1964 Valiant V100 torsion bar questions

[y0willy0]

Hello,

I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm pretty new here and the search function showed me some relevant threads, but not exactly what I needed to know. I apologize if this has indeed been covered before.

I got a 1964 Valiant V100 out of a barn down in SC, and it has the slant-6 and automatic transmission. It is a two-door, and one of the biggest issues it had was a broken torsion bar on the driver's side.

I bought a grille and couple of torsion bars from another 64 Valiant and they look great. The broken bar came out of the car with no fuss at all, and the new one was no problem, took maybe 20 minutes total.

My first question is this, should I change the other bar as well? Do they need to be a matched pair? The replacements I have are used as well, not new, so I didn't know if the original bar on the passenger side would be "weaker" if that makes sense.

I was going to change out the passenger side, but it is in there SNUG. I was surprised the broken one on the driver's side came out so easily, but because the good one was stuck I just decided to leave it.

Also I was wondering if someone could provide me with the codes on the base of the torsion bars? I want to make sure they match. Are the codes different from left to right? I haven't gotten the caked grease of the one I pulled yet, but I assume (hope) it's the same as the one I put in. It should be since they also came off a car just like mine no?

Is the torsion bar tool a requirement to hammer it out? Channel locks worked great for the other one, but I guess it came out so easy because it was broken and loosened over time? Would soaking the passenger side bar keys in PB blaster help? Any other tricks?

TL;DR

I guess the most important questions I have are 1) should I change the passenger side bar even though it isn't broken to make it a matching set, and 2) can someone give me the torsion bar codes.

Thanks a bunch,

 

[zhandfull]

Chances are if both cars had the same engine they are the same bars. I think the factory bars were left and right so the part numbers may be different. If you measure the diameter of the bars and they are the same I wouldn't worry about changing the other.

 

[mcnoople]

Did you remove the clip at the rear bar mount and remove all tension from the bar?

The generally agreed method of removing a t-bar is to release the tension on the bar with the adjuster bolt, loosen the lower control arm pivot nut and whack on the lca a few times to loosen up the t-bar. After you adjust your ride height you MUST have the alignment checked.

 

[y0willy0]

Yes, measuring the diameter is the next thing I will do.

I did remove the clips on both and loosened the adjuster bolts completely.

The broken one came out with hardly any effort and the other was stuck tight. I used vice grips, which in hindsight I now know to be a no-no, but they didn't slip at all so no damage.

They came out of the same type of car, but I'd still like to know the codes on the bars. Any other good suggestions for getting that one out if I decide to remove it? I've mulled building one of those torsion bar removal tools, but it would likely only be used this once. Soak both ends in penetrating oil maybe?

I did pay attention to the L and R markings, no worries there.

Thanks a bunch,

 

[72bluNblu]

Mopar performance abody torsion bar info. Last 3 digits will be on the back of the bars, they do have different part numbers for each side, but just by one digit, ie, 892 and 893 would be the numbers on the back of a set of 340 bars.

I undo the lca to remove the t bars. Undo the adjuster, remove the clip, undo the lca pivot nut, and use a dead blow hammer to drive the lca back until the torsion bar hex drops out the back. Then drive the lca forward to get it off of the torsion bar. No fancy tools needed.

And finally, my standard torsion bar comment. These cars were horribly under sprung in the front with the stock diameter bars. Even if they weren't, the original bars are over 40 years old. Wouldn't hurt to get a new, larger, set of bars.

.810" *90#/in * p5249148 *drag bars
.830" *100#/in *(2535888-9) slant six bars
.850" *110#/in *(2535890-1) *slant six w/ air--318 w/o air *)
.870" *120#/in *p5249149 *(2535892-3) 318 w/ air--340 std bars
.890" *130#/in *p5249150 383 std bars
.920" *150#/in *p5249151 *h/d handling
.990" *200#/in *p5249152 *solo/road race
1.040" *250#/in *p5249153 *h/d solo road race-oval track
1.090" 300"/in *p5249154 oval track 1/4 mi--optional 1/2 mi
1.140" *300#/in *p5249155 *oval track 1/4 and 1/2 mile *

 

[wjajr]

When that bar let go, it released a tremendous amount of energy like hitting both ends with multiple blows from a ten pound sledge hammer which broke free any corrosion, dirt, and whatever would have built up at its ends over the years.

As stated previously, fully back off bar’s height adjusting bolt, back off ¾” nut holding lower control arm to K member, and give things a few bumps with a big hammer which will rattle the bar loose from the lower control arm. Than clamp on to bar with pipe wrench using some wood to keep its jaws from gouging the bar’s surface, and give it a few smacks with the hammer driving the bar rearward out of its mounting.

When you resemble the new bar, clean both mounting holes, lube ends of bar and mounting holes with grease, and slide it in place. Don’t forget to slide on rubber boot once front of bar is through rear mount.