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'82 Brat: Solid Axle Build *** DONE! :) ***


mcbrat
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agreed that would be ideal, but the soob motor sits right above the front axle, and as it sits right now, the panhard comes to within 1/32" of the oil pan when the right front tire is stuffed... right smack in the middle of it... there's not really room to move the engine up, and we were going to section an oil pan, but since it ended up right in the middle, decided not to.

 

the pitman arm was the biggest drop I could find, and the panhard was built to match the draglink angle. it doesn't show it very well there, but there's actually not any room for the hi-steer on the Brat. I was gonna do that as well...

 

plus the farther you move the mount points away from the frame rails or axle tube, the more leverage on the mounts....

 

I suppose there are always trade-offs when doing custom stuff...

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  • 2 weeks later...
This thing is sick! :slobber:

 

Wish i could do such a conversion to my forester!!

 

Would that be possible? :confused:

 

Did you just put the body onto a toyota frame or something? You´re not running the stock engine right?

 

He has the stock engine, ea81, with ea71 pistons, Delta Cam, recurved Disty, weber with 155 mains, MSD 6A Ignition, Accel SuperCoil. That ea81 is hooked to a 5speed D/R which then goes to a Samuri box, then off to the diffs. Thing has like 35 gears to choose from when you include shifting the 5 speed andshifting the sammy box as well....

His fabricator, shaped the tubing, then welded it right to the unibody rails of the BRAT. It has a home built tubular frame, all welded to the unibody..

 

you can sort of see it here where the tubular is welded to the frame rails

rs_100_1558.JPG

Edited by bheinen74
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wish it still looked that pretty...

 

one thing now, though it that we never need to stop for broken suby parts, so not many opportunities to get pictures...

 

I need to trip a bit off of one of the subframe bars where the front lower links are. they are nearly flat, and when I stuff the suspension, the lower arm just gives the subrame a slight tap :) I should be able to cut it, then invert it, and weld it in to reseal the tube...

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nah, that would mean it doesn't get used.

 

Sounds like you wheel it quite a bit, yes? Someday, I'm going to "finish" my 4runner.....and I'll make the pilgrimage to come wheeling with ya.

 

not really... I havent had it on a trail in a while. I've missed a couple opportunities due to work and just general busy-ness around the money pit...

 

though the other day I discovered just how well the swamperss will throw up water into the cab... :)

 

I have a tire that keeps going down, and I was really scared for the engine the other day... ever since I layed it on it's side last fall (twice) it's seemed off...

 

I'm still waiting to clear enough room in my garage to get it in for some other work....

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  • 2 weeks later...
this is open to any discussion, it has nothing to do with detracting with all the wonderful work done on this project, its an offer to improve future work for guys intrested in doing this kind of work and having a safe, fun, streetable project

 

subpanhardbar1.jpg

 

subpanhardbar2.jpg

 

I just noticed this post....

 

 

I think you're looking at the wrong steering link. The tie rod, that runs horizontally, just keeps the 2 front wheels parallel. The drag link, which connects the steering box to the knuckles, runs parallel to the panhard. This means that those 2 arms travel along the same arc. No bump-steer.

 

From a geometry standpoint, keeping those horizontal is ideal. But in the real world, space doesn't always allow that. And as long as they stay parallel, it's perfectly safe and stable.

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no, its not, but it is what it is

 

um....what? care to offer some reasoning behind your opinion?

 

It's almost exactly how many coil-sprung solid-axle front ends are setup (TJs, XJs, Land rover discos, FJ80s)

 

TJ-FRONT-ANGLED-02.jpg

0911_4wd_32_z+1987_jeep_cherokee_buildup+front_xj_bumpers.jpg

129_0909_12_z+2000_land_rover_discovery+remove_factory_bumper.jpg

129_0508_02_z+1993_toyota_land_cruiser_fzj80+front_bumper.jpg

respectively

 

it's even common to have an angled drag link on a leaf-sprung truck

PIC00052.jpg

 

 

 

I'm sorry man, I don't claim to be an expert. But I have a pretty good understanding of suspension geometry. And I have driven numerous rigs both on- and off-road that were setup like that, and they drive just fine.

 

 

 

 

In other news....a google image search for "toyota 3-link" comes up with a few pics of Mick's brat! Nice!

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chrysler ( jeep) made in my home town where 90% of my family works is the worst example you can use

The only reason I spoke of the condition is because I have first hand kowledge of it both in driving and in its explination

 

In the factory set up , you are dealing with maybe 4in suspension travel, in after market systems you are dealling with at least twice that and ( hopefully) a much softer spring

 

what the problem is, as the weight of the vehicle moves down, a panhard bar placed in an angle ( at rest) will extend its length through its arc movement and shift the whole axle in one direction ( in this case towards the passenger side)

 

because the panhard bar is mounted at stationary pivot points, it can not flex under this given movement HOWEVER, the steering link can adjust to the arc's movement through driver input

 

so as you look at your motion ( at rest) you are quite correct to say everything stays in relation to each other in its equal length motion WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL IS POINTED STRAIGHT FORWARD but when you enter partial turn it is no longer equal

 

when partial steer is entered into the drag link , now you have either a push develop in the steer ( right turn in this case) or an oversteer develop ( in a left trun in this case)

 

If for some reason, the weight of the vehicle moves downward in this condition, you develop an occilation of oversteer, understeer that can not be controled, its reffered to as steering shake in chrysler trucks

 

the reason it happenes to 4wd guys is because they tend to use a larger tire, when you do that, you change how the C/G works on the panhard bar and it gets overloaded

 

the best way to adjust the panhard bar is to locate it in a neutral position ( at rest that also includes tire drop)so that as the axle moves through its motion , the pan hard bar only gets shorter in its arc.

 

with the panhard bar mounted in a nuetral ( center of arc) location, you cut the amount of sideways movement/travel in half

 

having said all that, its just an over techinical point, that has no bearing on this build, if you are building your own rig and want to do it that way, no problem, but because I work on other people's projects. I am held reponsible to know these things before I build the car.

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we'll just have to agree to disagree, I guess.

 

The drag link remains parallel to the panhard throughout the steering range. so it wouldn't matter if you're turning.

 

I understand your concern in the liability of building a customer rig. This is why I bring up the examples of numerous major manufacturers building it that way.

 

 

 

Anyway, thanks for answering. I love getting technical on suspension setups. But I still think the symptoms you describe would be caused by other factors than just not having a level panhard

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  • 1 month later...

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