Odd ladder/slapper bar things. (what are they called?)

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derrangedgadgeteer

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Alrighty, I have a friend who's dad used to race 1/8 and 1/4 mile, and when he died, my friend inherited a few of his old cars. Over the years I've gotten to poke around underneath a few of them, and I noticed that a couple have what seems like an ingenious and simple rear suspension setup.

It seems like a hybrid of a ladder bar and a slapper bar, and I've never seen it anywhere else, and I can't find anything like it on the internet.

I've made a little crude drawing of it to help explain:
Graphic2-1.jpg


It basically consists of two steel members welded to the axle tubes on either side of the differential, (red) On one car they were made from heavy angle iron, and on the other they were a 2x2 square tubing. Both were a bout two feet long, and they were welded at an angle such that at rest they stay right at about one inch from a rubber pad (gray) welded/bolted to the floor of the car.

I can see how they would prevent wheel hop nicely, and I also can see that with them mounded at the center, they won't make the car unlivable like ladder bars do. Let the axle articulate properly.

My questions: Has anyone heard of these? What are they called? Has anyone used them, or anything like them? How well do they work?
 
cant remember the technical name but slapper bars work too

when you get on it the torque from the tires and driveshaft makes the axle want to "twist" the leaf springs..

these stop the axle from twisting but still allows suspension travel

but ive seen them on a lot of cars and every camaro (seems like) soo they must work for something

ever juiced a 2wd pickup in gravel? thats wheel hop
 
Yeah, they're about like slapper bars that hit the body rather than the end of the spring. They're not backwards though, The axle'll tend to push them up into the body.

The axle will tend to twist in a direction opposite the way the wheels turn.
 
Nothing New !
Mas used to make this setup !
I have a NOS set in the box !
 
We knew them as traction bars. Most GM cars needed them due to leaf spring wrap. I have never heard of a factory hi-po Mopar needing them on the street. The Mopar leafs were the best.
 
And if you need more traction install a set of Mopar Super Stock springs and an adjustable pinion snubber.
 
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