I'm changing out my stock drag link and tie rod on the '36 and putting modern tie rod ends on them. Attached is a picture of the pitman arm with the stock drag link with the tires pointed straight. You can see it's on an angle backward. Is there a specific reason for this? I'm thinking about making the drag link shorter so the arm is either straight down when the wheels are straight, or perhaps even slightly forward to make the pivot point closer to the pivot point of the rear spring hanger.
The only reasons I could come up with for the pitman arm to be angled back like this would be to minimize bump steer, or maybe to level the drag link, but if bump steer is the reason, I'd think being closer to the rear spring hanger is what would be best. The steering knuckle attachment point is right in the middle of the front axle with the wheels straight, so I would think bump steer would actually be minimized with the pitman arm closer to the rear spring hanger?? One other thought I had was perhaps that since the pitman arm attachment point is lower than the spring hanger, maybe the extra length on the drag link is necessary to make the travel arc of the drag link closer to the suspension arc?
Someone who knows this stuff please let me know what I'm overlooking or what's wrong with my thinking on this. Seems Chevy did this on purpose for a reason, but the reason is escaping me.
