[Sam Strano]

I'm now happy to announce we can take pre-orders on a Watts Link for all 82-02 F-bodies with stock diamter axle tubes. There is a version for bigger axle tubes (suck as 12-bolts, etc.) in the works.

They should be ready to ship in approximately 2-3 weeks. The unit is made by Fays2 who has been doing these for Mustangs for more than a few years. I not only trust the unit and have had all my questions answered, but will be putting one on my car as soon as possible. Jim and I have had a few discussions about the design and I'm happy to say he addressed my main concerns regarding approximate roll-center height. I wanted to make sure we could start @ stock height and adjust down as the owner sees fit. That has been done and implimented in this unit.

Details, specs and a photo on a 4th gen can be seen here:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetails.php...7&ModelID=7

(IMG:http://www.stranoparts.com/data/images/p30617181655.jpg)


Price is $650 Plus shipping. Shipping costs will normally not exceed $30 in most cases.

Fays2 own website has the pricing set lower, but after a discussion with Jim Fay, he informed me the prices are incorrect and will be changed.

[Major_Lee_Slow]

Ok, I see it now, they are angled up and down (Man my eyes are starting to get old). They must be angled up and down an equal amount so that the arms are angled equally from the center pivot along the center line of the car in order to maintain an equal distance from the pivot.

Ok, here's another question. So the arms are attached to the axle tubes, what keeps them from slipping along horizontal length of the tube? Just the normal force and friction of the axle clamps? Should that area of the axle be "prepped" before installation (i.e. all rust removed).

One would think that this might be better than the current design because the current design only loads the axle in one spot and this design loads the axle in two spots, thus better distributing the load. Right?

[sgarnett]

They must be angled up and down an equal amount so that the arms are angled equally from the center pivot along the center line of the car in order to maintain an equal distance from the pivot.

Well, it probably does make sense to do the initial setup with the pivot on the centerline of the axle at ride height. After all the lengths and angles are correct, and the axle is centered properly, then you can move the pivot (roll center) height to the desired position. As you said, the angles should be equal too.

Then lower the axle to full droop, and if the bellcrank is nearly horizontal, lengthen both links by the same amount and recheck.

While the axle centering can be fine-tuned by adjusting the links, that will lead to one being longer than the other. For that reason, I would preset the links to the same length, and position the arm/clamps to get the axle as close to center as possible before changing the links. If done right the first time, there should be no reason to ever move the clamps.

Of course, the setup tricks will also get some fine tuning after we start getting a few installed (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by sgarnett: Jul 23 2008, 11:57 PM