Mopar Muscle Association UK

Sorry about the non-Mopar orientation of this thread, but it is your collective engineering experience I am appealing to here.

Right then,

My complete failure to obtain any new suspension arms for the Victor has prompted me into using a Uni coursework to design and manufacture my own and, hopefully, improved Rear arms.

First I shall give you all an idea of what the rear suspension on a victor should look like (pic 1).

Now the first stumbling block is the upper arms, they should look as shown in pic 2:

They don't... pics 3 through 5.

The problem here is that I am going to be replacing all the bushes with superflex polyeurethane bushes. Poly bushes don't usually require a metal sleave as found with these original rubber bushes. But in this case if I were to use the poly bush without a sleave I think it would wear the bush very quickly and stability would be reduced (not increased) since there is nothing really retaining the correct geometry.

Firstly, am I right?

If so, should I be looking to redesign the the upper arms to look something more similar in dimension to the arms in the manual pics (pics 1 and 2), at least in terms of width of the arm to offer some level of torsional stability in the link?

Or should I be looking at using a similar setup to this, a sleave and smaller poly bush designed for the same housing?

I will be looking to make the new arms stronger whilst keeping the weight to a minimum, especially since this is unsprung weight.

Any help would be much appreciated.

It looks to me as if they re-designed the arms you have to weigh less, use less materials, make manufacture easier/cheaper.

I would either make something like what is in the manual or I would maybe use a solid round bar with a tube welded on at each end to take a bush. That would not be as strong though.

Of course you could use rose joints on each end of a threaded tube as well like they do on 4-links etc.

But cheap and easy would be to cut two bits of rectangle section steel and weld in tubes through them at each end to take a bush. Either stock sleeved rubber or your unsleeved poly. The poly you can cut in half and push in from each side.

Do you want us to come and fabricate and fit them for you as well?

Why not kev, nice of you to offer

mine on the V8 Victor were square section CDS steel tube with round tube welded through to take the superflex bushes. Didn't seem to flex any with a mild 350 SBC up 'em.

My old Victor is featured in this months' Classic & Sportscar, howabout that. The new owner has fitted a T700R4 in place of my old TH350 and redone the exhausts, but other than that its how it left me.

I Would make some along the same lines as Dave suggested. I presume this car is running a stock motor< they should be more than adequate. South Speed can supply tubes and urethane bushes from stock.

You got any pictures Terry?

I probably won't use them on the car but the project might have some use for them.

Go with the cheapest option!!!!!!!!!

Sorry Terry, it's not really what I am after for the Victor.

so james , do you want me to knock you up some billet ali arms , i can do them without any flashy rod ends , check out the Chassisworks web site , this is thare latest thing.

The idea was to use it as a uni design project. I may need some help manufacturing them later although billet ally wasn't exactly what I was looking at.