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Rear Suspension - Rebound Straps

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John Kuzman

Jedi Trainee
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Greetings!
I am in the process of removing tube shocks (front and rear) installed by a PO on my '59 Bugeye. I removed the rear set-up this past weekend. I have installed a set of re-built lever shocks back in the original location. Once I removed the rear tube shocks, I noticed something now missing according to the parts catalogs...the rebound straps. I ordered a set of straps, but I have no reference as to how/where they are mounted. Does anyone have pictures/description of the mounting points for these rebound straps? Thanks again.
John

P.S. Any tips on how to get the top rubber trunnion bushes fully seated on the front suspension?
 
The strap goes from a pin on the inside of the rear axle upright to a channel just above it on the tub. A long 3/8 inch bolt will attach it on the tub and a SAE 3/8 inch nut will attach it to the axle housing.
 
Let me try to post a picture ...

In the left foreground is the gas tank, and the right foreground is the differential. The golden colored rod is my panhard rod. If you look closely, the rebound strap is in the center of the picture, in front of the bump stop. Your axle, etc, should be similar. The panhard rod, 2.25" exhaust, etc, are not the same, but the axle and mount points should be the same for the rebound strap.
 

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Nice photo - panhard bar & exhaust over the rear end!
 
Does a panhard bar act as a rear sway bar? These look like parts I recall seeing in a Grainger catalog. Can you build one yourself?
 
Rear sway & panhard do different things - one works on body roll, the other keeps rear axle centered
 
So pan hard bar attaches to one side of the rear to the body, diagonally?
 
Not diagonally - level with car on ground...but, yes, from one side of car to the other side of axle
 
Yes you can build your own. A little structural tubing a couple of rod ends and a bit of flat steel some metal cutting tools a few hours and you too can make your own
 
Yes, mine's not perfectly horizontal, but it's fairly close. It'd be flatter if the car was on a lift with the springs compressed. In that pic, I had it all tweaked because I was only jacking up the rear corner.

P.S. With my panhard design, I managed to keep the parking brake, as you may have noticed. It only required a slight repositioning, closer to the front of the car about 3/8" and slight bending of the one rod to go around the crownwheel bulge in the differential housing. I found that rubber bumpered cars do not have the same gas tank mounting (or the kit I was supplied with was wrong) as the 1275's, so I had to manufacture some custom parts.
 
I'm interested in making a panhard bar - have you got any specs on yours?
 
This forum is so great!

Where else are you going to find this much interaction on rebound straps, honestly now.

Anyway - wicked good stuff and very-very helpful for those of use about to undertake the same task. Thanks!
 
That's cause we all learn from each other every day.
 
Tony, I'm not sure you need a panhard bar - yet. Maybe after the GRM challenge though.
 
Jollyroger and Matthew -
Thanks for the responses and Matthew, the photo answered my questions. Now, head down to the shop this weekend and pray that the PO did not cut off the mounting studs on the rear axle upright!
Do these straps pivot with rear axle movement? Are there bushings in the strap mounting points?
Any thoughts on the front, top rubber trunnion bushings? Cannot seem to get them fully seated in the trunnion.
Thanks again.
John kuzman
1959 Bugeye
1963 BJ7
1969 Corvette
 
My rebound straps have a metal sleeve inside the strap tht the bolts actually go through. The straps are slack most of the time but if you were to get the car in a situation that it would lift one tire off the asphalt, the strap would limit the drop in the axle housing. As far as the trunnion bushings, I used emery cloth to make sure the trunion was cleaned out well and used a silicon based lubricant on the rubber bushings to aid their seating when I put it all back together. Others have used dishwashing liquid.
Hope this helps,
JC
 
I've a tiny hone - sorta like a brakc wheel cylinder hone, that I can use for the insides of tiny tubes like the trunion...got it at a local parts house & it attaches to my cordless drill.
 
I just use a small round file to lightly file the edges off inside. Seems that when they cut at the them a the factory the tool gets dull and curls the edges in. This saves money by not replacing the cutting tool often enough.
 
Tony,

We could work on some specs for a panhard bar for your 'B. It's really not too much different, and the design I used is fairly simple (and cheap!). The primary requirements are a bunch of steel scrap, a pair of heim joints, and a welder.
 
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