B Body torsion bar lowering

[68rrdream]

Hello everyone! so I was perusing Offerup searching for my Mopar when I came across a '65 Coronet that I like but looks like it has been lowered. Seller is not sure but agrees it looks low. How much adjustment do you have to ride height for the torsion bars?

 

[1967coronet]

Prob 3" give or take.
Also keep in mind if someone set a RB engine on a set of 6 cyl. Bars that will drop it also plus handle like crap.
No matter if you raise it or drop it it will need a alignment.

 

[YY1]

a couple to a few inches unless something else is wrong.

 

[ckessel]

Mine was lowered, liked the stance. It's going to be that way again when it goes back together. Will have new bars, springs etc. The bars and springs on the car may be toast too since they are 58 years old but there is some adjustment possibilities for what it has as far as the bars are concerned.. Plus what was said above by 67.

 

[Kern Dog]

Prob 3" give or take.
Also keep in mind if someone set a RB engine on a set of 6 cyl. Bars that will drop it also plus handle like crap.
No matter if you raise it or drop it it will need a alignment.

Do you know this for sure or are you just repeating what you have heard?
Are you familiar with camber gain, caster sweeps and toe change? If not, please do the research before repeating what you hear others say.
Most RWD torsion bar era Mopars gain caster as the suspension is lowered as well as gaining negative camber. The toe goes out as well. 2 inches of change in ride height results in very little change in alignment. I just spent $240 to align my car after having the steering apart. I would not have spent that same money if I simply raised the car 2 inches.

 

[68rrdream]

Mine was lowered, liked the stance. It's going to be that way again when it goes back together. Will have new bars, springs etc. The bars and springs on the car may be toast too since they are 58 years old but there is some adjustment possibilities for what it has as far as the bars are concerned.. Plus what was said above by 67.

I was just checking out your red one. It's lower than that by maybe an inch? Maybe the same but with 14s. Never bothered asking the wheel size. But it's a 4 door so it has a low rider look to it. Not sure I like that for a mopar.

 

[cr8crshr]

Get a FSM...Factory Service Manual and it will help with the proper way of doing it. Also once you get the height as you want then it is time for a complete alignment otherwise your tolerances as Kern mentioned will be way off. But the first step is the FSM...Get It!!! cr8crshr/Bill

 

[68rrdream]

Get a FSM...Factory Service Manual and it will help with the proper way of doing it. Also once you get the height as you want then it is time for a complete alignment otherwise your tolerances as Kern mentioned will be way off. But the first step is the FSM...Get It!!! cr8crshr/Bill

Suppose it could help lol. I figured if I got the car I would figure out what was going on and take it from there.

 

[cr8crshr]

Suppose it could help lol. I figured if I got the car I would figure out what was going on and take it from there.

My Friend ya got a lot to learn about MOPARS and this hobby. It never will work out in that way for ya...Good Luck though!!! cr8crshjr/Bill

 

[68rrdream]

My Friend ya got a lot to learn about MOPARS and this hobby. It never will work out in that way for ya...Good Luck though!!! cr8crshjr/Bill

I mean I was a master tech for 15 years. Always seemed to go just fine. Don't have a ton of experience with classic Mopars though. Only torsion bar experience I want to say was on an SUV or truck. It's been a while lol!
Once I finally decide on a car I'll def grab that manual because you never know.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Download a service manual at the link below. Have front tires off the ground when making height adjustments. Service Manuals – MyMopar

 

[Cranky]

I lowered my 66 Belvedere to where the lower control arms bump stops were were within 1" of the stops. The car had a /6 with factory AC and it did great with good shocks and handled very well with more camber and caster with 15x7 cop car wheels and 275-70-15s. I'm thinking that the slant with AC was pretty close to the weight of a small block without AC.....?

 

[1967coronet]

Do you know this for sure or are you just repeating what you have heard?
Are you familiar with camber gain, caster sweeps and toe change? If not, please do the research before repeating what you hear others say.
Most RWD torsion bar era Mopars gain caster as the suspension is lowered as well as gaining negative camber. The toe goes out as well. 2 inches of change in ride height results in very little change in alignment. I just spent $240 to align my car after having the steering apart. I would not have spent that same money if I simply raised the car 2 inches.

So you just having a day or what ?
My car after a 2" drop in ride height did start to wear the tires on the inner treads.
I ended up raising the car back up.
Once you drop 2 or 3 inches your right close to the bump stops on a stock chrysler suspension. Once you load one side in a corner , bump , ect your on the stops.
The best way to lower your car is new drop spindles and control arms. Just cranking down the adjusters alone with out any other adjustment on stock width wheels & suspension invites problems one of those being tire wear.
My ball joints , bushings and alignment are fine.
Nothing wrong with a ride height change but if a guy is changing 2 or 3 inches you need to follow through and do a alingment. A short time just to see how it looks and drives no biggie, but dont drop it in the weeds and drive 3000 miles and expect your tires to be fine.

