Banana arm question with pictures

[Amstaff]

This was an auto cross car when I got it and always wondered what the deal was with the banana arms. This is in a 1972 911 T

If I bolt the shock directly to the banana arm the shock will rub on the cv axle.

Any ideas?

[Amstaff]

For what it's worth I popped a magnet on it and it is steel.

[HarryD]

It looks like a modification of some sort. what else is non-factory about the suspension setup. Here is a shot of my 1973 rear lower shock mount, which is stock.

[Amstaff]

I don't know a lot about it but I understand that it has oversized torsion bars, front rear sway bars, brake upgrade etc.

That steel plate moves the shock out about 2" which allows the shock to miss the cv axel.

What modifications would cause you to add this plate?

[Evans, Marv]

Just an off the wall thought, because I don't know exactly what the difference in dimensions are. Could somebody have put SWB arms on the car and compensated by fabbing the plate to make up for the difference??

[chris_seven]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Just an off the wall thought, because I don't know exactly what the difference in dimensions are. Could somebody have put SWB arms on the car and compensated by fabbing the plate to make up for the difference??

No - The SWB arms just don't fit as the brackets on the torsion bar tube are located in the wrong place and would move the rear wheels too far inward and would also bring the wheel too far forward relative to the wheel arch. They are visually very different and these aren't SWB Arms The drive shafts would also be incompatible.

There are two generations of steel Trailing Arms fitted to LWB cars and the difference is the shock absorber mounting position.

In 1972 the rear parcel shelf design and rear shock turret location changed and this caused a change in the shock mounting position.

It looks as if you have an early steel arm and a later shell.

You can just fabricate a new mount to locate the shock so it clears and it won't cause any real issues - it may have a very minor influence on the damper rate at the wheel but I would be surprised if it was noticeable whilst driving.

The way this has been done on the arms fitted to your car is quite crude and there are more elegant solutions but I imagine it works even if it looks terrible.