MustangSteve wrote:

You can tell when something is working perfectly because you do not notice it being there.  That is the way I would describe the 4.5 leaf reverese eye springs.  Perfect.  No axle wrap up and surprisingly, the car now goes in a straight line when I nail it instead of heading towards some direction that does not include pavement.  They are not too harsh and the ride height is perfect.  With the 245x45ZR17 tires, the top of the tire will be exactly even with the top of the quarter panel wheel arch.  Sherry even approved the ride quality so they have to be good!  Now I am hoping they do not settle any more or I will wish I had gotten the mid-eye version.

Right now I have 1" lowering blocks in place, and those will be coming out soon.  Only reason I used them is because I offset the pin in them to move the rear end 3/16" sideways to get it perfectly centered under the car. 
I will remove them and cut off the axle perches from the rear axle and weld on some new ones at the correct angle (this is a Versailles rear end and it has too much upward pinion angle built in).

Bullet, this is on a 66 fastback with a Versailles 9" rear end, and it has single speed windshield wipers and grey spark plug wires.  Radio is tuned to 92.5 FM.  Tell me about how much warpage you got in the rear end you just got through narrowing, and how you got rid of the problem.

Hey MS - if you are going to switch to a two speed wiper - I have an extra two speed wiper switch out of a 67 collecting dust - garage points?
 

MustangSteve wrote:

Is the white one your "parts car"?!
6s6
 

MustangSteve wrote:

Tell me about how much warpage you got in the rear end you just got through narrowing, and how you got rid of the problem.

According to my alignment tool it was very close when we started to weld.  Finishing the axle tube joint didn't change it much...if at all.  Then we welded on the 1/4" spring perches and the axle tube ends dipped over an 1/8".  This is bad as I could see that the short radius of the bend (from the perches to the axle end) had caused an obvious out of square situation. 

Next day we laid a heavy bead over the top and in line with both pearch welds on both sides and managed to pull the ends back up over a 1/16" which took out the obvious out of square condition.  Then I forced the end plugs into the axle tubes (preloading the alignment tube (1 3/4 X 1/8" wall) and heated a large oval spot  closer to the center section, on the "long" side of the tube.  When cooled, it was well within a 1/16" on both ends...close enough for the girls I date.  Since then I've cut off all the surplus weld beads with a carbide rotory file (less heat) and polished everything and laid on some primer, red stuff in a couple of low spots, and a couple coats of R-O gloss black.

During all this I managed to rotate the alignment tube about 90 degrees and all of a sudden the end plugs simply drop in.  I checked the alignment tube for a warp but it is as perfectly straight as my string and straight edge can tell.  I know it's O/R by a few thousanths...maybe .006...and with that an any warp that I can't measure, turning it the 90 degrees made the alignment appear perfect.  I'm figuring it's no more than 1/16" out....again, close enough.

Or...maybe it was the second coat of RO gloss black.

BB

Last edited by Bullet Bob (5/04/2014 8:53 PM)

I just want to weld on some replacement perches so I can change the pinion angle.  Wondering if it is worth the risk to wind up with a warped axle.  Key is I do not want to disassemble it.

Old wives tale! IF you need to get it THAT hot........something is terribly worng. Back step your welds....(run a short bead.....then run another short bead right behind the previous bead) Then jump to the other side. Cool it with air or water. Take your time.
6s6
 

New pics.  Today I removed the lowering blocks.  Ride height as measure from center of wheel to fender opening,  Front 13", Rear 13-5/8".
If the front does not drop at least 1/2" on its own, I will have to take remedial action !!!!!

This is sitting higher than my car has ever been, but I am making a compromise for better ride quality and more suspension travel while touring America's highways.

Ride height looks darn perfect to me. Kudos!

MustangSteve wrote:

Right now I have 1" lowering blocks in place, and those will be coming out soon.  Only reason I used them is because I offset the pin in them to move the rear end 3/16" sideways to get it perfectly centered under the car. 
I will remove them and cut off the axle perches from the rear axle and weld on some new ones at the correct angle (this is a Versailles rear end and it has too much upward pinion angle built in).
.

Why not use wedges to adjust the pinion angle?  Wouldn't that avoid rewelding the perches and not affect the ride height?

I do not like adapters, and wedges fall into that category in my mind.  Same as lowering blocks, which are no longer in the equation.  I actually have a set of blocks that have a three degree taper built into them bak when I was messing around with bad pinion angle caused by installing a five speed.

jeremy, it's a 427 with 530 HP.  I do not typically dump the clutch from a dead start as the car will light up the tires at the push of the throttle at any point in first or second gear.  It does go alot straighter now that the stronger springs are in place.

I wonder if the reversed eye makes any difference in performance.

See my post about electric power steering