Talk about torque arms

pmlmbigpondcom

G'day All
Really appreciating the comments re questions I am posing to the group.

Here's another.

Is the front axle with torque arms ( much ) superior to earlier versions located by conventional means ?
It does seem to me that having those lumping great steel arms to control axle movement must be advantageous for rough road work.

I presume that with a bit of work, I can fit that type of axle with the curved profile to my earlier car.
Also presume ( lots of presumption here ) that stub axles can take earlier 4 bolt hubs.

Comments appreciated

Thanks

Phil Macwhirter
Australia

Kdancy

I found it strange when working on the 37 terraplane pu that it did not have those torque arms, but a 37 coupe had them. Seems when I researched this, that the commercial vehicles did not have them.

Park_W

The idea was that with the torque arms taking care of positioning the front axle, the springs could then be better tailored to give a good ride. Seems reasonable, but the arrangement might tend to transmit more "road thumps" to the frame.

Ol racer

FYI

If the Chassis didnt have the Torque Arms and held up over the Yrs on the early rough Roads I wouldnt change the front end. Torque Arms would add more stability but with modern Highways today need question the effort....Additionally, I prefer 5 Bolt Hub over a 4 Bolt...

pmlmbigpondcom

G'day All
Thanks for comments
Given that the aim of the car is to withstand Peking to Paris type roads, I'll probably adopt the extra support of the torque arms, with some extra strengthening around mounting points.
And, yes, Ol Racer, 5 stud wheels would be preferable but finding sufficient 5 stud wire wheels when I have enough 4 studders means I'll stick with the 4 bolt hubs.
Thx

Phil
Australia

ivanz62

It is my belief that the torque arms were a necessary addition to the design to go with the additional forces generated with hydraulic brakes. Keeping the leaf springs from "wrapping up" and causing poor directional stability was the goal. Most high-dollar light weight cars with big brakes--European sports cars--had torque arms or other devices to keep the suspension in line. And the softer springs that could then be used gave a more comfortable ride even with the increasing road speeds that came along in the '30s.

Geoff

Phil, you come up against a basic design problem here - the torque arms require shackles at each end, whereas your car has a pin at the rear end directly into the chassis, which locates the axle, and the spring setting determines the caster angle.

pmlmbigpondcom

Geoff,
I'll check my Railton chassis when it arrives home from sandblaster tomorrow
I am planning on strengthening all suspension mount points so maybe a mod to rear of spring mount will work ? a pick up point with shackle will be stronger than one cantilevered pin ?

Phil

Geoff

There are other considerations also. The '36 and onwards models have the torque arms connect to a cradle that the axle can semi-rotate in. It will be technically difficult to attach to the '34 axle with allowing for this movement.