Thread: The Roofus Special

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Originally Posted by J. Robinson

Flipper - You're a man after my own heart. Being an old stock car racer, I like cars that handle GOOD. I build my cars to drive and I flog them pretty hard sometimes, too. Back in '06 we drove my coupe on a 2400 mile loop up through the midwest. The curvy roads through the western North Carolina mountains were an absolute blast! Even though it's a beam axle, my coupe has torsion bars up front and coils in the rear (fully adjustable on all four corners) with NASCAR style truck arms in the rear. It handles like a dream; I would love to put it through a timed Gymkhana course sometime and see how it stacks up against the Camaros and Mustangs...

Tech - Yes, the center torque arm is like a ladder bar. It transfers the torsional force of the rear end housing to its front mounting point. This becomes the lift point or "moment center" of the rear axle. The rear end is located fore & aft by the short outer bars (radius rods) and laterally by the panhard bar. This system can be tough to dial in for drag racing because the front pivot point of the center link is usually too low and too far forward to provide good "bite" off the line. For overall handling, though, it can be a great system... I have a picture and a diagram of this system in my file cabinet at school. I will try to remember to get it tomorrow and post it here.

Since I don't currently have floors to get in the way, raising the torque arm mount is not really an issue.

In a perfect world, what would the best set-up look like?

Also, are the locating arms short to induce steering from body roll?

So, what are the opinions on building a car without a traditional style frame under it?

Too early in the build to pass judgement?

Is this thing just too far out there?

There will be lots more angles installed before the plating begins. Some of the plating will probably be bead rolled for even more strength (and style).