Ascona A rear end,

By Bob Legere.

This is a prototype Manta/Ascona trailing arm which is going on the Turd.
It has stock mounting dimensions,
But the tubing it's made from is thicker walled DOM tubing rather than the thinner seamed OEM tube,
Which is prone to rust damage and splitting.
The forward portion of the link will use a polyurethane bushing for vibration isolation and impact absorption.
The rearward portion uses a chromoly heim joint to provide greater suspension articulation over rough surfaces.
This will allow the tires to stay in contact with the ground better over uneven terrain,
Aiding traction for acceleration and cornering.

If testing goes well I will build a jig fixture for repeatability in manufacturing,
And hope to offer this as well as an aluminum adjustable panhard bar for both the Manta/Ascona and GT chassis.

I got the rear shocks last week, and came up with a simple way to fit them to the car shell with minimum body modifications.
I made these little brackets that will fit the top stud mount without any cutting or welding to the body.
You can also see the differences between the front and rear shock lengths.

Finally!
All the rear rally suspension parts are completed.
They just need to be installed.
The panhard bar is adjustable for length, and is made from thick-walled aluminum,
With a chromoly heim joint at the axle end and an OGTS poly bushing at the body end.
The trailing arms are 1" x .095" 1020 mild steel DOM tubing with poly OGTS bushings at the body end,
And chromoly heim joints at the axle end.
The Fox offroad racing shocks are fully rebuildable, revalveable, and pressure adjustable (to vary spring rate),
And have custom top mounts to allow them to be bolted direct to the body,
While the custom lower mounts are designed to be welded to the rear axle
In a slightly lower position to gain shock compression travel.