I was looking for some help setting up my rear suspension. I'm in the process of a frame off on a 1955 F100. I just got the bare frame with the suspension on it , a Volare front clip and 9" rear end on stock springs, right now. I wasn't planning on changing the rear suspension originally, but I decided to lower it and get better handling. I'm looking for this truck to handle, not just in a straight line. I narrowed the rear already. I have about 1" tire clearance to the leaf springs. The tires are 295/45/18, the same as the 2003 Lightning. The bed sides have to be tubbed alittle. I would like to use leafs, but if someone knows of a 3 or 4 link that works good for handling. The engine is a 390 souped up, so wheel hop might be a problem with the tires. My friend has a Lightning, and it hooks good. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Hi DavidJO,
This is strictly my opinion, but I would think that as long as you added a rear sway bar, any 3 or 4 link rear end set up will handle better than the leafs that you have right now. If you really wanted to keep the leafs, you could add a panhard bar and a sway bar and I'm guessing that you would be pretty happy with the results but it won't help with the wheel hop. Anything that you can do to keep the truck from leaning or keep the axle from shifting will greatly increase your handling.

I would also like my truck to handle relatively well, so I've got an IFS up front with a sway bar and a 4-link in the rear with a panhard bar and a sway bar. It should ride nice in a straight line but act pretty well around corners also.

Good luck - Brad

 

Check my gallery for some pics on a 3 link set-up.

 

3 link and 4 link are great choices.. But U need to pay att. to all the joint and make shore everything is free movin and at the correct angles. 4 link is the best choice but U need to do is find a friend who can help U set it up right .. 1 small mistake with a 4 link can make a truck undriverable or even unsafe.. I will need to make shore U can adj all the points on the links bars so when it come to a thrust aliment U can correct any misadjment so It will track down the road right.. U would hate to do all the work and than find out U will be going down the street dogtracking all the way..

Best Luck with Ur chioce

 

Since we compete in autocross nationally, good handling is a subject near and dear to my heart. Parallel leaf rear suspension has been used on a number of good handling vehicles, since the rear suspension type has less effect on the handling than the front. What will make the greatest difference is as someone else already said a proper sized swaybar and the right shock valving and mounting. Wheel hop is only a problem on drag race starts and can be controlled with a set of ladder or slapper bars. I wouldn't recommend a panhard bar with the parallel leaf setup, it will bind up. Yes a 3 or 4 link setup can be a noticable improvement IF the geometry is right. A full independent rear would give the most flexibility to adjust the handling. If you like the Lightning handling (they are one of the best handling trucks out there) Find a rear clip from one and tranfer all the parts over to your frame, doing anything necessary to keep all the mounting points in exactly the same position, up-down, side to side and forward-back. Another thing to watch is the height of the CG, the lower you can get it the better. The biggest deficit to making a pickup handle is the poor F-R weight distribution, so mount everything that can be moved as far rearward a possible. I have learned through experience teaching novices to AX is that good handling is 90% controlled by the nut behind the wheel. Attend an AX school or compete in some events to learn how to make a car handle, the very best handling car will drive like a pig if the driver doesn't drive it properly.

 

I would fully agree with AXracer.. The best set up is the stock one.. I would go and have the Aliment checked and see if the rear end is close to center.. the closer to center thr thrust angle the better.. If not a Losen and shift the axle on the saddle intill it is as close as U can get it, than have a cross bar ( thats a bar going from the right side frame to the left side of the axle ) installed and have a good set of shocks install.. and enjoy.. ( Also much cheaper that a 3/4 link setup )

 

if you are a novice on this matter you will need more info before you start.
first i would do is to buy a book or two about the subject, for example "chassis engineering " by herb adams.( HPBOOKS) another is "how to make your car handle" (HPBOOKS) here you will find ALL the info you need.
the price of buying these will soon be saved from buying the wrong stuff, only having to buy parts the 2`nd time.

happy reading.

 

Thanks guys for the responses. I'm doing a lot of reading and I'm trying to fill in the blanks I don't understand. I like your suggestion, AXracer, to install the Lightning suspension into my truck. I'm not expecting to pull a G with this truck, and I want to set up this truck just one time. Let me give you some specs. The Volare front clip has the 1 1/8" torsion bars with a 1" sway bar. The front tires are 275/40/17 on 9.5 wide rims with a 4.5" offset. The rear end is a 9" with 295/45/18 on 9.5 rims with a 4.5" offset. The front track is 61 1/2" and the rear is 56".

Some questions from reading:

When you lower the Volare front end, are you are also lowering the spring rate of the torsion bars? So, would getting drop spindles be better for handling.

Mopar Performance offers a 1 1/8" sway bar. Would this be too much for my truck.

If I install the Lightning rear suspension, I would need to lower it. I can make hangers and brackets, but I was thinking more along the lines of installing the axle on top of the springs. Would "flipping the axle" screw up the good handling of the stock setup. Would the stock rear swaybar work the 1" or 1 1/8" sway bar of the Volare clip.

Thanks again for the help.

