Panhard Rod and Axle Install Project

[Scott Costanzo]

I wanted to share what I've been doing over the winter this year. So I've wanted to do some suspension mods for a long time, especially a panhard rod. I've also have an LSD rear end I've been wanting to get in my car for several years and decided to do both this year.

I'll start with the panhard rod. So I know several guys who have used the corner of the trunk floor as the mounting point for one side of the bar. I'm aware of at least 3 instances where metal fatigue caused cracking in the trunk floor and I wasn't going down that path. I wanted to put something together that would minimize any flexing and I came up with the following approach. I'm going to let the pictures tell the story with some comment in between.

Here are a couple of pictures of the mount, one out of the car and one in. I used 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 X 3/16" square pipe. I did have to remove the upper axle strap mounts to make this work.



It is bolt-in and these pictures show how that will be accomplished. It isn't quite done yet but most of the tedious work is completed. I used pipe around the bolts so the "frame rails" aren't deformed when I tighten things down. You can see that on either side of the trunk.



I still need to make a few modifications too. The first picture shows the area around the read end "hump" that allows for clearance during full compression. The mount intrudes into this space so it will need to be modified to correct that. In the second picture, the upper axle strap mount needs to be replaced. This picture gives you an idea of how that will be done. The red mark shows where the mount will be placed. It is still a work in progress.



That's pretty much what will happen on the body side of things.
For the axle, I'm using an adjustable mount from Speedway. This is the item. I had to order smaller diameter pipe to make this mount a bolt-on. Speedway has a version that is bolt-on but it is intended for a 3" diameter axle tube and my axle is about 2 5/8".  You can also see the bar mount in this picture. It is from Speedway and gives an easy way to adjust the height. It is intended for a 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" square pipe.



I'll end this for now. I'll be back to talk about my rear end install in the next few days. As things progress, I will update this thread

[BlownMGB-V8]

Looks pretty good Scott. Overall it seems well designed.

Jim

[40indianss]

I used a similar approach with an adjustable bar and different trunk mount  using 3/16" material to reinforce the trunk floor and frame rail.  The panhard can be raised or lowered by moving up or down in the tube

[MGBV8]

I need to go inspect mine.  I don't think there has been any strength issues in the trunk floor area.  Mine has the leaf springs helping the panhard rod. So, not near the forces that Scot & Mike moor will see.

I used a sliding dirt track piece on the driver side.  Wound up with the bar all the way to the bottom limit.

[40indianss]

The differences between mine and Carl's are his is adjustable at any place on the sleeve and it is under the car whereas mine has four adjustment holes accessed from above the trunk floor.  Otherwise same idea

[MGBV8]

Cool idea, Don.

I adjusted mine to be centered & level with the rear axle from underneath Les Shockey's open trailer while he was sitting in the driver seat.

Should have painted mine, but I was about to leave for a British V8 Meet.  Was under the car welding at 4am & leaving later that day after a few hours sleep.  

[Scott Costanzo]

Still in the middle of things but wanted everyone to know I haven't forgotten about this thread. Here's a preliminary photo. I've made more progress after this photo but will have to wait to update the thread until a later date.

[BlownMGB-V8]

Seems like a good design.

Jim

[Scott Costanzo]

Hi everyone, so I'm finally getting close, one maybe two work sessions away from the road with some luck. Here is a little more information on what I'm doing.

This first picture shows some of the Panhard rod. The top pic shows the axle side of the mount all bolted in and ready to go. The bottom shows the view from the rear. I have all the correct bolts in now. I still need to clean out the axle, install new seals, button everything up and add lubricant.



This one shows the trunk mounts all welded up. Still need to paint it.



Now on to the brakes. I'm using 1997 Honda Accord  rotors and 2009 Honda Civic rear calipers. This is based on all the work Charlie Durning did on his rear brake design. I want to thank him for all his information and advice. The top picture shows the assembled unit bolted to my GM axle. The bottom picture shows the bracket. It was made from a piece of 6" X 6"X 5/16" plate. On the drivers side, it lines up really well with the rotor. Strangely enough, I needed two washers between the caliper bracket and the fabricated bracket to line things up. All the final fitting is done on both sides but I still need to trim them up a bit...still a little rough looking in the picture.



This next picture shows the fabricated bracket bolted up to the axle and the last one shows the final fit of the brake pad to the rotor.



A few things are left to do, mainly plumbing the new calipers into the brake hydraulics, installing a new real seal in the transmission and installing my new driveshaft. I also have to install and wire my new Ford VSS and the new speedo cable. Anxious to see how it drives. I'll add more later.

Edit: plumbing calipers, not rotors.

[Spitfire 350]

Scott,
Nice work on all of this. True craftsmanship!!!

[MGBV8]

Some specs on your new rearend would be good, Scott.

[ex-tyke]

Some specs on your new rearend would be good, Scott.

Yep, and why you didn't opt for GM disc brakes for that axle.

[Scott Costanzo]

Quote:
Some specs on your new rearend would be good, Scott.
Yep, and why you didn't opt for GM disc brakes for that axle.

Hi everyone - I guess I should have done that. Here are the specs:

GM 7.5" F-Body 3.23 LSD
Bolt on length
Disk Brakes (96 Honda Accord Rear)
Calipers (09 Honda Civic Rear)
Calipers will be front mounted
Parking brake cable will be MG/Honda hybrid

Graham - Simple answer, they are heavy, won't fit behind 14" wheels, I would probably have had to go with a brake proportioning valve and/or a new master cylinder and I would have had to get them redrilled to 4 X 4.5. It was a no brainer. To be honest, if I could have adapted my B drum brakes to this axle easily I would have done that. Having said that, it was a fun, relatively easy project. I have a real chance to get it back on the road tomorrow. I'm anxious to try it out.

Scott

[tr6turbo]

Really looks good