rear suspension

doghousedevil · Oct 16, 2007

need help on setting up my rear suspension on my 29 chevy 2door sedan. i have a model t frame with the spring and i'm curious if this set up will work for the frame we built out of 2x4? we built the frame to with the suicide front and z'd the rear 12" with a temporary cross member in place for now. we're also considering building a four link, but i really like the old look. i will probably stick with just a mild small block for now, but with ever changing taste i may go for more horsepower later. any suggestions would be great.
thanks,
chris

FlatBroke · Oct 29, 2007

I'm no expert by any means,
but I think you need to figure out what your long term goal is for the car first and foremost. Weekly street cruiser, think you will be good with what you have. Occasional trip to the drag strip, you might consider going with ladder bar set up....
Like I said, NOT AN EXPERT .....

Bonehead · Oct 29, 2007

Yep, I think Flat nailed it. Looking back no one ever answered this post, even though 45 people looked at it. Most any standard design rear suspension will work. But depending on what you are going to do with it, some work better than others.

Gastrick · Oct 29, 2007

Oops. I guess I missed this original post. My .02 is it depends on what you expect from the car when it's completed and what your intentions are as far as ride height is concerned. With the 12" "z", I'm guessing that the car will be very low. If that's the case, then the rear suspension won't be externally visible anyway. I personally like the idea of the four link with coil overs unless you are really fixed on keeping a traditional style suspension. The four link is more adjustable and works better.

gassersgarage · Oct 30, 2007

For me, ease of maintenance and installation, it would be a ladder bar, especially if you want to add more power later. Parallel 4 links are great but need a lot of trial and error to work properly. Triangulated 4 links are great for cruising.

Buggy springs are great and traditional for the rear, but coilovers are adjustable and give a better ride quality. Only problem I've had with coilovers is they have bottomed out on potholes. Due to the stress, I've had mine rebuilt twice in 6 years. Never bottomed out with a buggy spring.

doghousedevil · Oct 31, 2007

thanks for the advice

thanks for the advice. this isn't the first car i've worked on, but it is the first hot rod i've built from scratch. i got a spot at a pretty big swap meet this weekend, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that i will sell enough stuff to get this ball rollin' again. any ideas on some different model cars that have a wide enough rearend to get outside the body when it's sittin' in the dirt?