Rear axle radius rods

[aeroz]

Can anyone offer an opinion on how effective the factory radius rods were for the rear axle of the Mk1 GT? I have the axle housing, rods and mounting brackets from an old GT that was beyond repair and was looking at fitting them to my 2 door Mk1 - Zetec project. I guess my questions are;
1. How well do they control axle tramp and do they improve the lateral location of the axle? and
2. Does anyone have a measurement for the location of the body mounting point for the radius rods (maybe measured from the front spring bolt hole?)

Cheers,

Matt

[jewels]

...1. How well do they control axle tramp and do they improve the lateral location of the axle? ...


they are very good at doing that

they are a good thing we just used these on our turbo car for a long time

and never suffered from axle tramp

[30psi mk2 cortina]

well...... for the axle location/ bracket location.......
Id just put the diff in the car and then put the arms on atached to the brackets.
Then lift the arm up to the chassis and it should be in its natural spot of location.

[aeroz]

Thanks for the input Jewels & 30psi, I will give this set-up a go.

Cheers,

Matt

[robertverhey]

Mk 2s have the radius arm mounting hole in chassis rail pre-drilled. Is the Mk 1 not also pre-drilled?

Robert

[geoff]

mk1 is pre drilled in chassis also............

[aeroz]

Thanks Geoff & Robert,
I will climb under the old girl and look to see if it has any pre-drilled holes in this area (I haven't been under the back for a while, been focusing in the front end!).

Cheers,

Matt

[benny]

mk1 is pre drilled in chassis also............

Consul Cortinas are not drilled, and IIRC, non-GT Aeroflows are not drilled either......at least the ones we got here from Blimey.

To answer the original questions, though, I think they are a fairly worthwhile addition, but not totally necessary. I ran my V8 car for about 8 years before adding them, and while I was happy that I did it, I was not blown away by their benefits. My car never suffered from wheel-hop, nor did I ever feel that there was excessive lateral motion.

[zombie289]

Consul Cortinas are not drilled, and IIRC, non-GT Aeroflows are not drilled either......at least the ones we got here from Blimey.

To answer the original questions, though, I think they are a fairly worthwhile addition, but not totally necessary. I ran my V8 car for about 8 years before adding them, and while I was happy that I did it, I was not blown away by their benefits. My car never suffered from wheel-hop, nor did I ever feel that there was excessive lateral motion.

That might have something to do with the extra weight of the 8" diff too Benny....My car back home (english axle, no radius arms) used to get axle tramp until I put some cal trac style bars on it.

[aeroz]

G'Day Benny,
Yes, you are correct, my car isn't pre-drilled. The mount sections that were removed form the donor include the jig holes on the lower face of the chassis section (about 1/2 inch from the edge of the mount brackets), so I will use them as a reference.

Cheers,

Matt

[Roger Miller]

Out of interest, here is pics of Cortina MK1 and Escort early Mk1.