Do you know why front axles look like they do?
Here is a short history.

Be safe & keep busy ----------------- George Goddard
It all began with the "Kurtis FX" front axle.
ACKERMAN STEERING
When the car goes through the corners, the left front wheel should turn more than the right front wheel so that the car will run free and there will be no tire scrubbing.

True Ackerman Steering -
If the spindle arms are coming off the backside of the spindles you draw a line from the spindle bolt through the hole in the arm and back to the rear axle. If the lines from both spindles intersect in the middle of the rear axle you will have True Ackerman Steering.

(With the steering in front of the axle you can only get an approximation of Ackerman steering.)
1976 Fast Track Catalog
Here is a picture of a page from the 1976 Fast Track catalog showing parts for the FX and FEX cars.
When the FX was first introduced at the Nationals in Glendale, AZ it featured cross rear torsion and a new Swept Front Axle.
This axle gave the drivers more leg room than the older straight axles.
The steering was in front of the axle.
To provide for Ackerman steering
several things were done
  • The two steering rods coming off the steering shaft are mounted on 2 tabs and cross over each other - so when you turn left, the left steering rod will turn the left wheel faster than the right wheel.
  • The left spindle has 2 holes - the steering rod is attached in the hole closest to the spindle so again - the left spindle will turn quicker than the right.
Following the FX, Kurtis introduced the FEX which had a dropped axle and the steering behind the axle.
This allowed for True Ackerman Steering (see left).
There was only one steering rod from the steering shaft to the RF spindle and then there was a drag link (or one steering rod) from the RF spindle to the LF spindle.
This continued for some time but things were about to change when the new tires came out ---
(click on link to continue the story)
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