The unorthodox budget Firebird (-74)

[Ripper]

The inspiration to the rear suspension?
Dedion was a quite common solution before the entry of the IRS. I was first about to go with a IRS, but since I wanted the car low (probably lower than whats usual) it was impossible to fit a IRS with decent geometry without cutting out the frame rails. I didn't wanna go with the live axle since it was A. heavy and B. not much of a engineering challenge. The dedion weights in at 37lbs and my 10b axle weights 121lbs. The dedion needs the center section and half shafts too to be comparable, and that adds another 55lbs appr. 92lbs compared to 121lbs might not be that much of a difference, but remember that the unsprung weight has been reduced with almost 90lbs. Besides that, it's possible to adjust toe and camber.

The dedion performs much like a live axle, but it's lighter. It features more adjustment possibilities than the live axle however an IRS has of course even more benefits and can be made even lighter/stiffer than the dedion. From my point of view, an IRS isn't much faster in this kind of vehicle though. It offers a more comfortable ride on the street though, but that's not very important for me...




As for color, I haven't decided yet. Don't think I wrote it here, but I'm going to make a -77 of it instead of the -74. I'm spending all of my budget on the suspension so I won't afford a expensive paint job. If money was no problem, I would go with the BMW Le Mans Blue;

But money is a problem, so I'll probably end up with a solid color which is easier to do by myself. Probably solid white.
I found this pic on the web alot of years ago and I really love it. Great body work and with a little imagination (squint your eyes...) that looks like my wheels too.
If I paint it white, I'm gonna stripe it up like the -77 and probably add the bird on the hood in gold or silver. Or maybe I go the martini-route instead... We'll see, it's at least two years before that and I'll probably change my mind 100 times before it's time.