69 Notch Barracuda - Rebirth
In preparing to dry-fit the headers in the next week or so, I did a trial-run of removing the torsion bars tonight. My plan is to eventually get 1.03” (PST, Firm Feel, etc) bars, which will allow me to lower the ride height without the front end bottoming out on the bump stops (from what I’ve read anyway). I also have a 1.5” lowering block kit for the back end. I want the whole car to ride as low as possible, within reason and mechanical tolerances... nothing too radical.
I learned a lot about the front suspension system... and I have a lot more to learn. One thing I learned... take notes on every nut, clip, etc, since when you put it back together, and if you cross the same hardware off the list during reassembly, you’ll be more likely to get it together correctly.
Torsion bars (I just did one, then reinstalled it) were super easy to remove. I followed the manual, but it was a tad thin on the details. Once I wire-wheeled the gunked-filled cavity and clip at the end of the bar, I marked the end of the bar, as well as the hex slot built into the frame (for reassembly). I then removed the clip in the rear and stacked a couple of vice grips to try and drive the bar to the rear. What finally got it moving was to remove the nut on the end of the upper control arm, then rap on the threaded control arm post toward the rear. This pushed the t-bar to the point where I could then drive on the stack of vice grips, which finally pushed the t-bar out.
In preparing to dry-fit the headers in the next week or so, I did a trial-run of removing the torsion bars tonight. My plan is to eventually get 1.03” (PST, Firm Feel, etc) bars, which will allow me to lower the ride height without the front end bottoming out on the bump stops (from what I’ve read anyway). I also have a 1.5” lowering block kit for the back end. I want the whole car to ride as low as possible, within reason and mechanical tolerances... nothing too radical.
I learned a lot about the front suspension system... and I have a lot more to learn. One thing I learned... take notes on every nut, clip, etc, since when you put it back together, and if you cross the same hardware off the list during reassembly, you’ll be more likely to get it together correctly.
Torsion bars (I just did one, then reinstalled it) were super easy to remove. I followed the manual, but it was a tad thin on the details. Once I wire-wheeled the gunked-filled cavity and clip at the end of the bar, I marked the end of the bar, as well as the hex slot built into the frame (for reassembly). I then removed the clip in the rear and stacked a couple of vice grips to try and drive the bar to the rear. What finally got it moving was to remove the nut on the end of the upper control arm, then rap on the threaded control arm post toward the rear. This pushed the t-bar to the point where I could then drive on the stack of vice grips, which finally pushed the t-bar out.