[DML] Re: Torsion Bars reversed?

["tmpintnl" <tobyp@xxxx>]

Martin and List - We had a spirited discussion of this topic at the 
annual PNDC Christmas party tonight, and I must admit that I had a 
flaw in my logic that had to be personally beat into me by Gary 
Hull. I failed to consider that the "stationary end" of the bar must 
remain at the aft end, regardless of which bar is used. The forward 
end must always be the "moving end" because of it's attachment to the 
forward hinge. This consideration makes it impossible to reverse the 
bars. My sincere apologies to all for my mistake. And 'thank you' 
to Gary for having the patience to gently lead me to the correct 
conclusion. BTW - We are working to locate the car that has the dual 
gas struts installed. I looked at the installation over a year ago, 
but I think that I can remember the details. This configuration 
could allow the preload on the bars to be reduced, which would extend 
the life of the bars considerably. The bars are designed to operate 
at 80% - 95% of ultimate strength according to the patent 
documentation ... keeping the working stresses to the lower end would 
be a great benefit in terms of fatigue life.

Toby Peterson VIN 2248
Winged1 


--- In dmcnews@xxxx, Martin Gutkowski <webmaster@xxxx> wrote:
> Sorry, Toby, you're wrong. As I said to James Grant when he posted 
the same suggestion -