Torsion bar socket angle

Hello,
I'm attempting to install my torsion bars on my 69 coronet. A little background, I purchased the car halfway through a build in boxes. The previous owner did full floors/crossmember and installed most of the Hotchkis TVS kit. I dropped a 5.7 Hemi/Tr6060 in, added a USCT Level 2 stiffening kit and added some more support to compensate for cutting the tunnel and crossmember. And no, It didn't sag with engine weight, it's quite solid with that extra crossmember I put in behind the repop.

Anyways as you can see... crossmember and/or torsion socket is at the wrong angle and not allowing the bar to go in without serious binding. Looking through it like a scope (img 4), the socket would have the crosshair a little over an inch below the LCA socket. A search on here showed this has been known to be an issue with repop crossmembers but I could not find any tried and true solutions.





The way I see it, I have 3 options:
1. Loosen the k member bolts enough to get the bar to slide in and then zip it back up. I'm just worried that the bend in the bar may be less than ideal and cause stress since it was designed for rotational load.not bending load. Right? This is my first torsion bar car.

2. Cut a small relief cut in the welded area above and below the socket on the crossmember, bend /adjust to the proper angle, and then re-weld. I would also cut the floor out above and reinforce from the inside. Still worried this might weaken it.

3. Say screw it and invest in a coilover kit. I already have the inner fender supports in.

What are your guys' thoughts? I'm thinking option 2 is probably my safest (and cheapest) bet has anyone else dealt with this same issue?

Thanks!
-Rick

Maybe James @PST can comment on it.

The more aftermarket crap you throw at it the worse the problems become.... And to fix it your plan is to throw more aftermarket crap at it.... Cut out that crossmember & replace it with a proper OE part....

I'd guess that the actual issue is that your LCA socket is positioned higher than the OE location.

option 2..... cut it, weld it. and move on

there is only one option. cut it out and align everything correctly.

I did not see this mentioned in your initial post, but are you having this issue on both sides or just the drivers side? I do notices there is a decent angle on the rear socket. This could be in part in to a manufacturing issue but I will lean towards an proper fitment prior to the welding in of the cross member. When I have installed cross members in the past I would either track weld or tech screw the crossmember in place and test fit torsion bars prior to welding.

One thought to correct your issue prior cutting our and welding is putting a screw stand under the rear socket and applying some pressure and see if you can reduce that angle. I would not go crazy. But in all reality if it were mine I would cut out that side and re weld it back in. You will have less time in cutting and welding then you would doing a coil conversion.

Thanks
James From
PST

The socket on the T bar fitting to the x-member will allow for some misalignment. Clean all the paint off the ends of the sockets and apply liberal grease for corrosion protection. You can try dropping the K and inch or two, then install the t bar, and bolt up the K. This is the simplest solution. Your alignment looks off quite a bit so no guarantees here. You can straight edge the torsion bar after install to verify if its too much, but I honestly think it will not affect the bar's function. The guy who owns this car after you will curse your name when he can't get slide the T bars out!

I think solution 2 may take more cutting and welding than you think. On my race car, it has old-school large diameter torsion bars. To get the car to sit low without using dropped spindles I re-index the hexes in the cross member. I recall that it was quite a lot of cutting as they are welded in pretty solid. This still seems like a good option to me after trying #1.

Don't throw your money at #3. You are so close!

Thanks for the responses. To answer your question James, it is equal on both sides and I already put a screw jack under the socket to see if it had any flex in it but it just lifted up the entire car. The crossmember is fully welded in there and is very heavy gauge metal. Taking the entire thing out is not an option, especially since there are 2 sets of frame connectors. ...I know it's overkill but I opted to keep the Hotchkiss set in in after I put the the USCT set in to attach to my second crossmember to make up for the tunnel cut.

I'm going route # 2 and will be cutting and adjusting the angle of the socket. It really only needs a small tweak to be aligned. I am confident in my ability to re-weld the area and will I think I can get it reinforced stronger than it previously was. Obviously not worried about looking stock. I will report back with pictures!

-Rick

Good news, I was able to get the socket aligned perfectly. After cutting the front of the crossmember and bending it up slightly I could get the torsion bar to slide in and out like butter. I'll weld the seams shut, make a nice wide fish plate with a hole for the socket, and then weld that over top. It'll be stronger than stock.

The bad news. The hole in my supplemental rear crossmember is now misaligned and doesn't allow me to slide the bar through it for installation... Going to have to change that design up a bit and do some cutting back there. Crisis averted for now.

Just wanted to follow up with my fix for anyone searching in the future. Got everything welded up and reinforced and it fits great now. Finally supporting its own weight! Additionally, I found the manufacturer of the crossmember did not get great penetration on those sockets looking on the inside. I would advise anyone replacing them to weld it up on the inside too before the floors go in. It's stronger than ever now with the fish plates.