 

[Kern Dog]

So you just having a day or what ?
My car after a 2" drop in ride height did start to wear the tires on the inner treads.
I ended up raising the car back up.
Once you drop 2 or 3 inches your right close to the bump stops on a stock chrysler suspension. Once you load one side in a corner , bump , ect your on the stops.
The best way to lower your car is new drop spindles and control arms. Just cranking down the adjusters alone with out any other adjustment on stock width wheels & suspension invites problems one of those being tire wear.
My ball joints , bushings and alignment are fine.
Nothing wrong with a ride height change but if a guy is changing 2 or 3 inches you need to follow through and do a alingment. A short time just to see how it looks and drives no biggie, but dont drop it in the weeds and drive 3000 miles and expect your tires to be fine.

I agree that if you're at 2 to 3 inch difference, that does matter.
I have seen people repeat the "must get an alignment" phrase many times. Some of those people are well intentioned but not experienced.
While I am not a fan of the coil over suspensions, the man behind RMS (Bill Rielly) wrote an article for Mopar Muscle magazine over 15 years ago. He mapped the entire alignment curve on an A body chassis to compare the standard A body disc knuckle to the later F-M-J-R knuckle.
Everything changed from full extension/rise to full compression. Caster changed the most due to the "Anti-Dive" designed into these cars. Camber changed too but not as much. I don't recall the specifics but toe also changed, more on the later knuckle.
What I noticed was that in the center of travel where most cars operate, going an inch up or down from the static height didn't change much. The changes started to add up once you went beyond 1 1/2" either way.
Sorry that I came across as rude. I should have phrased my response better.

 

[cosgig]

The year is 1970, you want to win races and you have a hot new Mopar. What’s a feller to do but raise the torsion bars all the way up to transfer weight to the rear wheels. Must’ve worked, this car was clicking off times in the 12:30, completely as delivered, except of course for Dads secret weapon. So, I believe this pic shows the maximum lift you can achieve, looks to be about 3”. Stock ride height also shown.

 

[Kern Dog]

The higher you jack the front end, the less caster that you have. It actually goes negative about 2 inches over stock height with stock UCA bushings.

 

[BB BELLA]

if you have good rubber and road surface having the front end stay put on launch is quickest!all that lifting and twisting is using horsepower! I have a video of Bella launching [but won't post it for legality}! it's a straight lurch forward, not up! I broke the torsion bars on my first 66 from hard launchs and severe loading on the 1-2 shift. the bumper was only an inch off the ground after the bars broke and I tried driving it like that and it was quicker to 50ft. but the bumper was abused on the 1-2 shift!never tried airing up the front tires more!

 

[ckessel]

I was just checking out your red one. It's lower than that by maybe an inch? Maybe the same but with 14s. Never bothered asking the wheel size. But it's a 4 door so it has a low rider look to it. Not sure I like that for a mopar.

When I got the car it had 15x8 Welds and 265/50-15 Gatorbacks on all 4 corners. Lots of clearance. I put 275/60-16 rear and 235/60-15 front using Coopers. Still loads of clearance. I'm going to try for a 315/30 or 35 up front and 325-355 35 or 40 on the rears using 18's on all four corners, may have to do 19 on the back for tire sizing. I'm currently getting ready to cut the tubs to widen them after moving the springs inboard. I bought this tool from Speedway so I can mount up a tire, determine offset etc, check clearance etc before I plop down money on wheels and tires. My tire size finalizing will get determined by price, availability and a couple of other factors. Want the same brand and type on all four corners, don't want a tire thats only for one vehicle which makes it expensive and hard to find.

 

[YY1]

Here's what I have done for the past 39 years-

Set the front height where you want it, then check and adjust the toe.

I've never had to align a Mopar after adjusting the T bars to where I wanted them, except the toe.

Also, using the FSM is a bad idea unless you want the car to be like it came from the factory.

If you lower the front or raise the rear, the FSM is almost useless.

In fact, if you ever have your car aligned by a professional, be sure to explicitly state in no uncertain terms that you DO NOT WANT THEM TO RETURN THE HEIGHTS TO THE FACTORY SETTINGS, and make sure the actual person doing the work understands this- not just the service writer.

 

[YY1]

The exception is if I buy a car that has had an alignment done while it is either radically raised or lowered.