New Build Question

[Machz]

I'm going to do a complete restoration on my Manx buggy. Options available to me are either IRS Chassis with body lift and with front end nose changed or a swing axle chassis. Powering it with a 1915. Street use only. Looking for a recommendation or opinion on which is best to use.

[Don Giovanoni]

If your body is an original Manx (not a Manx 2) then you will have to do some surgery on the battery box and the spare tire well to make room for the IRS pivots. I did this on a previous Manx restore - if you are going to paint the body anyway this is no big deal. With today's small sealed batteries you could even put a battery on its side and keep it in the original location. The swing axle setup is lighter and less complicated, but rear camber will depend on tire size, etc. An easy method of preventing tuck under is to weld a small wedge shaped piece of metal on top of the spring plate stop. Wheels still arc on the way up but then cannot tuck under. There is no "correct" answer; there are zillions of buggy miles on both types! Good luck!

[Don Giovanoni]

I missed the part about the lift kit on the IRS; I didn't expect that for a street buggy. The lift kit may give enough clearance without body surgery. You will probably need some big tires to make it look good on the street unless you start going long travel...

[mel hubbard]

[QUOTE="Machz"]I'm going to do a complete restoration on my Manx buggy. Options available to me are either IRS Chassis with body lift and with front end nose changed or a swing axle chassis. Powering it with a 1915. Street use only. Looking for a recommendation or opinion on which is best to use.[/QUOTE] Hi Machz :hello: Good luck with the resto,,, given the choice I would go link-pin front end if starting from scratch,,, I agree with Don,, ''There is no correct ansewer'' on IRS or S/A. ''Street use only''??? I bet your be very tempted to kick up some dirt :rock: you MUST

[fubar]

even if you are 100% street driving, you are less likely to roll it with IRS. A lot of lifted trucks never see the dirt but still look good. But if you drive mellow and already have the swing axle set up?????Flip a coin maybe.

[atinkle]

Don, I have a swing axel and would like to prevent tuck under. I can not picture in my mind how you mean to install the wedge. Do you have any pictures you could post?

[newmanx59]

To prevent the rear wheels from tucking under you can also run a camber compensator and/or limit straps. I have a friend that autocrosses his swing axle buggy and he is only running a camber compensator. The thing spanning the 2 axle tubes with the red urethane ends is the camber compensator on my Manx.

[Don Giovanoni]

[QUOTE="atinkle"]Don, I have a swing axel and would like to prevent tuck under. I can not picture in my mind how you mean to install the wedge. Do you have any pictures you could post?[/QUOTE] No pics, my Siggy is IRS and I have a camber compensator on the SR. For street use the camber compensator is probably the easiest install. For off road use the skid plate would get in the way of a camber compensator. What we did in the 70s for our off road tube frame buggys was to raise the spring plate stop. Look at the stop on the torsion under the spring plate - the stop slops downward and at full droop allows the axles to tuck under. Welding a small wedge shaped piece of metal on top of the stop raises it, not allowing the axles to droop so far. Bugpack and others used to sell a U-shaped piece of metal that went on the bottom of the spring plate which effectively did the same thing using the stock stop. It was held on by a couple of allen bolts. Never used one but the idea is the same. BTW, we always installed straps to keep the spring plates from jumping off of the stop. I'm sure weld on kits are still available. How necesary? Dunno, but always had them on our swing axle tube frame buggys that we really jumped and hammered. I hope no one treats their Manx that bad! FWIW, good luck,

[joemama]

As Don mentioned, strap kits can be used to keep the spring plates from sliding off the stop, sometimes the stop is worn out so it no longer is a flat surface, but slopes down and is more likely to allow the spring plate from sliding off. If you use a strap, you can weld a stop to it, to keep the tires from drooping too far, and if for some reason you dont want to use the stop, you can unbolt the straps, turn them around, and allow the tires to droop.