How to do something no one else done before
GAME PLAN
Yes, I'm tired
of changing ring & pinion too often and
I'm even more tired of spinning my slicks!!
The natural step is to upgrade to the final choice - a Ford 9"
type rear end filled with goodies from Strange Engineering.
Actually
it is not a housing from Ford, it is a Chris Alston's
Chassisworks' FAB9 - a fabricated "Ford" design.
And the 4-link also from Chris Alston will give me
plenty of adjustment possibilities!
So here goes...five minutes to 12...wish me luck...
Useful links:
www.cachassisworks.com
www.strangeengineering.net
Before choosing any 4-link
kit I thought it was a good idea to make a 1:1 scale dummy to be able to
actually see what will happen and where everything has to go. Jim Wright, Sales
Manager at
CA Chassisworks, was kind to email me the print for me to scale up.
Peek-a-boo! I was
glad when I realized I could do this and still save the back seat. Of course
I have
to build a box over it but the seat is OK.
Today we got a visit from Pro Mod racer Lars-Inge Johansson of Stockholm! Lucky
me, because then
I could put him under my Impala SS and tell him my plans for the rear end suspension
and have his
opinion about it. No one knows how many race chassies and 4-links he's built
over the last 20 years,
but he is very well renowned in this business - and he gave me thumbs up on
my plans! Phew...
The car has to be leveled flat on jackstands (and not being moved during the
whole process) and then it's
a good idea to take all measures of the frame and the original rear end before
removing it. I found out that
my rear end hasn't been centered perfectly in any direction! The new one will.
This reliable anabolic steroids friend is now for sale against his will! If
you're not pushing over 800 horses
this one will last for a long time! Read more about this super rear end here:
REAR_END_MENU
Haven't decided on price yet, must think about it for a while...
Here the CA Chassisworks Battle Cruiser front brackets will be located. It'll
be some cutting. The upper
4-link control arms need some "tunnels" to be made in floor and original
frame crossmember.
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There
will be a lot of changes here in a short time!
New rear end will be placed 3/8"
(10 mm) more forward than the
GM rear end which will get the
exact middle and a little better
clearance for the slicks to the
inner fenders.
Straight above the rear end centerline there (hopefully) will be
place for the long Panhard bar,
around 3' 4" (100 cm). Made of
chrome moly.
I want my 2-way adjustable Varishocks in front of the rear end instead
of behind.
Chassisworks (and others) normally place the shocks and lower brackets
on the housing at the rear.
But since there's a lot more space in front I've ordered the lower brackets
unwelded.
Upper shock brackets sit on
a crossbar which will be welded
like in the picture, pretty much
in line of original Impala SS
shock mounts.
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It's very tight between
back of rear end and tank and fuel lines, even if you don't move the rear end
rearwards 3/4" to center the wheels in the wheel openings of the body (see
here). The T/A girdle
is making it even tighter, rubbing off rubber protection of fuel lines... When
having the new FAB9
housing in place I'll decide if I'll move the tank rearwards.
This shows that the tank should be able to move rearwards about 2" which
would be a good modification
on any drag racing Impala SS relying on gasoline weight in tank for traction
and weight transfer as well.
Maybe much work for a little improvement - but that's the name of the game.
The brackets which hold the tank must be reworked. And gas filling hose must
of course be shortened.
Heat shields can be deleted since my exhaust system is going under the rear
end and not looping over
like original. If necessary I may have to cut lose half the trunk floor in its
full width and move it rearwards
to get everything in place? I'll let you know soon.
It ought to be like this. I don't know if this illustration is clear enough
but I guess later pics will.
Go here to see how it turned out!
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