Brutus

Here's my attempt at making my own 6 Link rear suspension addition.
My idea was to come up with a top mounting bracket and strut rod set up that was simple to make as well as using existing parts that were left over after buying Vette Brakes' Smart Struts which most people seem to end up with at some time or another. Especially if they have this sort of modification in mind.
So I modified the old lower strut rod bracket to fit onto the top of the diff, reasoning the the old bracket carried with it the same mounting points as the lower one hence negating the need for major alignment hassles with the lower strut mount as well as having to come up with a workable mount for the new struts.
The biggest benefit I saw from using the old strut bracket was firstly it's ability to utilise the old strut rod ends instead of Heim joints and secondly it's rod mounting points had longitudinal slots as well as camber bolts which can be used to take up any descripencies in the final alignment of the upper rods in relation to the lower ones.
I saw no reason to go to the expense of utilising Heim joints especially considering their excessive cost over here, and also because I, as well as most others, still maintain the poly bushed lower rods. So why mix up the combination?
This set up is ready to go into the car now for it's trial fitting so I can line everything up and make the trailing arm brackets to mount the top rods. I'd appreciate any constructive comments from those better versed in these things, but be nice please guys....it's only my first attempt at this. Also if anyone wants any more detailed descriptions of what I've done feel free to ask as I have plenty of pics that I took along the way and I'll post them as this thread progresses.
Also I must say a special thanks to Norval as well as Aaron (Stingy74) for thier assistance during my initial setting up. Thanks guys.

Stingy74

Looking nice! How are you planning to attach you upper bracket to the diff or otherwise?

Brutus

Aaron...I've already mounted the top bracket to the diff with the two top cover bolts. It seems quite sturdy enough so far. If necessary I could add to this support.

Stingy74

Those upper rods are holding alot of camber in place and are subjected to quite a bit of load. Make double sure what you have is sturdy. Even if it doesn't break, the bracket will still see some stress. Enough that the system could only work under peak effiency.

mrvette

ONe problem with stock strut rods is the metal ends tend to stretch into oval shaped, and therefore are loose fitting the bushings...saw this on an old '64 I did once....I just do the smart struts, never reuse the stock things....

GENE

Frank75

Great idea! I don't see any reason why it won't work. Could you post a shot from the other side?

thanks



[Modified by Frank75, 6:24 AM 2/15/2002]

Brutus

Aaron...I have thought of adding strengthening gussets to the upper bracket and the X member if it was found they were needed. I guess it just needs to be worked out whether that's going to be the point or not.

Gene...I've just checked the old rod ends with a micrometer and found none of them to be significantly out of round. One thing that was mentioned when the rod ends were being threaded was how hard the cast metal was. Maybe that has helped here in maintaining the roundness of the rod ends. Thanks for pointing that out tho. I appreciate everyone's thoughts.

Frank...I'll do that for you tomorrow. It's bed time here now.

One of the concerns I did consider with using the old bracket was the clearance between it and the floor of the car. To this end I tried to ensure that the barcket sat as flat as possible on the top of the diff. While I have yet to position this set up in the car I feel I've suceeded in maintaining a few mils clearance between them. Even if the gap was negligable I'd still consider modifying the floor considering what has been achieved so far with so little.


[Modified by Brutus, 10:47 PM 2/15/2002]

norvalwilhelm

Brutus. You are welcome. It looks good but why the double adjusting strut rods. Stock rods have no threaded ends and use the camber adjustment. YOu can use one or the other but why both? I prefer the threaded ends for holding there adjustment over the cams. You could spot weld the cams to guarantee there holding any adjustment. But on the positive side the cams can be rotated to make the rods parallel then use the thread to make them the right length. Tricky.
The chrome 1/2 shafts look trick but chroming anything causes chromium inbrittlement. In other words anything chromed will break alot easier. I haven't a clue if it will affect the 1/2 shafts.
You will have to remove the clips from your yokes. I commited myself to the 6 link and also ground the ends back on the yokes to guarantee free movement without hitting the pin. This is a no going back route without new yokes.
I am confident in my system and yours looks the same.
Good luck and once again thank you

Brutus

Norval...The only reason for the double adjusting strut rods was purely because it was there. As you stated, if and when it's deemed unnecessary they can be spot welded up which I had presumed would be the case, but I thought that if there was that extra level of adjustment already built in then I might as well use it.
Those half shafts aren't chromed either. They've just been subjected to my isane level of detailing. At the moment they've just been smoothed and buffed and as their final condition has been the subject of much conjecture here, I'll probably settle for clear coating them considering the level of finish I've managed to achieve so far. The strut rods could suffer the same fate too. Even the trailing arms are looking the same way but they'll be powder coated eventually.
The yolks were the reason for my trying to achieve the 6 link in the first place. When I removed them from the diff there was neither a circlip nor even the groove to hold one. The whole lot had already been machined away previously for some reason better known to a former owner!
It was due to the amount of work you'd put into your own set up that I felt I could attempt my own version. While mine is hardly as well engineered as yours I felt it had a chance of being successful in the long run. The main thing I wanted to try was to come close to getting the same success as you and the others who have a similar system by merely using bits that were readily available. To this end I hope I'll win and that others can take some hints from what we've all done and come up with a better mouse trap.

flynhi

Very clever, Mate!

