Is this Bubba's Homemade CalTracs system?

[fesser]

I've only owned this 68 Coronet for a couple of weeks. I traded for it sight unseen. Due to a medical issue I haven't had the ability to crawl all over it to see what I got. Finally got to take a limited look underneath the car today and found a traction bar setup I haven't seen before. It looks homemade or modified especially on the front end. Seems like a lot of load would be put on the one sided front mount.
This is the front mount (driver's side)...


This is looking toward the rear...



And this is the rear mount, which actually doesn't look homemade...



This car sat in a garage for about 30 years according to the guy I got it from, so this might be some old tech stuff that Bubba tweaked on. Any ideas?

 

[R413]

Looks like this, but your are missing the other bracket.

 

[fesser]

Looks like this, but your are missing the other bracket.

So, it was a real thing at some point in time. Interesting.

 

[Kern Dog]

I thought some Imperials had something like that at one time.

 

[AR67GTX]

The axle mount looks well fabricated but the forward mount looks a little shade tree with a single shaft mount and all those washers for a spacer.

 

[33 IMP]

They look like TractionMasters to me, with part of the front mount missing.
I think corvette used something similar, from the factory, in the fifties and early sixties.

 

[fesser]

They look like TractionMasters to me, with part of the front mount missing.
I think corvette used something similar, from the factory, in the fifties and early sixties.

Never heard of them so I googled and found...

I am amazed that it was designed with only one arm in front. Who knows, I may do a washer delete on the front and leave them on there. They may not be the same brand but this sure shows that the design was out there. Thanks 33 Imp.

Reading further on their web page, they point out that their bars are stamped with M-1, which is visible on the bars on my car.

 

[AR67GTX]

Im amazed by the one arm too but they have obviously been on there a long time and it looks straight and not tweaked. I agree I would try to reduce the shim pack though if you plan to stick with them.

 

[33 IMP]

Never heard of them so I googled and found...

View attachment 1368719

I am amazed that it was designed with only one arm in front. Who knows, I may do a washer delete on the front and leave them on there. They may not be the same brand but this sure shows that the design was out there. Thanks 33 Imp.

Reading further on their web page, they point out that their bars are stamped with M-1, which is visible on the bars on my car.

Cool. Glad the mystery is solved.

 

[fesser]

After 33IMP solved my mystery, I emailed my pictures to Traction Masters and asked if they could provide any information. To my surprise I received the following prompt reply:

Frank,

That is our part number TM 3064.

Looks complete and original. The stacked washers are correct,
they are to center the bar under the leafs.

My guess is the bars were installed shortly after the car was purchased or
even installed by the dealer.

Chuck
Traction Master Co.

I was pleasantly surprised and now I plan to leave them on the car.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Cool..

 

[1STMP]

From what I see, there's nothing wrong with
that set-up other than some very old and
dried out bushings. (it's lasted this long with
no bent or broken parts). Most of the forces
applied in a wheel hop, force the pinion
angle up, hence the beefier bracket
mounted under the axle which is where
the twist is controlled.
"Slapper' type bars aren't even
attached at one end and come into contact
with the spring via rubber snubbers, just
to give you some idea of the forces on
that one legged bracket with the washers.
Basically what you're trying to control is
the frequency at which wheel hop occurs,
which is typically between 9 to 15 Htz.
Ideally 3 Htz is optimal for the rear.
Gotta have some slip or you're going
be fixing things.