M151A1 suspension again

[berniematic]

Hello
New here and new owner of a '66 A1. I've been reading the suspension posts. Lot of good stuff but raises my first questions. One of the posts suggests welding a chain inside the rear springs to limit the suspension travel and ultimately prevent the spring from departing from the assembly. Has anyone actually done that? Wouldn't the shock absorber act as a limiter when it gets to full extension? Or would the spring pull it apart?

Question #3 - The front 'frame' members on either side of the rear engine support and directly under the front floor have been cut out. Does anyone make something like stamped metal replacement chassis pieces?

Thanks a lot for any help

 

[m38inmaine]

The military made a under body repair kit to repair all of those areas, they seem to be harder to find now. I drove an A1 for quite some time unmodified and never had any problems, speed and inexperience are what cause accidents.

 

[nattieleather]

The chain idea was some peoples attempt at stopping roll over, but it didn't really work. The best thing in a M151 is to not take turns 75 deg. or more above 20 mph. When I was more involved with M151s I use to tell people if a dog runs out in front of you don't swerve to miss the dog...run it over because that quick jerk of the wheel is what will cause the problem. When taking a curve try to find the straightest line through the curve and take that. Don't bother with the chain idea it's not worth the time and effort that goes into making it.

As for the hat channel under the floor board. You might check with the folks making replacement parts to see if any one is making one. Keep your eyes open for the uni-body repair kit, but as M38inmaine said they are getting like hens teeth, or make your own if you have a metal brake and some fab skills.

Good luck and post up a pick of your ride.

 

[hambone]

Welcome Bern and congrats on your A1 purchase, you don't need the chain mod, just drive with common sense, Red river Parts sells the front underbody repair kit for $139, talk to Blake or Justin.

 

[berniematic]

Thank you all - I'll be tryin to drive carefully !

 

[Flyingvan911]

M151’s are a bunch of fun. Welcome to the site.