Re: I have a strange idea
 

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That's nit exactly what I'm describing... Should I draw it out?

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Let me see if I've got a good pic of the 'Link's rear arm arrangement at home. From re-reading your first post I think the rear of the 'Link is exactly what you're describing, but there's only one way for me to find out.

Re: I have a strange idea
 

isn't a links the setup where you mount a center section the frame, ala independent suspension, and then attach the hubs to a solid beam or "axle" and use halfshafts from the center section to the hubs. Since I saw that setup in a chassis fabrication book I have been intersted in its applications in crawling. Clearance of a good independent setup, forced articulation of solid axle, but still the high cost of custom independent suspension.

doh nvm, I am speaking of another suspension setup I can't put a name to. Can anyone name it? Its bugging me now and I don't have the book I read around me.

Re: I have a strange idea
 

It's called a deDion axle. All of the unsprung weight of a solid axle with the ground clearence loss under braking/weight transfer of an IRS/IFS.

I looked at my pics of the ChainLink and there isn't a good one of the rear layout.
Bascially it's rear trailing arms pivot around the tube of the 9" housing. The drive chain wraps around a sprocket bolted to a floater hub and runs down thru the trailing arm to the rear tire. The chain could run along the outside of the arm, but Cam opted to enclose it for safety.

Check out www.chaindriverails.com Hes done basically what your talking about except with using a VW transaxle. Hes running a caddy northstar on propane w/ studded 44s and his grade 80 chains hold up.

John

RJ, Are you by chance thinking of the way that the old chain-drive Mack trucks worked?

I don't know really........

Looks like it's been done though

I'm kind of pissed and kind of relieved

When don't you? :grin:

But on the chain drive idea, I have seen similar things before. It would give you an almost infinately adjustable gear ratio's up until the sprocket size becomes an issue. Best way to do it would be to put the chain inside a guarded trailing arm setup. But you cant allow the sprocket on the wheel end to rotate out of plane with the sprocket on the axle end. It would make the chain jump off.

If you were doing that why not use hydralic motors, We have a Wilmar Wrangler at work, and it has all hydralic motors, not fast by anymeans but the Fairway mowers they had at the golfcourse I used to work at were damn fast.
Wrangler
http://www.willmar.agcocorp.com/Imag...4500_250px.gif
Mower
http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCa...63491_2col.jpg