Dirt-track race car suspension and Honda CT70 bodywork | Redline Update #81 - Hagerty Media
Like many of us, Davin often finds that progress on his many project cars gets delayed. This week, he’s hung up with the ’37 Ford dirt-track racer—and, for once, that’s a good thing, because it’s time to build the Ford’s rear suspension.
Davin customized the leaf springs a few episodes back and now they are mocked up in the car. There is a second part to the suspension puzzle, though: The shocks, which keep the springs from bouncing wildly and thus help with chassis stability and traction. Two very important things in a race car.
Davin could simply bolt on the shocks between the axle and chassis and let “good enough” suffice, but we all know he isn’t that kind of guy. Instead, he takes the time to locate the shocks at the proper angle and distance, trusting that the additional time will pay off in the final build. For dirt-track cars like this one, the suspension is intentionally uneven in an effort to keep all the wheels in contact with the ground. The driver’s rear tire needs to droop while the passenger rear needs more compression, and the shock location and setup need to reflect that attitude. Davin makes the process look easy by fabricating a couple quick mounts that allow him to get all the components located easily.
After realizing he lacks the raw material to fabricate the final bits of the Ford’s shock mounts, Davin takes the delay as an opportunity to grab some parts for the Honda Mini Trail and head to the body shop. The frame is completely sandblasted, but that doesn’t that mean the Honda’s ready for paint.
The crew at Traverse Body and Paint make quick work of removing the one small dent in the pressed sheetmetal, and then add a quick glaze-coat of filler to smooth out any sanding marks or small imperfections. So many people hear “filler” and pucker up, imagining giant chunks of Bondo falling out of quarter panels, but that’s not what is going on here. In fact, the glaze-coat that Dave puts on this Honda is sprayed on and, once dry, mostly sanded off. Its sole purpose is to smooth out sanding marks and other minuscule imperfections. The final coats of color will be done by the experts at Trail Buddy in the coming weeks.
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