Torsion bar ?

[Aarons Air]

I'm going to display my ignorance, & ask a couple questions. Things i'm not sure of. I have a 68 net. Originally a 318 car, now with a 383. It still has the original torsion bars. Does the ( spring ) of these wear out like leaf springs ? If you replace them, should it be with new ones ? And if your going from a 318 to a 383 is changing them out to a heavier duty set necessary ? As its only about 50 pounds difference - i think.

 

[5.7 hemi]

Yes they do lose their spring over time. I’d replace them with some 1.03’s from PST. You’ll like the way your car handles after the change.

The factory tb’s were undersprung to begin with, so get bigger bars.

 

[oldbee]

I’d go bigger too, but I think a TB holds a lot better than a coil spring.

 

[moes]

318-525LB, 383-620LB. Yes they do wear after 50 years of use and the front starts to sag abit and it starts to bounce more when you hit a bump. The 318 car uses a .870 bar and a 383 car uses a .920 TB. We usually recommend for a 318 swap to a 383 to use a .960 bar and some customers want a 1.03. The bigger the bar the stiffer the front end will be. Make sure you get a front end alignment done if you change bars to.

 

[Aarons Air]

318-525LB, 383-620LB. Yes they do wear after 50 years of use and the front starts to sag abit and it starts to bounce more when you hit a bump. The 318 car uses a .870 bar and a 383 car uses a .920 TB. We usually recommend for a 318 swap to a 383 to use a .960 bar and some customers want a 1.03. The bigger the bar the stiffer the front end will be. Make sure you get a front end alignment done if you change bars to.

Thank you for all the info. Guess i was a li'l off on my engine weight estimate. A front end alignment was already in the plans. As i changed out most of the steering parts already.