John,
Back when I first started talking about building
my car and suspension, you strongly suggested
that I use some version of normal spring
suspension. Now I'm down to the nuts and bolts
(literally) and I'm finding it very difficult to
come up with springs that work for my application
on the front. I know the stuff is out there, it's
just that there is a big price tag for my budget.
Keep in mind that I'm on a real shade tree budget
here. I have a '49 Ford truck frame that I am
trying to convert into a frame for my flathead
roadster. It should weigh in under 2000 lbs.
The only front end solution I see is to simply
remove all of the srings, and bolt the axle
(which has the flat flange on the top side, since
it was an "under the spring" axle) directly to
the bottom of the frame rails. The rear is an
easier solution, and I can put springs there and
still get the ride height I want. Since this is
the flathead car, and not the hemi car, we are
looking at much lower speeds here - my guess is
around 120 - 130 if I'm lucky. There were a lot
of unsprung altereds and front engined dragsters
on the drag strips in the late fifties and early
sixties, and they seemed to do OK at those speeds
and more. I realize that suspension would be
better than solid, but is there a reason that I
absolutely positively should not do this? (I've
ownded and ridden an un-sprung Harley - so I
already know what kidney shock is!)
Thanks,
Dick J
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