 

Ok, things I can say with relative certainty:
Dropping the torsion bar does soften the spring and reduces the travel in one direction significantly, if good handling is your goal then dropping the front end by loosening the torsion bars is not the right direction. Are dropped spindles better? I don't know if or how much you should drop the spindles, that too can affect the geometry significantly by changing the roll center of the front end. If you want to know more about suspension geometry and how it affects handling I'd recommend any and all books by Caroll Smith. The man was a suspension guru who could also write a book the layman can understand, a rare combination! To better decide about the torsion bar size and swaybar size, you must look at the donor car. What was the weight of the Volare and how much of it was on the front wheels? Was the car a "handler" or a "cruiser"? My recolection was the Volare of that era was Chrysler's last hurrah and attemp to build a cheap to produce/low priced/high profit/basic transportation vehicle based on modular parts that could be shared across many platforms to try to rescue the company from financial disaster. In any case except for some limited production mid 50's 300 Hemi sedans, Chryslers were never known for superior handling and corner carving BD (before Daimler). C's performance concentration has always been based on HP not G's. Bottom line is that the bars were probably soft at the supported weight, the same goes for the swaybar, especially given the much higher center of gravity of your truck. Does that mean the Volare is a "bad" choice? I really don't know, but my guess would be it is a servicable cruising suspension that would never be given serious consideration for use in a sportscar. That doesn't mean that it's handling can't be improved either. When tuning suspension you have to consider the balance of the entire package, a balanced simple package will outhandle an unbalanced vehicle with optimum setup at only one end. Hint: The shocks are THE MOST important piece in the puzzle. Take for example our Celica. Our class rules are very strictly regulated as far as suspension changes are concerned. The 7th Gen Celi is a decent handling car off the showroom floor, but change nothing more than put the right valved set of shocks on it and it will easily outcorner a Vette!

 

About lowering the rear: Putting the rear axle on top the springs is a quick and dirty way to drop the rear and probably won't adversely affect the handling, but you will need to "C" the frame for clearance. That will produce a significant lowering, but without lowering the front a similar amount will produce a tail between the legs stance.

 

You're going to have a have a reasonable goal with a Volare IFS. IMO the IFS options with true handling potential are the Vette, or the NO Limit Wide Ride. A Camaro/Firechicken clip job also has good handlng potental. I like my Volare a lot. It offers a ride quality you wouldn't dream an old truck could give. MII offers a very nice show look. I wouldn't use an MII to bigblock autocross either.

A Volare is what it is, a clip designed for a mid-level priced Chryslers. Cordobas, Fifth Avenues, last GEN Roadrunners. If you lower it without spindles, it will lean real bad (trust me, I tried it) Two inch drop spindles will allow you to increase the torsion bar preload for improved handling. Within limits. I have argued the point that drop spindles WILL change your steering geometry equation. I guess I was unconvincing, but I believe AX is dead on correct on this. Will drop spindles ruin your handling? I can't say that. But you are straying from the factory engineered geometry. There are also control arms available that drop your balljoint mount point. They look extra hokey to me. I'd never run them. Your performance sway bar would be noticed IMO. Have a link for it? I'm interested in getting one.
You bigblock complicates it further. The likely extra couple hundred pounds of engine and transmission don't help.

I'm not very smart on performance rear suspensions. I would be asking these guys detailed questions about how adjustable their 3/4 link options are. You have some experience to draw on. AX autocrosses, and 55Purple was a very serious circle track racer. My impression is my truck is very light in the rear. All pickups are front heavy. My Effie takes this problem to a new level. Fine tuning of very adjustable components would be very necessary for true performance handling.

 

Performance swaybars are very easy to come by. If there isn't an aftermarket bar available, Sanger and a couple others will make a custom one for you very reasonably.
If you stiffen the front too much without stiffening the rear to balance (there's that key word again) the vehicle will push like a dumptruck in the corners. When you're developing an unknown commodity like this, you must be prepared to spend some $ on R&D parts. Friend of mine was one of the first to nationally AX an MR2 Spyder when they came out, he had made 6 custom front swaybars (in stock class we cannot change the rear bar, only the front) and returned his $3K custom built shocks for revalving about the same number of times the first season.
DJO, I'd probably research the heaviest set of OTS torsion bars and front sway available for that front end, and get a set of adjustable front shocks like Koni Sport series or AGXs to start.

 

AX

I know you got a panel. Not sure if you have ridden in an F100 much. But anyway, I'll go out on a limb and say here is what I suspect a number of us with IFS have got. Just an assumption. I could be wrong. A truck that will lean the front corner down pretty good in a turn of any challenge. The rear does not go along for the ride. Without any cargo, the rear just follows along without much movement in any direction. Shocks don't work much. But I think the springs are restricting movement rather than the shocks in my case. And I'm only running 4 leaves. If I lighten my spring rate, then I suspect my rear starts participating in the front lean? Yes? Or not necessarily?

I know I am combining ride issues, with handling. But I'm not willing to totally abandon my good ride in the name of performance handling. I think I have reasonable handling expectations.

 

Yes AX U have it just about right.. But U realy dont want the whole truck to lean into a turn.. It can couse the outer wheel to be overloaded and in that couse a blowout in a turn.. A stiffer rearend is disire for good handling and safety.

 

It doesn't matter what the vehicle is the rules are still the same. The idea in good handling is to maximize the traction of all 4 wheels. I need to go back to work now to make sure all my customers still waiting for their jewelry orders have a merry xmas, but after tomorrow night I'll have a lot more time to discuss in detail the theory and practical ways to achieve the goal of good handling.