rthomas is right. Surely something is better than nothing and most aftermarket setups will improve upon the pressed factory pieces unto themselves. IMHO(and that of those few hardcore racers that I talk to about these kinds of things) will say that solid joints are usually preferred over heims. So, when we see nice stainless or polished pieces with heims added it's mainly because the average hotrodder loves to get his money's worth out of them and show them off when the hood comes open. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that at all as long as you realize that a small compromise has been made "to bling it up". The other added benefit to using these adjustable designs is that there is no one size fits all design that will work for everyone. Which is of course why race cars use them in the first place.. adjustability and preloading. Then consider that these cars fenders/towers move all over the place after 40 years time.. and those who have used the solid pieces through they years will tell you stories about having to "jack the towers back out".. "clearance holes".. or even have friends bounce on inner fender corners to get those last few bolts in place. Myself included. Now don't get me wrong here.. heims being used on the level of suspensions these road cars are using will likely not care one little bit about increasing rigidity or tie in strength.. vs a track car with solid mounting points which is running extra wide tires and very heavy springs to get that last 2 tenths of lap times from the more consistent geometry gained from them. It's purely bench racing for the fun of it and no offense.. or "dissing" of selected parts.. was ever intended to anyone who uses these types of connections. I just tend to do most all things to the Nth degree just because I enjoy that extra cumulative gain to be had from it and advise others to do the same on ocassion. Especially when the not-so-pretty designs are slightly better by inherent design(even if immeasurable by most chassis setups/drivers) and also happen to cost less. Which is the case here and why I advised the other gentleman to go with solid bar construction.
I am not trying to be a jerk nor confrontational, just expressing some of my experience over the past 40 years of being a mechanical engineer and helping design process automation for manufacturing lines in almost every industry including automotive.............building hot rods, drag race cars and road race cars....................and this experience does has its advantages...................plus knowing some very smart automotive engineers helps. The shock towers are subject to torsional forces..........and a very small amount of vertical forces................I have seen test results on a chassis jig performed on a Mustand and Falcon...............which is about as close to one of our cars as you get. I think someone put an article from one of the Mustang forums on a tread not long ago..........there is a lot of good information on Torsional Forces, and although kind of crude, still brings home the point that something is needed to re-inforce the front of old Mustangs, Falcons, and our beloved Maverick. As for the heim joint movement thing...............I would say you are correct if you buy $20/30 mild steel rod ends(one of the drawbacks of these cheap rod ends is that they can't stand up to much of "bending moment", and in tension is where you will get the bending).................but if you get forged rod ends made from 4340 or even billet rod ends from someone like Ballistic or Hirshmann......(you can even buy rebuildable rod ends)...........but they are just a little more expensive.....you will need a micrometer to see any deflection. So, with that said if, .002" or .003" is excessive movement.................then I will agree with you 100%. The ole aphorism, "You only get what you pay for" has never been more accurate........................IMHO
Oh well, you guys talked me out of using the heim joints. I guess I will just cut the shock towers out, and install a mustang II rack and pinion setup, and be done with them... Sorry to brag...
Funny.. I thought the very same thing when you posted the "cool pic's" thread. Worrying about a few thou of flex with one version over the other is kinda moot at this point. Although, I will say this(not that it's a high priority or you need to buy any more parts than you already have to at this point). If you are planning on stiffer springs and sway bars with some possible track time on the new parts setup?.. it will not hurt the front ends rigidity one little bit to have some additional support in those same key areas since chopping towers does in fact remove some of it in the process. The framerails/torquebox's alone on unibody cars were never designed to take the full weighted load stress and increasing the "box's" strength would never be a bad move from a rigidity standpoint. All you need do is extend the old designs to the top of the towers chopped section with some reinforcement plates, is all. And who are you kidding?.. you're not sorry at all. I know that I sure wouldn't be. @olerodder. I'm in a similar boat as you with the above(but without the engineering degree.. I certainly get by all right by hanging on longer coattails too). Mine just hasn't been afloat as long as yours, is all. And yeah.. in the end those are some pretty thin hairs to be splitting.
I sold that monte carlo kit years ago, then sold the entire car this past summer with the Rod and Custom front suspension. Then the guy cut up the car and sold off the parts.
Thanks for the compliment. I enjoyed it while I was playing with it, but I moved out of state had to and downsize my toy collection.