Noel Carboni

This looks very cool.

I assume you've thought about the geometry... Doesn't having three members necessitate the wheel camber change will be absolutely zero during up and down travel? Do the Smart Struts make that happen already? Is zero camber change desirable?

My poor brain is tired after a long week, and I can't quite visualize it.

-Noel

gkull

You all don't have me totally convinced that 6-link will totally beat out a well done rear with smart struts/big spring/HD trailing arms/ 3/4 sway bar/poly everything/good shocks/big rear tires.

Noel - I see you also have to same 550 front springs and a big rear! How do you like the street ride?

Brutus

flyinhi...thanks.

Noel...I'm just picking up on an already tried and tested geometry. It would be far better for me to leave the finer points of how and why this system performs as it does to those with a better understanding of it's workings. I'm only following their lead with what I believe to be a worthwhile addition and upgrade to what we already are given.

George...Far be it for me to suggest that a 6 link is any better than the set up you're running. You must agree tho that one man's setting doesn't always work for another person's application. Wouldn't it be possible that a 6 link could work in conjunction with all the mods you're running now?
How dull would it be if we all just went with the same ideas?

Flareside

The main benefit, for me, would be safety. With a 6-link, you are not relying on the u-joints to hold up the car. How bad will the car react when an axle lets go at speed with the stock set up?

Brutus, your 6-link looks great! Nice work. What did you use to polish the shafts?



[Modified by Flareside, 8:52 AM 2/16/2002]

gkull

Bob - I have never been one of the mindless sheep following the norm! :lol:

Actually I thought about calling up Norval and tell him to fab up another 6 link like his and as soon as he has it ready to go. I would drive over to his house and we could have a fun weekend of putting it on. :)

I was also thinking about how pretty you made your half shafts. Have you considered just a nice clear coat? Bob i just reread what you said about your yokes and no C clips. Are You 100% sure that they are not just worn off past the groove? My first rearend had worn them that far and the yokes had worn grooves all the way around the differential case on the outside. The whole thing was trash.

To flareside I twisted off a half shaft and it wasn't a big deal it just made lots of noise. You could feasably unbolt it and drive it home. If you get under your car and look at it. Actually if you have ever taken it all apart you can really see what I'm talking about. You have the trailing arm from the front and in my case a sway bar from the rear. You havr the smart Strut and spring holding it from the side. then you have the shock which adds some trianglulation. No weight or fore & aft movement is held by the half shaft.

I've had my car sitting on the ground and had to replace a U-Joint. there is no pressure on the half shaft with smart struts and a heavy rear spring.


[Modified by gkull, 8:27 AM 2/16/2002]

Ganey

The stock lower strut rod is much stronger than some might believe.
Have seen one that was completely open & shaped like a C w/ a wide gap. Very rough "drawing" of rod shown in a vert. position. Was holding.

Diff.
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Wheel

Jason Staley

Your system looks cool and it should work. And it's a whole lot cheaper than other setups I've seen for sale.

Are your 1/2 shafts aluminum or chromed? If they are aluminum, where did you get them and do you know how much power they are rated for? Thanks for any info.
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/greatwhite/

Stingy74

You go to Alsaka every year, why not stop in Penticton along the way and get a kit from Rick?

gkull

Your right Aaron! I'm heading back to Alaska in mid July. I need to get one of those bear proof suits so I can kick a bear in the nuts and steal his salmon! :lol:

Stingy - You have seen Norvals pictures? Right? Is it very simular to yours as far as the joint mounting points? My main concern would be to ensure that you don't end up with binding throughout the whole range of wheel travel. The only way to simulate that would be without spring or shocks hooked up

Stingy74

Yes, i've seen Norval's pictures. Our setups are pretty damn close except that I think his trailing arm mounts are welded instead of bolted like mine. I can assure that it doesn't bind anywhere. When I get my diff setup and reinstalled i'll try and take some video of the systems travel up and down without the spring or shocks attached.