Leaf spring torque link?

[AMC Racer]

Question for the suspension gurus on leaf spring torque links. These were factory installed by AMC on AMX and some of their other "performance" models and available as a dealer installed option. Owners say they eliminate wheel hop, the car doesn't squat or lift - just goes forward with good traction. The front brackets mount to the frame rails and the rear brackets bolt to the axle. The link bolts are supposed to be tightened with the suspension loaded (there's a specified dimension). The link uses rubber bushings, but aftermarket urethane are available. Would these help a leaf spring equipped pro-touring car, or tend to cause handling or braking issues? Thanks!

[MrQuick]

its just a traction bar thats mounted above.

might be hell on bushings but yeah that would help your rear from rotating.

[68Formula]

its just a traction bar thats mounted above.

might be hell on bushings but yeah that would help your rear from rotating.

I'd try to keep the bars, but maybe it'd be better to replace the bushings with spherical?

[AMC Racer]

Thanks guys ... just not sure if these would cause issues with handling or braking, but they do help acceleration.

[silver69camaro]

I'd try to keep the bars, but maybe it'd be better to replace the bushings with spherical?

I'd leave them as soft rubber. Looks like the leaf and bar do not have the same IC points so some deflection in the bushing is needed.

[Payton King]

pro-stock way back in the 60's because the rules stated they had to keep the leaf springs. Jim Pettigrew built Jimmy Johnson's 67 Camaro with the Cup motor has that set-up. I have ridden in the car and it hooks as good as any car with 720 hp on a 255 tire can. No wheel hop even at 70 mph. LOL

I have pictures somewhere of the way he did it. I will see if I can dig them out.

[ArtosDracon]

In stock form it just looks like it's going to bind. If you could approximate the angle of the leaf spring from perch to forward mount as closely as possible with the torque arm then it would minimize the bind, but I have to agree with Mr. Jones, as soft a bushing as possible, like a low density durometer would be ideal as it will allow deflection.

I think the more ideal approach to thins would be either a third or a third and fourth shock. I know it was done on some fox bodies, full quad shocks that is, and that would allow forward and aft movement while dampening it to help prevent wheel hop, from torsion in either direction. I've been told that the shocks on quad shock setups are valved more like a steering damper.

[68Formula]

I'd leave them as soft rubber. Looks like the leaf and bar do not have the same IC points so some deflection in the bushing is needed.

So something like this:
http://www.deaverspring.com/products/bushings.html

or this:
http://www.alcanspring.com/orbit-eye.htm

would still cause binding?

[Payton King]

Looks like it is going to bind? Did not bind in Jimmy's car.

[Payton King]

That the housing floats with the upper link...like the spring is the lower link and in a 4 link system.

I think they ran this same system on an Austin Healy as well.

[AMC Racer]

So need to add a housing floater to keep from binding? The stock links have a fairly small cross section and an "S" shape so maybe act as a bit of a spring instead of a rigid link? Combined with the rubber bushings, maybe keeps from binding under typical suspension movements? Would hope the factory did their homework on the design ... but was the late 60s so

[ArtosDracon]

Payton_King's pictures show a link as close to parallel as one could expect, that will definitely help prevent bind, however as it is shorter than the front half of the spring, it will pull on the top of the axle in bump and droop, combined with being a solid link it likely would likely cause axle wrap opposite of that generally caused by acceleration which would help pre-load the spring and help even more so with traction than just preventing the inherent axle wrap of a leaf spring, it would however be counter-productive in braking. For the drag strip though, I can imagine it would work quite well.

[Payton King]

tech. The housing is not bolted flat on the spring as with a normal leaf spring system. If you will notice, or maybe you did and I missed it, the mount is bolted to the spring but the housing is attached to that mount with the bottom bolt underneath the spring. If you took the top link off the axle housing it will move fore and aft pivioting on the bracket welded to the housing.

From a suspension design there are way better ways to accomplish the same thing. This was an old design that Jim put his spin on just to see how it would work. At the time Jimmy wanted to keep the leaf springs on the car and he came up with this as to not have slapper bars hanging down and he needed something to help to stupid amount of power from wrapping up the springs.

Motor redlines at 9800 rpm. He never took it above 8200 when I was in the car, but man did that thing sound sweet.

[Norm Peterson]

The link bolts are supposed to be tightened with the suspension loaded (there's a specified dimension). The link uses rubber bushings, but aftermarket urethane are available. Would these help a leaf spring equipped pro-touring car, or tend to cause handling or braking issues? Thanks!

Work internet filters won't let me see the pictures, but any time that bolts must be tightened with the suspension loaded or in a specified position you've got a clear indication that there is more constraint going on than you might see at first glance. I'm guessing from the further discussion that AMC merely added the links to a normal leaf spring to axle clamping in this case.

Payton - I think John Callies did something similar with leaf springs as springs only plus geometry by links in a little V8-powered hotrod he took to a hill climb once.


Norm

[68Formula]

IIRC (can't see them right now either) it's a bracket welded to the top of axle tube (rather than the leaf mounting pad), with a link attached that goes to a bracket on the rear subframe.

[6'9"Witha69]

IIRC (can't see them right now either) it's a bracket welded to the top of axle tube (rather than the leaf mounting pad), with a link attached that goes to a bracket on the rear subframe.

Yes.

[terryr]

The Oz Falcon GT [mad maxs car] also came with the links, and they handled well.

http://www.aus-ford-uk.co.uk/html/underneath_2.html

[thumperamx]

They are to control the wheel Hop on 68 to 70 AMX and factory V8 Gremlins ............ Use the replacement hard bushings .............. I still run the Torq Links on my road racer .