Thread: radius rod setup

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Well I'm putting the old T coupe together and have been thinking of a good way to mount 46-48 Ford radius rods or trailing arm to a early sixtys 9 inch rear end. Any ideas out their in hotrod country? FYI model A frame,283cid,powerglide, transferse rear spring. thanks for any and all help , Mike

The original rear radius rods were never engineered to take torque. They simply kept the rear axle square with the torque tube.

Rodders have used the stock radius rods with open drive line axles for years. Some get away with it. Some don't. But the fact is this practice is courting disaster.

You need something stronger. Check out the Pete and Jakes ladder bar set up. To pricy? Fabricate something similar yourself.

Or P&J's triangulated 4-bar. It puts Mr. Panhard on the bench.

If you're using un-split or radius rods that meet near the middle up front all you'll require is a torque arm to keep from bending the radius rods.

If the radius rods are split and brought out to the frame rails where they are parallel, you can add torque arms similar to the top of a 4-bar setup.
That will control torque.
Then you'll need something to control lateral movement.

I find Panhard bars to be a very good answer here and have used them in front of and behind the rear axle on 32 framed cars.
Make them as long as possible and mount the frame bracket on the same side as the steering box.

P&J's triangulated 4-bars and their narrow in front rear radius rods work well, but they can create conflicts with other chassis mounted components.
Especially so the radius rods.
It can be difficult to get a decent sized muffler set up in an A chassis or 32 chassis running the long narrow at the front radius rods.
Whether P&J or a stock setup.

One thing you will want to engineer in is a rear sway bar.
This, whether you run a transverse leaf or coilovers in the back.
Decue Factory makes a nice small one that gives you the option of several mounting places.