How Do You Want Your Rat Rod To Ride?
Posted by admin at 7 December 2014, at 17 : 10 PM
Although while keeping things traditional with regards towards the suspension of your Rat Rod, you don’t necessarily have to sacrifice comfort and ride for looks. Keeping with tradition is not always the smart way to go, although it does look cooler, and looks mean a lot in the Rat Rod market.
Since the car was invented, the traditional suspension for Rat Rods was kingpins and leaf springs that went the width of the axle. Very primitive. Although it did work, the ride was very bouncy and handling was very poor to say the least. This is for the front end. The rear end generally consisted of a straight axle with either leaf springs or coil springs. Your Rat Rod can easily deal with the original suspension. It may ride rough and not handle too well, but it will be sufficient for your needs.
Here are some things you can do to improve the way it rides:
With regards to the front end, eliminating the straight axle drastically changes the look, but if you are looking for a comfortable ride, you should consider installing a front clip with control arms and coil springs. Try to stay away from torsion bar front ends as there is more work with installing a crossmember to receive the other end of the torsion bar. Not to mention setting the height of the vehicle and stiffness. Don’t forget, you might have the ride that you really want, but purists will shoot you down if you don’t have the straight axle.
In dealing with the rear end, there really isn’t too many options. The easiest way and most common is the straight axle. The only people who go to independent are the pretty boy Hot Rodders that make six figure cars. Very unnecessary for a Rat Rod and not too easy to install. Not to mention the expense of maintaining the rear (pads, rotors, etc.). Converting a standard drum rear end to disc brakes is not that difficult, plus it will give your Rat Rod the added benefit of stopping power, and it really wont be noticed with steel wheels. Keep in mind that when switching to disc, you will need to change out a proportioning valve to correct your brake bias.
In conclusion, the way your Rat Rod rides all depends on how the vehicle will look and most important of all – You.