Getting the big Fairlane back on the road.... Going the whole 9 inches

[romulus22]

Yep I misread. I thought you were trying to dim the bulb

[RC10th]

Smoking the lens worked perfectly, it blends in with the rest and still lights up amber. I just hope it's bright enough in daylight.

I used PS-31 to smoke the lens and it had to be darker then I was expecting. Hopefully I'll get it installed in the car this week and then it's only a matter of hooking up the bulb driver when it's finished.

[scr8p]

[RC10th]

Got the rear calipers back which look pretty good. Now that their done this should go a bit quicker from now on. When I picked them up the guy said they are just about the most expensive caliper they do At least they should be good for a long time now, they bore out and sleeve the calipers with a stainless sleeve.

I was hoping to get the stainless lines bent up at the same time but I need the tramp rod brackets to see where and how I want to run the lines. Having a look at the factory lines on a bunch of different cars they are all over the place with no real care taken.

[romulus22]

Can't say I've ever heard of a tramp rod before. While it doesn't look like it would be that hard to install it looks like it has some welding involved. I remember you saying at one time that's something you've yet to work with. Have you tried good ole traction bars before. I haven't I just know they are simple to install.

[RC10th]

I can't stand slapper bars, lol. And Cal-Tracs are too noticable.

I suppose tramp rod is the Australian slang term as Fords technical terminology is "Rear Radius Rod". Basically they just prevent wheel hop by not allowing the spring to wrap up and unload.

They are super easy to install. The only welding required is the front rod hanger, the rear bracket just clamps to the axle with special U bolts.

I will probably have to make up a custom set of longer rods though as the Fairlanes are a longer wheel base than what they were designed for. This is actually a better option as it allows for more adjustability and the use of heim joints.

This is the set I'm ordering Monday (minus the rods)

[RC10th]

I finished off my shackles, finished off the rear spring saddles, got the calipers ready to mount. Tramp brackets should be here next week so I can bend up some brake lines.

Then all that's left is to rebuild the rear springs and viola !!

[romulus22]

Ahh I see now. I didn't look at the picture closely enough to see that sandwich plate that the u bolts hold.

As for them being the correct length. Wheelbase should have no affect. If you can find out the spring length on the car they were intended for compared to yours would be the better way to tell if they would work.

[RC10th]

I would have though the long wheel base cars would have been longer in the middle section, but according to "the guy" they are longer in the rear frame rail section. I can only guess it's for a longer spring for a smoother ride.

[romulus22]

I have never personally ran a setup like that. I was just thinking you would want your radius rod length to be the same length as the center of your axle to the center of the front leaf spring hanger. Or egual length as the one you pictured looks like it sets behind the center of the axle. Different pivot points would change your pinion angle, no? And the wheelbase of a car could be different from a 4dr to a 2dr but still use the same springs I would think. I really don't know I'm just thinking out loud quietly through typing

[RC10th]

After a fair bit of discussion with the tramp rod guy he measured both types of cars and the longer wheel base cars are the same from the spring eye to the axle. The rear section of spring from axle to shackle is 3" longer.

You are correct in the ideal set up is the same length as the spring to minimize bind. Ford wouldn't have installed them factory if it had ill side effects. My concerns are the same as yours, if the rods bind up it essentially will change pinion angles but how much is unknown.

I've decided to make a sliding link gauge to measure how much the links will bind. Then I can tack the bracket wherever and see how much movement is on the gauge to find the most ideal spot.

This whole set up isn't the most ideal or effective, but it's stealth and is better than nothing.


I would love nothing more than a low - mid 12 second car that looked like this. at the moment I'm predicting low 13 but with a cam swap I may push a high 12's

[romulus22]

This whole set up isn't the most ideal or effective, but it's stealth and is better than nothing.


I would love nothing more than a low - mid 12 second car that looked like this. at the moment I'm predicting low 13 but with a cam swap I may push a high 12's

I wouldn't really call it not ideal or ineffective. It will definitely do its job. And it's a much simpler than 4 linking your car.

Heck yeah it looks like such a grandpa mobile. Could always throw some nitrous at it too. Or is that a no no on street cars in Australia?

[RC10th]

A 150 shot nitrous plate would be awesome

I've got a fair ways to go in the cosmetics department to get to that stage. At the moment mine looks like a $600 car I've been keeping my eyes out for stock hub caps, mud flaps etc, all the grandpa stuff. One day...

[RC10th]

While waiting on my rear end parts to arrive I decided to measure up for a new performance air cleaner. Due to the height of the distributor 13" is the max I can go, which is proving nearly an impossible size for a nice performance flat bottom filter. I was hoping to find a nice spun housing.

Anyways, while fiddling around I found the kickdown rod was fouling on the header which wasn't allowing full depression of the kickdown lever or allowing full throttle. I spent hours setting it up and now I'm back to square one again

This time I think I'll make and bend up an exact copy of my stainless rod in K&S brass to see if it can be tweaked to work with the less offset lever. I did try the stainless rod with the low offset lever originally and it fouled on the bellhousing pretty bad, so who knows if it will work now or not.

Fun times

[RC10th]

Not as if I don't have enough projects to keep me busy at the moment but I stumbled across a hood ornament locally and cheap. It's not in the best of shape but the plating is perfect.

It will make a good test to try and convert to magnetic instead of ruining a nice and expensive example. Then I can put it on and take it off as I desire.