle/cradle rearward very little. I expect that the only time I will need the horizontal movement space is to accommodate a quick drop in the road where I have a lot of arch in the spring. Even then, not talking about a lot of horizontal cradle movement.

I Wasn't trying to rain on your parade Ben, I was just wondering about the mounting. Sounds as though you have it figured out. The snubber on the cross spring sounds like a good idea.

Bamamav said:

I Wasn't trying to rain on your parade Ben, I was just wondering about the mounting. Sounds as though you have it figured out. The snubber on the cross spring sounds like a good idea.

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No problem, I did not take it that way at all. I'm glad you asked the question!

Guess I'm slow but don't understand the reason for the cradle inside the frame. Got a short explanation? [S

Rattler

The Rattler said:

Guess I'm slow but don't understand the reason for the cradle inside the frame. Got a short explanation? [S

Rattler

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Yes, two reasons. First, I wanted to build this with a street rod look but did not want to end up with a super long vehicle/wheelbase. So this is a way to eliminate the length of the drive shaft. Second, the shorty Powerglide transmission (which I chose to keep the drivetrain short) is really designed for an application with no rear suspension. It requires a short yoke and does not allow for much movement of the yoke in and out of the transmission. The cradle combines the engine/trans/rearend as a single unit and allows for a very short driveshaft...basically just a coupling to allow for engine mount flex. The cradle still allows for full suspension travel. The difference is that the frame is moving around the drivetrain instead of the drivetrain moving with the frame.
I have been using a very similar setup on my V8 Daihatsu Hijet micro truck with good success. So far, I have not experienced any downside to its use.

In the 70's Tom Mcmullen built a flamed, chopped Dodge van/pickup with a blown BBC close coupled to the diff and mounted to a separate cradle very much like you are doing though I seem to recall it only had a rod running across the front of the cradle as a front mount - I always thought that it was a poor setup, not allowing any rotational movement. I like your setup with the cross leaf, very innovative.
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I didn't even think of suspension side to side flex ZZ...I was thinking just a pair of pivots on the outside of the cradle would do...I guess I've been learned a thing or two...[P

Here's some pics of Mcmullens A100. You may be able to make out the straight rod front mount he used in the magazine pic - I have to think it wouldn't have worked too well, forcing the whole engine cradle to twist when cornering... sorry for the tiny pics....

zzrodder said:

Here's some pics of Mcmullens A100. You may be able to make out the straight rod front mount he used in the magazine pic - I have to think it wouldn't have worked too well, forcing the whole engine cradle to twist when cornering... sorry for the tiny pics....

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Thanks!

Street Rod

Love the build. You do great work. That being said, when do I get to see the completion of the V8 Beetle Street Rod?[P

bgbrktracer said:

Love the build. You do great work. That being said, when do I get to see the completion of the V8 Beetle Street Rod?[P

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Ha! Thanks, got a good laugh! My excuse is that the body was stuck at the sandblasters shop for so long, that I started this new project. The good part is that the Bug needs very little fabrication at this point. During the wait, I did find all the parts needed to swap in a 5 speed and ditch the automatic. Besides fitting the bug with the clutch pedal, a trans tunnel, wheel tubs and some minor rust repair, this is largely just a bolt together operation. Everything else is fitted and on hand.

Keep those pictures coming...nice progress...cool gauges!