front end set up question

[Smokey]

I recently picked up a cross torsion type suspension for the front end of my lakester project. has anyone on here ever ran a similar set up? and if so how did you like the ride and handling?

here is a pic of a similar unit to the one I have

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_z6s3X4gR3HA/SPvc4Fd8jWI/AAAAAAAAHVQ/j51HBXr8p0U/s800/Tfrontaxleucclup.jpg

I have seen similar setups on drag cars and sprint cars and it looked like a neat alt to the usual transverse leaf ford style fronts

Also; do i need to pre-load the front by welding the unit with the arms clocked down a certain amount or do i just set every thing to square and just set my caster with the supporting hair pins?

 

[fuzz]

My experience with torsion bar front suspension is very limited but here's my 2 cents. Assuming the pieces you have were designed for a car of the approximate weight of your car and if the arms are not splined for adjustment, you're probably going to have to experiment with the angle of the arms. I would start with level because a short torsion bar isn't going to give [flex] very much especially on a light car. A single short bar will be stiffer than a long bar. Most torsion bar suspension systems for the street use two long bars with an adjustable mount. I had an S & W Race cars altered with torsion front and it was quite stiff. I could stand on the front frame and jump up and down with my 230 lbs and it didn't move much..