Need bobber suspension expertise

[mikec4193]

Hi Rat Rods Rules folks

Just found a pretty decent early 1940's Ford cab with doors and not a ton of rust for the area where I live. It got me to thinking about building a bobber out of it. Now I am leaning towards a straight front and rear axles but not sure on the suspension. I have built and driven several 1950's 4 leaf spring trucks and Willys Jeeps too. Not really a fan of the whole feel of them.

How are the (straight axles) coil spring front and rear hot rods as far as feeling to drive around town? Bobber trucks having a pretty short wheelbase being taken into consideration.

I want something that is fun to drive and something I will want to drive on occasion.

Any thoughts and observations and experiences are welcome.

MikeC

 

[05snopro440]

A straight front axle with a transverse leaf can provide a decent ride, and good handling if you use a steering stabilizer. It will never be Cadillac smooth but it's good for what it is.

For the rear, the sky is the limit. You can run a buggy spring with ladder bars, parallel leafs, or a 4-link with coilovers, either triangulated or straight.

A lot of people I know complain about the ride of a car with a 4-link and coilovers, but it's either because their springs are too stiff, too soft, or the shocks/springs they chose didn't have enough travel.

On my Model A I'm going to be using ladder bars and a buggy spring in the rear. Less potential for leaving you on the side of the road (I know a couple people that have broken coilovers on long trips). Plus it has the benefit of giving you pretty good traction and pinion angle control. In a bobber with a short bed, a 40-link might be the best bet. Ride all depends on your springs and shocks in that case.

 

[Old Iron]

Built a 35 Dodge for a friend and Installed coilovers front and rear. It rode and drove great.
It's in my signature.
snopro is right, don't go too stiff with the spring choice and make sure the shocks have enough travel.
The springs were 500# on the front (engine was a big block Chevy), 400# for a small block engine and 200# on the rear.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Obviously there are lots of ways to skin a cat, but some are just cleaner than others.

As far as I am concerned you simply cannot beat the look of a transverse sprung I-beam Ford front end. Properly set up they are more than capable of daily use at modern speeds (and more!). With the proper geometry and alignment, steering stabilizers are not necessary. Rear setups are a little more flexible especially when considering what will be exposed, but the K.I.S.S. rule will never steer you wrong when it comes to hot rods...

 

[05snopro440]

Obviously there are lots of ways to skin a cat, but some are just cleaner than others.

As far as I am concerned you simply cannot beat the look of a transverse sprung I-beam Ford front end. Properly set up they are more than capable of daily use at modern speeds (and more!). With the proper geometry and alignment, steering stabilizers are not necessary. Rear setups are a little more flexible especially when considering what will be exposed, but the K.I.S.S. rule will never steer you wrong when it comes to hot rods...

Unfortunately a lot of steering setups for straight axles lend to bump steer. That's where the stabilizers help and why they're popular. Unfortunately, the tight confines of a 20's-30's car don't always allow us to set things up the best way possible, especially in the steering department.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Unfortunately a lot of steering setups for straight axles lend to bump steer. That's where the stabilizers help and why they're popular. Unfortunately, the tight confines of a 20's-30's car don't always allow us to set things up the best way possible, especially in the steering department.

I was strictly speaking on early Ford style I-beam front axles. I have set up tons of them in different configurations on different vehicles, several of which have made multiple cross country trips and clocked speeds in excess of 140mph. None of them required a steering stabilizer. As I said, a properly designed, aligned and adjusted Ford-style front end does not require one. They are too often used as a Band-Aid instead of finding the root cause of the issue. Now... that Band-Aid may be good enough for some folks, and it may last the life of the vehicle - but in reality it is only masking another issue.

Other straight axles my require or benefit from their use (and I'm not one to speak on that).
I acknowledge some people will disagree with me on their use, but they are just a little pet peeve of mine, especially when they are the first thing some will reach for. I just have too much experience with Ford axles to be convinced differently...

 

[kenny c]

From what I have read you can reduce bump steer if steering box is located at the same point and above the rear mount of the radius rods and the drag link is about the same length as the radius rod, hairpin or wishbone depending on which you use. The other setup is have transverse steering. A reversed Corvair or Vega steering box is one way. another is using a rack and pinion. A company called Unisteer makes one that is one sided for a Ford transverse front end and it replaces the Vega box.