How big a torsion bar nick is ok?

I'd like to say it's junk,but
personal experience says I'd be willing to try it, cuz
Firstly, I would put it into my DD, and secondly, I have already put a dressed one like that into my DD, and thirdly, I have seen what happens when one breaks at around-town speed, in my brothers Dart. It wasn't life threatening, and he drove it home. Then he drove it 65 miles to my house, where I replaced it with another used one; what a ride that mustabin,lol.
My Barracuda is no stranger to cornering on the bumpstops, no big deal.
I wouldn't buy one like that tho,lol.

Mine broke just behind the right control arm socket. Fortunately the rear socket held it high enough to not stab into the road. Right turns were wide or the wheel would rub hard.

I would post photos like you did and clearly state the damage. Don't clean up, so the buyer will know. I am guessing ~5 mil depressions. My guess is that after smoothing they would add negligible risk of breakage. When T-bars break, it is not terribly dangerous. That side just drops to the bump stops. It happened to many when poorly welded T-bar aft supports broke (1970's cars) or rusted thru. Indeed, even when LCA's break, usually nothing happens since one can still steer and that usually happens in low-speed turns. Mopar LCA's don't break, but newer cars like M-B have hollow sheet-metal LCA's which rust thru from the inside (look pristine until they fail).

On ebay, all the details in the world doesn't seem to help since many buyers are total gomers or viewing on a phone (like looking thru a peep-hole at your ad). I once listed rare Sanden compressor brackets for a 1977 Chevy straight six on ebay, w/ ample details. They buyer asked questions like "what these look like?" after buying them. The ad had 4 photos. Then nothing but bad feedback, "no fit, I'm mad". Never even described his vehicle or engine. I hope you have better luck. Unless desirable ones, they may not be worth shipping. I bought a pair of thicker ones for $10 at a swap meet, and the seller had 6 sets to choose. One can buy new ones fairly affordably.

Which T-bars are more likely to break has an interesting answer. Thicker T-bars can support more load before they break, but thin ones can deflect more before they break. Thus, either can break under certain circumstances. In Dukes of Hazzard jumps where the control arms bottom out on the bump stops, one is imposing a fixed rotation. For this, thin slant six T-bars are more likely to survive. That is the most likely failure scenario. BTW, the DofH show ruined many cars in filming by bending the frames. As an aside, what is different between T-bars and coil springs? A coil spring is actually a coiled T-bar. The metal twists as the spring compresses, as engineering professors demonstrate by coiling their belt. Coil springs have an added shear force in the weight acting thru the spring, whereas a T-bar sees a pure twisting force. Many people have gone out in the morning to find their coil spring snapped during the night. Not sure why (corrosion, earthquake?).

At the exhaust shop today, I noticed a tiny nick in my new 1.03 bar where a grease nipple has been rubbing against it. The nick seems not much deeper than the thickness of the powder coating, but there it is.

Noone really answered the question in the title of the post, but would my bar now be considered "junk" as well or could I blend this out and carry on? Or just ignore it? The grease nipple has been replaced.

If there's any question about the risk you take, you might want to review the end of OldManMopar 's really really nice duster. A T bar did NOT cause that but it was a front end failure, and I would "project" could be very very similar

Dusterdenovo said:

At the exhaust shop today, I noticed a tiny nick in my new 1.03 bar where a grease nipple has been rubbing against it. The nick seems not much deeper than the thickness of the powder coating, but there it is.

Noone really answered the question in the title of the post, but would my bar now be considered "junk" as well or could I blend this out and carry on? Or just ignore it? The grease nipple has been replaced.
View attachment 1715169287

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I wouldn't sweat that at all, as I'm sure not going to buy a new bar (or set) every time I get a rock ding in my powder coat.

Come on now, torsion bars are tougher than that!

SGBARRACUDA said:

Come on now, torsion bars are tougher than that!

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General Lee.
You know they got plenty of dings and slams in those cars.

Dusterdenovo said:

At the exhaust shop today, I noticed a tiny nick in my new 1.03 bar where a grease nipple has been rubbing against it. The nick seems not much deeper than the thickness of the powder coating, but there it is.

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That’s nothing. For reference, see #2 under ‘Inspection’ from the factory service manual...

Daves69 said:

They sound like a M-80 or Silver Salute going off under your car accompanied by fast drop of the affected front side of your car.
Be careful handling the as the broken edges will be extremely sharp.

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What size are those?
Did Dodge Vans use torsion bars? If so I heard one break under load 20 feet from me off a sidewalk. I was walking and this van drives by and BAM! sounded like a gunshot. I wince and then see the van start to pull over fast. I walked up to it and the driver tire was up in the well.

pishta said:

What size are those?
Did Dodge Vans use torsion bars? If so I heard one break under load 20 feet from me off a sidewalk. I was walking and this van drives by and BAM! sounded like a gunshot. I wince and then see the van start to pull over fast. I walked up to it and the driver tire was up in the well.

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If it was a 71-90's they are coil spring. probably broke a ball joint.

pishta said:

What size are those?..................

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Lol, It was late '70s when that happened. But you don't forget that sort of thing. It was my '66 Charger, a 383 car. Had the same diameter as the '68 Charger bar I replaced it with as I recall.
BTW, I'm not attributing the bar breaking due to any stress riser or nick. The only thing I wanted to do then was get another in it. Kind of embarrassing driving a car around with that sort of tilt back then.