strut rod question?

[sharky]

Hi all, am replacing the r/strut rods. on my 68` when i bought the car it came w/ all new suspension parts. the strut rods that are on the car now have a slight bow to them. and the replacement parts are straight. it is not a impact bend. because they are both the same. Can anyone tell why they are different. Thanks.

 

[Bullitt]

I've never seen any strut rods that were manufactured with a bow curvature on a Shark. They were probably heated and bent over something to make them similar, as a way to improve the alignment. The stock set-up just isn't the best way to achieve proper geometry. Places like VB&P and others make adjustable rods with poly bushings or spherical rod ends. Are you using the stock rods with the camber bolts as repalcements? --Bullitt

 

[Tom Bryant]

It is common for alignment shops to bend the strut rods to achieve alignment specs. Although it's common it is not correct.

Tom

 

[ChuckG]

As the ends of the stub axles in the rear end wear, it becomes increasingly difficult to compensate for the negative camber using the camber adjusting rods. Thus, alignment shops will bend the rods to bring the bottom of the rear tires inward, decreasing the negative camber. If you put the correct "straight" rods on, you might find that you cannot set the rear camber adjustment correctly. The cure to that problem is to replace the stub axles. Hope this helps. Chuck

 

[69MyWay]

I am going to repeat some things I have been told, so not sure how accurate.

First of all, I have been told there was a design flaw in the factory struts in terms of aligment with the axles. What this means, that during spirited driving the alignment of the rear wheels goes crazy at the extreme ends and binds the axle. Obviously if this was a severe problem everybody would have tossed axles out on the road.

The VB&P design starts with a longer/wider center mount for the struts. They also do away with the adjustable camber bolt/washer as the actual strut is adjustable. The theory is that the wider mount point puts the strut in perfect aligment with the axle thus improving stability during hard driving. Plus, a good alignment tech can dial the camber in without resorting to using a torch or looking for camber washers to kick it out or in.

A good friend of mine use to GT1 road race his 68. One of the first things they did was put adjustable rear strusts, the VB&P center mount, and spherical ends in the rods. The sperical ends make for a harsh street car and regular road grime and such will wear them out as they require regular inspection, cleaning, and maintanence.

Good luck with your project. Don't get too upset if you find the shock mount is frozen in place. Typical problem. If you find your are really struggling to get them off, don't force it as you may damage the spindle mount. Just cut them off with an air saw and order new shock mounts.

 

[sharky]

Hey, thanks for the info. now I don`t know what i will use. was going to use the stock rods but now it doesn`t sound like a good idea. anyone tell me how much the adjustable ones cost? Sharky.