The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Four link suspension with stock front end

Would it be useless to have a four link rear suspension with the stock front end (plus bolt on rack and pinion) on my 1951 3600? I would really like to keep the truck stock height.

4-link rear with a straight axle front end...

Sounds like a gasser to me!

What's your long term plans? The 4-link will turn away any future buyers looking for a mostly stock truck.

What do you mean by useless? It will work just fine, not sure what else you want?

The useless part will be the R&P steering on a straight front axle. That type of setup is almost impossible to get working properly, and there's a possibility for some deadly failures with virtually no warning.
Jerry

Well, I was going to use the bolt on R&P unit made for straight axles from brothers trucks. I really don't see the problem with it, but I'm new at this. Am I off.

Well, i want to put a v8 and tremec transmission in. To be honest, im not really concerned about future buyers. I just want an awesome truck I can take anywhere.

If the rack & pinion unit bolts to the body, there are dangerous bump steer issues involved when negotiating turns. If it bolts to the axle, the slip joint required to connect the pinion gear to the steering column has a nasty habit of hanging up and/or breaking, leaving you with either no steering at all or unpredictable stiffness at the worst possible time. You owe it to yourself to become very familiar with the principles of steering and suspension geometry before undertaking the kind of project you're considering, not betting your life (and mine) on someone who has something to sell you. Either way, you become a hazard to the rest of us out there on the road with you. If you "take it anywhere" please do it on a trailer!
Jerry

Easy there, High Speed! So in your clearly professional opinion, what would you do for power steering?

I would use a Saginaw variable-ratio worm and sector steering box, mounted over the left front frame rail, rotated 90 degrees clockwise from its normal mounting position with the Pitman arm pointing straight down. I'd position it on a vertical plane so the drag link is parallel with the ground at normal ride height to minimize bump steer and use the original left spindle steering arm and tie rod, with all the flex joints converted to modern-type tapered-shank tie rod ends. That setup would be far superior to any of the common Saginaw conversions that retain the Pitman arm in its standard position and much simpler, and safer than anybody's rack and pinion abortion. It would also solve the exhaust system clearance problems the slip yoke to the R&P will create, and be even better than using the original steering gear. If the ride height should end up slightly above or below the original position, the height of the steering gear mount can be altered to correct any bump steer problems that might result from a drag link not quite parallel to the ground.

That's how I'd do it, after building hot rods and round track race cars for a little over 50 years, and teaching steering and suspension to high school kids for a bit over 30 years.
Jerry

I would recommend taking some time and sitting down and determine how you want to use your truck and what you expect out of your truck. Then you can look at each component and see how it fits into your plan. Once you have your wish list of components look and see how each component will function with other components. And once you sort these things out start putting pricing to the components. Once you have the numbers in front of you it may be that you have to start over with some things based on costs....

What’s up with the sarcasm in your replies? You under stand we are trying to help answer a question that you asked yourself, right?

Sorry, the first quote was suppose to be a joke. I'll change that postt. My humor sometimes doesn't work as planned. The second one was in response to a particular post that came off as offensive and slightly rude in my opinion. Probably wasn't the best way to handle it, but sometimes my mouth works before my brain catches up. Sorry if it came off bad.

And it looks like Jerry answered your question. Don't worry you aren't the only one here to have to pull your foot out of an embarrassing place. The one thing I like about this site is that there are people here with more insite as to how our old trucks work than you'll find anywhere. I like how Jerry answered you with a proper answer to how to do your power steering question. Cheers. Larry

Me too, email type messages can leave a lot to translation... it's all good, thanks for taking the time to explain.