Rear suspension choices...

[cozwurth]

Hello,
I posted a similar question a while back on the other board, but it's gone now...

Anyway, I have a complete S-10 rear with 3.42 gears that I can transfer the brackets to and run the stock 4-link suspension in my '74 Panel. I also have a '75 Cosworth rear with 3.73 gears that I can put the S-10 axles in, but I'll have to mod the chassis to use the panhard bar, and swap out the backing plates to get the bigger brakes. I'm not planning on doing any (well, not much, anyway) racing, but can the 4-link style rear be modded to eliminate the wheel hop? My '74 hatchback was terrible. Do the raised mount points for the upper bars really help? I'm leaning towards installing the 4-link mounts on the S-10 rear, but I want to know if i can kill the wheel hop before it starts.

Thanks,
Dave D.

[peterpan]

i havn't drove my 72 vega hatch yet but it has a 12 bolt rear and i built a set of traction bars for it and plan on trying the upper mount relocating thing and see how it works

i would tranfer the brackets to the s-10 rear with the 3 link you will need to run the right trany or build a cross member to hook the torque arm to transfering the brackets is less work

[barebonesracecars]

I had a '69 GTO with raised upper control arms...they did work.

Apparently adjustable arms help even more, as they let you adjust your pinion angle.

Several guys on here have also lowered the rear arms. It's all about changing the car's 'instant center', which affects how it plants the tires.

I'm not a drag racer, so someone else could probably explain better than I how to do this for a street/drag car. I'm just an old circle track guy.

[cozwurth]

Thanks, guys.
I think I'll go with the S-10 rear with the early style brackets transferred over. I'll start by building a jig on the Vega rear and then cutting off the brackets. Then I can swap in the S-10 rear and get everything tacked in place for a trial fitting. I just need to get my '72 parts car (front/rear valences are NOT available. They're going on my panel express ) out of the woods and start the disassembly. That seems like a good summer project, along with some bodywork on my Chevelle...

[heinz057]

if you are going to use a s/10 rear try to find the 8.5 rear they offered in the 2wd s/10 pickup its the same size as the7.5 in the h bodies

[v8astregt]

When transferring brackets, do it with the rearend and tires IN the car, and weld them that way.


I made the mistake of welding them on square on the rearend OUT of the car. Turns out my brackets were square... but the car wasn't!


Rearend was offset about 2 inches!

[cozwurth]

Josh,
Sounds like a lot of work to re-do. What I'm planning on doing is making a jig to bolt the Vega rear to, which will include squaring the driveshaft yoke to the concrete floor. Centering the housing will be done using the axle flanges, not the pinion yoke. All brackets will be bolted securely to the jig and then cut from the rear. Then the S-10 rear will be placed in the jig and the brackets will get trimmed as necessary (anybody know off-hand if the Vega and S-10 axle tubes are the same diameter?) to fit back into the jig before I tack weld them in place. Once tack welded I will install it in the car to check for alignment, etc. It should be OK since everything will be jigged from the original rear axle housing. Once the alignment is verified I'll pull it back out and finish welding the brackets. Those are my plans for this...see any potential problems?

Heinz,
I already have a 7.5 S-10 rear axle. It's a peg-leg 3.42 gear unit, but that's OK with me. I'm trying not to twist the chassis up, and I don't want to cut this original panel express up to install frame connectors, roll cage, etc. I will be doing everything possible to make this a complete bolt-in as far as possible.