up points. Lateral position is primarily controlled by the
rear inboard pick-up point while the foward pick-up pri-
marily controls fore and aft location. For this reason, pri-
mary effort should be directed toward raising the rear
inboard pick-up.
The first step in modifying the rear suspension is to
scribe a line on the rear engine bay panel above the rear
crossmember and parallel to a line through the rear in-
board suspension pick-ups. Measure the vertical distance
between the line and the rear suspension pick-ups and re-
cord it for reference in relocating these suspension points.
Cut the rear crossmember out of the car as aunit with
the rear inboard suspension pick-ups intact. This can be
accomplished by drilling out the spot welds on either end
from inside the fender wells and cutting as shown with
an air chisel. This operation should be done carefully so
damage to this unit is not sustained while removing it.
While
the
rear
crossmember
unit
is
removed
from
the
Pilot Holes Drilled In Forward Rear Suspension Brackets
car additional T.I.G. welding on the suspension brackets
and associated panels is recommended to supplement the
existing spot welds. Also, 112 inch washers should be
welded on the suspension tabs.
Cut the rear crossmember as required to allow it to
be raised vertically in the car by
1-112 inches. Use the
scribe marks made previously.
The forward inboard pick-ups of the rear suspension
are less critical, but they should be raised also as much as
practical. These pick-up points are drilled after the body
is assembled at Bertone, so there will be some variation
from side to side in the amount of clearance above the
existing hole. Typically, these holes can be raised about
9/16 inch and just redrilled in the existing bracket. Check
your car on
both
sides to be sure how much you can
raise the holes and still clear the suspension arm.
Centerpunch the foward brackets 9/16 inch above
the existing hole, or other
dimension (as determined
above).
rill
a small pilot hole through both sides of
Modified Rear Crossmember Clamped In Place For Welding
both brackets.
Weld the original holes shut in the forward brackets
-
and grind them flush.
Drill the new holes to size.
In
order to change the
inboard rear suspension bushings to 112 inch spherical
joints, these holes should be drilled to 112 inch.
Clamp the modified rear crossmember in its new po-
sition and install the two transverse rear control arms in
place with bolts through all
4
inner pick-up brackets to
insure proper relative alignment.
T.I.G. weld the rear crossmember in place.
Rear
Strut Modificatibns
The function of the rear struts includes provision of a suit-
able spring and damping unit as well as part of the sus-
pension geometry control as discussed earlier. The spring
and damping function is a compromise, which must be
stiff enough to limit deflections and resultant geometry
changes and to prevent suspension bottoming under nor-
mal racing conditions, and yet be soft enough to minimize
Modified Rear Crossmember Welded In Place
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