[Tigers] ADU311B, Classic M/Sport, Carroll and Factory

[awtiger at cox.net]

Jeff:

You're correct...Klaus Arning was heavily involved in the design of the coil-sprung chassis and does get credit for it in several books.  My info, however, came directly from Bob Negstad himself.  I used to be on the BOD of the Oklahoma Region of SAAC years ago and we had Bob in once as our keynote speaker at what was formerly known as the "Mid-America Shelby Meet" in Tulsa, OK.  It is my recollection that he was the head of the chassis design department at Ford at the time and, as such, he took credit for the coil-spung Cobra chassis.  Maybe time allowed some embelishment of the story; at this point, who knows!

Thanks for the info,
Andy Walker
Edmond, OK
B382001600LRXFE
TAC #740

---- Jeffrey Nichols <jxnichols at sbcglobal.net> wrote: 
> "they offered up their design computers and one Bob Negstad, who was the
> lead Ford GT project engineer. The design of the chassis and suspension of
> the 427 Cobra was due to Bob's work and expertise in the field of chassis
> design. It's always been my understanding that guys like Phil Remingtonand
> Ken Miles were heavily involved in the informational side of the project,
> but we have Ford and Bob Negstad to thank for the design of the coil-spring
> Cobra chassis." 
> 
>  
> 
> There was another Ford engineer involved with the Shelby 427 chassis.  Klaus
> Arning was the suspension wizard who was one of the first, if not the first
> to use computers in suspension design.  Klaus Arning is credited in every
> book I have seen with designing the 427 Cobra suspension.  On the AC side,
> Alan Turner had a hand in designing the frame and suspension.  Alan Turner
> also designed the AC A98 coupe which raced at Le Mans in 1964 against
> Shelby's Daytona coupes. The two cars don't really resemble one another with
> the AC coupe having fenders like a Mercedes 300SL.   The car crashed with
> tragic results, killing three spectators.  AC gained notoriety for testing
> the car on the M1 and hitting speeds over 180mph before the Le Mans race.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> Jeff