How To Install A Four-Link Rear Suspension

A few days later, we were back at Reenmachine after the link brackets had been installed at a welding shop. Shown here on the driver side are the axle mount for the Panhard rod and the link bracket. The passenger side also has its link bracket installed. The link brackets are installed 43 inches apart, equidistant from the outer ends of the housing, not from the center of the third member or pinion yoke.

Before installation began, Reenmachine treated all the bare metal parts to a few coats of semigloss black spray paint.

The coilover crossmember end saddles need to be installed in a specific location, determined by measuring from the back edge of the saddle to the center of the leaf-spring shackle hole. The distance between the two needs to be exactly 16 3/8 inches. A diagram in the Heidts instructions clearly shows how the measurement is determined. Note here that the saddle is in place at the front of the photo while the measurement is being taken. With some cars, the saddle will need to be trimmed to clear the axle-snubber bracket because the placement of the snubber bracket on the framerails varies from car to car.

The area that needs to be trimmed is highlighted with a marker.

Then it's trimmed with a cutoff wheel.

The front link brackets are test-fitted by positioning them in the front leaf-spring pocket on the front framerails, and they're located using the front holes on the front leaf-spring mounts. Drill -inch holes through the framerails using the bracket as a template. At this point, Reenmachine realized they needed an angle drill to access some of the holes. So that waited until the next day while we returned to the coilover crossmember and its side saddle brackets.

With the saddle trimmed, we were able to get it into position next to the snubber bracket exactly 16 3/8 inches from the center of the leaf-spring shackle hole. Tapping it into place with a plastic hammer got it into final position.

With the saddle brackets in place, the coilover crossmember is set into place for the holes that need to be drilled for the saddle brackets. Assemble the crossmember and end saddles using the supplied -inch bolts. Leave the bolts loose as its width will need to be adjusted to the framerails. The saddle bracket with the Panhard-rod mount goes on the passenger side of the car and installs the same way as the bracket on the driver side, shown in place here.

With the crossmember and saddles in place, drill the required -inch holes using the crossmember end saddles as templates.

Securely tighten all hardware, including those that attach the saddles to the framerails...

...and the coilover crossmember to the saddles.

After the purchase of an angle drill, we returned to the front link brackets. The drill allowed us to get a straight shot for drilling the holes near the rocker panel. With a standard drill, there wasn't enough room to fit the drill itself because the rocker panel was in the way.