80s late model suspension advice? What was popular...

[Tom Birky]

I'm guessing leafs were fading in popularity by the mid 80s. Was there ever a 3 link setup where they ran 2 lower arms and then a coil over shock on top of the rearend (horizontal) attached to the cage? Or something like that? Probably would still require a panhard bar.

Any input, ideas or pics welcome.  Tom

[john2]

   Say what ??

[Brian Conn]

I'm guessing leafs were fading in popularity by the mid 80s.

Rear suspension set ups were one of those areas that seemed to be changing week to week back then.  There where still some hold outs in the mid to late 80's that swore by leaf spring set ups, but the days of leaf springs being equated to doing well on the dirt tracks was becoming a thing of the past.
 

Was there ever a 3 link setup where they ran 2 lower arms and then a coil over shock on top of the rear end (horizontal) attached to the cage? Or something like that? Probably would still require a panhard bar.

I vaguely recall seeing something similar only thing different was that the coil over shock on top of the rear end attaching to the cage was actually a torque link and yes, an adjustable panhard bar was used....so a torque link made for the 3rd link 

Any input, ideas or pics welcome.  Tom

  Leaf spring cars of that era ran axle dampers...think a shock attached in the same way as the torque link (above)
  Torque arms where becoming more and more popular by the mid 80's with those who where still running the leaf spring set ups with the torque arm attaching pretty much the same way as the axle damper or torque link on the rear axle with the forward mounting point being pretty much next to the driver....longer was better.

  Another set up that was popular for a moment was a leaf spring on the Left rear and coil over on the Right rear.
  Left rear shock behind the axle tube and Right rear shock ahead of the axle tube and a slider bar in place of the leaf spring going from the rear end forward to the frame.


  This is from the 1981 Midwest Race Engineering catalog that shows a chassis with this set up.


Larry Moore #14, and teammate Buck Simmons #41 in Dillon chassis late Models from 1981 . Moore went on to win his second World 100 that year and Buck Simmons went on to finish fourth.  Both these cars ran coil overs on all 4 corners.

  By the late 80's 4 links and "Z" link rears where showing up more often at the local , weekly tracks.

[john2]

   Oh, Okay. 

[Tom Birky]

You crack me up John! I'll see if I understand and Brian can chime in. In a 3 link set up you would have 2 lower arms connecting the axle to the chassis. Mounted on pivots at both ends, this allows the axle to pivot up and down as well as 'flop' forward and backwards on acceleration and braking. A 3rd link is attached at the top, it could be a solid link, but racers use this as a tuning tool for bite. You can adjust for track conditions using various springs. The torque link that Brian mentioned allows the spring to compress gradually under acceleration and also dampens the rebound or pull on the top of the axle during braking. The torque arm is the link i was mis-remembering as a coil over shock. Similar but different!

[RCR]

Tom you pretty much have the idea. In a standard 3 link set up you have a left and right link that are mounted below the center line of the rear axles and are angled upward. The third link is normally mounted on the top of the rear end. The third link is normal positioned just to the backside of the axle center line at one end and the front attachment point a point lower on the chassis. The The top link is mounted with the rear mounting point being higher that the front point. Last but not least is the panhard bar that keeps the rear end centered. Way to much to get into but if you want to pick my brain for the most accurate things to do for a build just give me a call.

[Brian Conn]

....Looks like your leaning towards a 3 link set up.  A couple of kits or builds that you might have in your stash that have 3 link set ups are the Revell ASA kits and AMT/ERTL Super Stocker Series.....personally, I would either copy the kit pieces or rob them from the kit....there is a lot that can be done to the 3rd link from either one of these 2 kits to further enhance it for a dirt set up.       

[john2]

   Well, I don't know beans, but I did see Buck Simmons race once when he was about 15.  Got out of the car and went looking for his mom. 

I'll leave you guys alone now.