I'm pretty sick of the rear end of my coupe constantly letting me down around badly surfaced bends.
I've noted some unusual leaf setups some of you have that help but ultimately that big live axel just kicks the back end right out of track over anything but smooth concrete. I've done some searching on this websight but havent found anything about Independant Rear Suspension conversions.
I've seen pictures of a wagon modded with IRS on the web but buggered if i can find it again.
It'd be a huge task especially with the under boot tank but what dividends it would reap!
Has anyone ever investigated this option? Can anyone tell me what sort of dramas i'd need to consider before embarking on this level of engineering madness.
Can anyone point me in the direction of the websight with pics of the red wagon with IRS?

Currently i run a 120Y borgwarner (sedan i think) with 120Y leaves and pretty hard pedders.
Prior to this i had soft original coupe leaves. The wagon leaves eliminated the previous tramp issues but did nothing to aleviate the massive kick in the rear end i cop when hitting bumps, nor the sideways kick i cop on bends with potholes.
All advice/comments would be welcomed

fitting IRS to a 1200/120Y would be a mission and a headache to the inexperienced. it would also weigh significantly more than a live axle setup.

where do you drive normally? gravel roads? i've always found a live axle rear end more 'predictable' on the hard stuff, as LSD / locked IRS tends to swing from +ve to -ve camber under braking / acceleration.

to put it lightly, unless you're doing the work yourself with an FC3s RX7 IRS setup, or R200, or whatever - you'll be paying thru the nose. you better have a good jig set up for the rear end too, and find compatible arms, driveshafts (okay, they can be shortened) etc etc.

i personally think your best bet would be to convert to a 2 link setup at the moment, and see if that stops your tramping and hopping. if not, then remove the rear leaves altogether, and utilise the existing spring hangers and fabricate a 4 link / coilover setup with a panhard rod.

in the end, this WILL be the cheaper option by about a third, with possibly the same - of not better - results.

long live the live axle.

Its not a job to be taken lightly.
My 1000 coupe is still in the process of conversion and at this stage it aint pretty. Nor anywhere near finished.
When the cars in my shed I will take some pics so you can see how I'm progressing.

I have driven quite a few cars in different states of tune and hp with all the different set ups, live rear, linked live rear, linked coil-over rear and IRS and personally of all of them I find linked coil-over is the best. I agree with pro-240c it will be heavier and I too really dislike the +ve to -ve movement. But thats just my opion, and coil overs, links and new shocks wouldnt be to hard to do on a coupe and it would make a world of difference.

I don't know of any 1200s with IRS completed ... but there is one 120Y:

120Y I found on another forum

I know of a guy in Brisbane who is the king with 1200 mods(CA ect).
I heard thru the grapevine he is fitting IRS to a ute.
If I hear anymore I will let you all know
Ade

good luck with ya project man, may be a bit of a hassle but the results should be sweet

I was making further enquiries regarding the rear suspension on the weekend and i'm thinking that the 2 link idea with a panhard road is the go.
adding another 2 links and making the front leaf spring hanger fully floating (like the rear hangers) was suggested as the next step but i agree with the previous comments about getting a coil spring in there as the best option. Trouble is i was looking under there yesterday and at my current ride height (which is a couple of inches too high) there was not much room between the top of the axle and the chassis rail. Cutting up chassis rails to increase spring room would require a lot more thought and getting in outside help i reckon (more cash). Fabricating a panhard rod and a couple of mounts for two foward links would be well within my capabilities. It'd be the end of the back seat option but thats only ever been in there for rego time anyway.
We'll see. When/if i get it done i'll post some pics and mabey a brief run down of how it was done.
Thanks for the advice all contributors.