Traction/Slapper bars?

Chev283 · Jul 4, 2004

I'm in the process of "re-habbing" my '34 Ford 4dr and starting with the rear suspension. When I first built the car in 1975, I used semi-elliptic springs on the rear which I had removed from the front of a '50 Chev pickup. The springs are still on there, and work well, except I get a lot of bottoming out on the floor pan from a hard standing start, or when the transmission shifts from 1-2 and sometimes 2-3. In addition the pinion yoke hits the floorboard from rear spring wrap-up. I can fix the bottoming out part with rubber snubbers on top of the axle above each spring and some sheetmetal modifications on the floorboard, but I'd like some suggestions on who makes a reliable and reasonable traction or slapper bar setup to eliminate or minimize the spring wrap-up. I don't want a rougher ride. It is pretty stiff right now even with nylon inserts between each leaf spring.

The rear end is a stock '57 Chev 3:55 open, and the transmission is a 700R4 from Bowtie Overdrives with an 1800 stall converter. It is a street car only.

Thanks for your help.

Frisco · Jul 4, 2004

Look in my photo album for the instructions on how to build your own "Cal Tracs". Or you can buy Cal Tracs and install them. They are much better than "slapper bars".

Chev283 · Jul 4, 2004

Thanks Frisco. It looks like a great setup and pretty easy to make.

I've got a problem that is going to interfere with this though. The front bolts (original '50 Chev pickup) for the spring hangers are hollow bolts with a tapped portion in the end, and a zirk fitting for lubrication of that bolt/bushing on the spring. I don't think I could ever find a bolt that is similar without just going to a plain Grade 5 or Grade 8 bolt to replace the lubricating bolt. Do you see any problems with not having lubrication on that spring mounting bolt? I've never seen another pair of semi-elliptics that had a lube point on them, so I can't imagine that it would be a problem. Grease is messy anyway...thoughts??

The other end of the springs (shackle end) is the same way. It has zirk fittings on both the upper and lower parts of the shackles. Not relevant for the traction bars, but maybe of interest to someone.

Frisco · Jul 5, 2004

Although you could still use Grade 8 bolts modified to accept the zirks, I wouldn't bother. An occasional squirt with penetrating oil will keep everything lubed and squeak free.

Chev283 · Jul 5, 2004

That's what I figured. Easy enough. I'll get some patterns drawn up and head to the metal shop for some plate and tubing. Will let you know in a few months if I am young enough to pull this off. Metal fab was a piece of cake in my 20s-30s. Takes a little longer now.

Thanks for including the pics. I'll print them off for reference.

Frisco · Jul 6, 2004

Chev283 said:
Thanks for including the pics. I'll print them off for reference.

That's why I posted them. Hope they help. Keep us all posted on your project. Photos would be great. :thumbup:

Traction/Slapper bars?

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