Advice on Torsion Bars ???

[OldRunner]

I have a 67 Coronet 528 Hemi car, last year, started to set up for more racing, I am now looking at the Torsion bars I have, which are the .92 Hemi bars. Want to get the front wheels to lift. Keeping in mind I still want to drive this car on the street, what is the best torsion bar to use , the 6 cyl bars or the 318 bars ? or is there any significant difference between the two.

Thanks

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Hemis are front heavy, 6 cylinder t bars might be too weak. I have /6 bars in mine with a great set of double adjustable shocks. If your front shocks are marginal nothing is going to help you unless you have gobs of torque.

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And the proper torque converter is a must to get you in the sweet spot on launch.

 

[OldRunner]

Thanks, I have lots of torque, Cal Tracs rear, 90/10 shocks up front, Dana 410, Presently running 11.50 in the 1/4 , should run low 11s when I get the right set up. I have not lightend front end yet except removal of heavy sway bar. I am contemplating, glass hood, glass front bumper, and the torsion bars ?? Would like to get the front wheels off the ground, trying to guess what it will take to do that. I am sure the answer is all of the above !!!! I thought I would start with the Torsion bars, thus my question.
Thanks

 

[daredevil]

528 hemi,I would think slicks and converter would be all it takes.

 

[Cranky]

The rear suspension is important too. What do you have back there? My last car which ran 10.60's had /6 bars but my rear was a ladder bar set up and it would yank the front up up too quick only to land too quick and unload the rear tires. After chasing my tail for a good bit, a good set of front shocks did the trick to help tame it down some. Instead of picking up the fronts a good foot and then landing too quick, it would pick up the fronts about 3" but would carry them out further before landing easily. That ended the traction issues. Is your Hemi all cast iron? If you have aluminum heads etc, then the weight might not be a factor so much but knowing front to rear weight bias would help make a decision on springs and if you plan on taking weight off the front, then you might wait until you are done with that so you can weigh the results then pick springs.

 

[OldRunner]

I run M&H 275/60/15, I have the convertor. The hemi has Indy alum Heads, the rear is CalTracs and Caltracs Mono Leaf, with Caltracs adjustable rear shocks, and Caltracs 90/10 front shocks. Now I am still playing with the Caltracs, the last run last fall was my best, still a work in progress .

 

[Budnicks]

for the 1968 B Body Belvedere/Satellite {can use on others} there is 0.86"x 41" Slant Six torsion bars... then there's the 0.88"x 41" for 273-318-even 383 & Station Wagon torsion bars... then there's the "Heavy Duty Suspension" 0.90"x 41" torsion bars... then there's the 0.92"x 41" Police 440-426 torsion bars.... I would say if your worried about driving it on the street with decent handling & street driving capabilities, I would highly suggest the middle of the road either the 0.88" or 0.90"x 41" bars, not even mess with the Slant Six/0.86" torsion bars at all... still get plenty of lift & not bottom out everywhere... good luck

 

[OldRunner]

Thanks for all your advice, I am going to use a set of 318 bars I have, not going to use the 6 cly bars.

 

[snakeoil24]

Also install double skid plates on it. Lots of motor on the street

 

[383man]

I use the stock 383 bars in my 63 Sport Fury with a 440/493. It spun in this pic as it will usually get more air when it hooks good as it seems to have normal front end rise. My 60 was not real good on this pass as it was a 1.56 with a 10.83. But when it hooked it ran 10.70's with a 1.50 sixty. The suspension is all stock other then the Comp 90/10 front shocks and SS springs in the rear. It is a street car I drive alot so I stayed with the stock bars so it would handle ok. Seems to give me the best of both worlds as it has more rise when it hooks and handles good on the street. I would not use the 6 bars in yours on the street either. I agree with trying the 318 bars. In fact my sons 72 Dart has stock 318 bars and it has a 400 bigblock in it now. The 318 bars work fine for him. Ron

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Here is my sons Dart leaving. It usually 60's in the low 1.60's with a best of 1.60 and 11.45 is its best et. Thats with the 400 bigblock and stock 318 torsion bars. Good luck with yours , Ron

 

[IQ52]

My torsion bar advise is: If you are going to weld on your car, don't put the ground clamp on the torsion bar.

 

[Budnicks]

My torsion bar advise is: If you are going to weld on your car, don't put the ground clamp on the torsion bar.

yeah...LOL... do tell IQ52 the story...

 

[IQ52]

It put a very tiny arc spall on the torsion bar. Two days later, never having moved the car and while just sitting in the garage, there was a very large SNAP, THUD and the bar twisted right in half, e-x-a-c-t-l-y where the arc mark was.

 

[383man]

It put a very tiny arc spall on the torsion bar. Two days later, never having moved the car and while just sitting in the garage, there was a very large SNAP, THUD and the bar twisted right in half, e-x-a-c-t-l-y where the arc mark was.

EEEEEk ! Never had a torsion break on me and hope I never do. But I have not hooked the ground clamp of my welder on one. Glad that happened in the garage and not on the road. Ron

 

[Budnicks]

It put a very tiny arc spall on the torsion bar. Two days later, never having moved the car and while just sitting in the garage, there was a very large SNAP, THUD and the bar twisted right in half, e-x-a-c-t-l-y where the arc mark was.

Sorry to here that......DAMN

 

[67 coronet]

The rear suspension is important too. What do you have back there? My last car which ran 10.60's had /6 bars but my rear was a ladder bar set up and it would yank the front up up too quick only to land too quick and unload the rear tires. After chasing my tail for a good bit, a good set of front shocks did the trick to help tame it down some. Instead of picking up the fronts a good foot and then landing too quick, it would pick up the fronts about 3" but would carry them out further before landing easily. That ended the traction issues. Is your Hemi all cast iron? If you have aluminum heads etc, then the weight might not be a factor so much but knowing front to rear weight bias would help make a decision on springs and if you plan on taking weight off the front, then you might wait until you are done with that so you can weigh the results then pick springs.

thats some great info there cranky.easy up and easy down are dam important,not to mention never too high.gotta laugh every time i see a launch bounce a couple times.

 

[moparbob498]

I have 318 torsion bars in my R/T....and am going to istall the factory 440/426 T-bars (after i make a few passes this year) as i plan on pro-streeting my car....my milodon pan (8 qt.) Noids me out with street driving & speed bumps in parkinglots.... cant imagine wheel stands & landing with small-ish T-bars to control the abrupt gravity thing......hemi headers & aftermarket pans arent cheap.....i'd try the 383 bars personally. But good luck with your choice & be safe...

 

[dvw]

It all depends on how much pitch/rotation your combo needs. Ron's car picks the wheels up higher than my 9.30 64 Belvedere. However I haven't had any issue with tire spin with 10.5 slicks. I'd start with the 318 bars and test from there. Cal Tracks work well but the tuning window narrows as the power level goes up. Calvert always is a big proponent of a lot of front end travel. The trick is to control the rate/speed of the front end. Believe it or not a slow rising front suspension actually loads the rear tires harder.
Doug