Datsun 510 1600 adjustable rear crossmember

Lowering a Datsun 510 1600 increases negative camber and causes the rear wheels to toe out excessively. To assist turn in on cornering, reduce understeer,and improve directional stability rear toe in is desirable. Excessive camber reduces the the contact area of the tyre and contributes to wheel spin. Traditional methods for dealing with this problem is to slot the mounting brackets, lever the arms in to positon (hopefully) then weld the pivot bolt washers to the brackets. If the washers are not welded then movement of the pivot pins can take place. Of course if you need to change the rear alignment then the weld must be removed. Datsports adjustable rear crossmember overcomes these difficulties and allows for easy adjustment by the average wheel alignment specialist. Original arm mounting brackets are removed and replaced by jig welded 5mm laser cut brackets. Caged reinforced nuts for the 10mm stainless steel socket head adjusting screws are welded to the crossmember and the exhaust hole enlarged to enable fitment of a 3'' exhaust.The unit is then sand blasted and powder coated. Original rubber mountings are removed ready for fitment of new mounts or urethane replacements.

Adjustment is made by loosening the arm pivot nut and the adjuster lock nut. Screwing in the outer adjuster increases toe in and the inner adjuster increases camber. To decrease settings the adjuster is wound out and the lock nut is adjusted. Once desired settings are obtained the lock nut and pivot nut are tightened.This system allows for repeated fine adjustments without the slipping that takes place with a normal type "slotted crossmember"

Our first production adjustable rear crossmember was fitted with cam type adjusters. This system worked ok but was difficult for wheel aligners to adjust and was not accurate as the arms had to be levered into position to prevent wear on the cams. Version 2 (pictured) was much easier to adjust,had extra travel and was much more robust.
Our continuing policy of improving products has resulted in ARC Version 3.This is a major redesign. Mounting bolts,brackets & method of fixing to the crossmember have been upgraded. Due to the Datsun 510 swing axle geometry it is apparent that when altering the position of the rear arms, to correct alignment of the rear wheels after lowering, that distortion of the arm bushes can occur. This distortion causes binding of the arms and excess wear of the bushes.The arms pivot in an arc but the pins stay parallel to the brackets. The only real fix for this is to use expensive mono balls & pivots. By the use of a new jig, consisting of a series of interlocking threaded sleeves, the arm pivot brackets are assembled in alignment on the jig. This assembly is then jig welded to the crossmember positioning the pins in alignment to the "sweet spot". This ensures minimal distortion of the arm bushes and smoother movement of the swing arms. Version 3.1 was a minor upgrade to the bracket design & position.
Version 4 is now ready for the fitment of R200 diffs as well as R160/180. The V4 adjusting bolts are now custom billet 4140 steel and will accept the std control arm crush tube & bushings.