8/11/10

So I'm sitting here watching the various cars scroll by on the two computers’ screen savers and I began thinking about converting The Seven’s front suspension to a pushrod and mono-shock. “For better aerodynamics?” No, just for the hell of it, actually. Well, and to possibly shed a pound or two while saving money on replacement shocks. The car needs new shocks, in a bad way. I'm thinking that if I made a pair of bell-cranks, attached them to the upper pick up points, and put the shock and spring in between, we’d have a mono-shock suspension. If the bell-cranks were designed right, I could even continue to use one of the existing springs. Let’s see, would the ratio be doubled or halved? I suppose I'd just make the bell-cranks 2:1 and reversible then experiment. If they prove to be too soft one way, flip them over. The one factor I don't know about is if I have room for the transverse shock/spring arrangement. For that matter, do I have enough width for the existing spring and a shock. I know I could get a short enough shock in there, assuming there isn't anything in the way, but... surely there’s enough width. Those springs aren't that long. Hmm, this interests me. I think I'm going to take a quick look in a suspension design book on the shelf above me to see what else is needed for something like this. Does it require a much heavier sway bar? How does something like this react to a one-wheel bump situation? Well, the books were of no help, mainly because they were both written before mono-shock suspensions were being used. After giving it some thought, it would need much more sway control. Fortunately I have a few ideas in that regard. First, simplest, and probably the way I'd go, is to replace the existing bar with a stiffer unit. I'm thinking something from the circle track world, like Juan might buy at Smiley’s. The other option would be to build a supplemental or replacement inboard sway bar system. I have a design in mind that would work pretty well, be adjustable, and wouldn't be too tough to fabricate. It would, however, be heavier. Yep, I'm thinking a circle track sway bar would be the way to go. Unfortunately, them interwebs are not being as helpful as they should be. Of course I shouldn't be surprised, they never are. I guess, if I decide to go this route, I'll have to make a trip over to Smiley’s to see what they have. Then again, there just might be a sway bar laying around the shop which would work. I doubt it, but it is remotely possible. Thing is, I know there are a bunch of bars there, but are any of them narrow enough for The Seven? This I do not know. Well, it is now 1600 h so I think I might just call it a day.