Jeepster Roller, Part 4

 Panhard Bar

This was the toughest part of the front suspension so far, and the clearance still isn't great...
Once the drag link was installed in Part 3, I had a good target for the Panhard Bar - both the length and angle.  

Bracket Mods

I started by totally butchering the axle side bracket.  I shortened it.  I put in a larger bend.  I cut it apart.  I put in an even larger bend.




The frame side didn't need as many mods - just a big cut:


Bracket Install

I tacked in the frame bracket, and then measured for the axle bracket location.  I'm about 1/4" shy of the perfect length: 30.25" drag link vs. 30.0" panhard bar.  I think it will be okay.  

Poly bushing at the frame side.



More gussets will be added to the axle side bracket later.  

Heim joint used at the axle end.



I would like to have the panhard bar closer to the axle centerline, but there are clearance problems to the diff cover.  

Panhard Bar Installed:

The Panhard Bar angle is pretty close to the drag link, but not perfect.  I need to drop the fame side position about 3/4" to get it perfect.  Since that would hurt other clearances, I have just left it alone for now.  


Truss Support

When I was doing the Panhard bar frame bracket, I was a little concerned about the clearance to the truss support.  So I modified the truss support to get about 4" of uptravel.

Big notch cutout:

1/4" angle iron to fill the notch:



Better clearance now:
(this isn't installed yet - it'll be tacked in later after more checks are done)


Conclusions

  • I only have about 3" of uptravel, which is less than I want.  I may have to notch the frame and/or adjust the frame height up a little bit (this is easy to do with coilovers!).  
  • I'd love to get 5" of uptravel, but will probably only get 4".  10" coilover, so 4" of uptravel and 6" of droop.
  • The Panhard Bar clearance to the differential cover is an issue, and I will need to make a bent Panhard bar in the future.  This one is just a temporary fixture. 
  • I'm calling this good enough for now for two reasons:
    • It's good enough to roll the Jeepster up on the trailer.  
    • All the engine clearances still need to be checked, and I am not confident that will just drop easily in place.  
I'll take good notes and revisit any issues later!

Bonus Rear Flex

Mark asked a question about rear clearance at full stuff a couple of weeks ago.  I checked it at the time, but didn't have any good pictures.  Here are some better pictures.  

I did it without the coilover installed because it was easier, so you'll have to imagine where the coilover will sit based on the upper and lower mounts.   

More or less at ride height:

Good clearance - about 4.25"

This is a 32" tire (255-75-17).  
I could probably go up to a 33" (285-70-17):

I have about 4-5" of uptravel in the rear before I hit the fenderwell:

Passenger at full stuff and driver side at full droop.  The clearance doesn't change much because there's not much travel!  


Next up

  1. Frame-side coilover mounts in the front
  2. Check engine clearance