early A strut rods question

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nerd racing

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Should strut rods for a 64 barracuda look like this?



I'm thinking it should be straight.
 
looks like adjustable strut rods just rose to the top of my parts to buy list.
 
I have taken the rods and used a press to straighten them before. Or just standard replacement parts. Most common way for them to be bent is by wreck, next most common is by wrecker and chain hooks.
 
You could bend that one back. It is straight were it matters. Adjustable strut rods are most useful in letting you increase camber, which is needed for radial tires. In general, you want to pull the lower ball joint forward. Use the "Moog improved" strut rod bushings. Don't fool with the original 1-piece that are almost impossible to squeeze thru the hole and then get cut by the sheet metal in use.
 
BillGrissom said:
You could bend that one back. It is straight were it matters. Adjustable strut rods are most useful in letting you increase camber, which is needed for radial tires. In general, you want to pull the lower ball joint forward. Use the "Moog improved" strut rod bushings. Don't fool with the original 1-piece that are almost impossible to squeeze thru the hole and then get cut by the sheet metal in use.
Click to expand...

I already used the push/snap in poly bushings that energy suspension sells.

If both sides are bent I'm going adjustables, if not I'll replace it with a used one. Bending it back could mess with the strength of the part. It's pretty critical and I'd rather not have it come apart.
 
BillGrissom said:
You could bend that one back. It is straight were it matters. Adjustable strut rods are most useful in letting you increase camber, which is needed for radial tires. In general, you want to pull the lower ball joint forward. Use the "Moog improved" strut rod bushings. Don't fool with the original 1-piece that are almost impossible to squeeze thru the hole and then get cut by the sheet metal in use.
Click to expand...
Caster adjustment not camber.
 
how is your K frame on that car-- trying to figure out how your strut rod was bent at that end..

Any pics of the "K member? Lawrence
 
krazykuda said:
Yep, bent...


Mancini sells heavier duty ones.
Click to expand...

They are too short for an early a. They are made for the later a-bodies. I bought a set for my car, found out they were too short and sent them back. Mancini reamed me for the return shipping charges, even though they don't say that they don't fit early cars. Haven't bought from them since and probably won't.
 
lilcuda said:
They are too short for an early a. They are made for the later a-bodies. I bought a set for my car, found out they were too short and sent them back. Mancini reamed me for the return shipping charges, even though they don't say that they don't fit early cars. Haven't bought from them since and probably won't.
Click to expand...

Good tip man! I'm probably going with adjustable ones. Still need to take the other side apart to see if it is bent or not.
 
VDART said:
how is your K frame on that car-- trying to figure out how your strut rod was bent at that end..

Any pics of the "K member? Lawrence
Click to expand...

Well i did notice some collision damage on the inner fender on that side.

I didn't see any noticible bends on the K member. I'll have to look it over good when I remove it again.

If that is bent I'll need to have it put on a frame machine because it's bolted into the sub frame. not what I wanted to find for sure. Would running it with worn out bushings cause that to happen? or sitting on worn out bushings for 30 years? The car was stored from 74-2012 or so.
 
something hit the end of that strut rod to bend it in that manner-- usually they are bent in between the mount points-- that is why I asked about k frame damage.
\
post up some pics of that area-- these guyswill be able to tell quickly if you have major issues.
the back "K" is an Early "A"
Lawrence
 

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10-4.

I got under it and the driver's side (bent rod) looks identical to the passenger side K member wise. I noticed the threads on the end of the driver's side looked pretty buggered up. I ran a thread file in them before I removed it the first time. I'm thinking the strut rod took the brunt of whatever hit the end of it.

Hopefully taking the passenger side apart over the long weekend. Once I do that I can compare the strut rods side to side. still debating on adjustable rods or not. More than likely I'll get the adjustble ones over the winter, too many expenses this month to get them now, unless I sell some parts.
 
chryslerfat said:
Caster adjustment not camber.
Click to expand...
Correct. Caster is the "shopping cart wheel" effect, where the wheels want to rotate to follow the forward motion. It is critical in the car going straight when you let go of the steering wheel, or in flat-towing.
 
Well I swapped the other side out and it wasn't bent. But it doesn't fit properly. I'm not driving it anywhere but into storage until I get adjustables on there.
 
i have the FFI adjustable strut rods, and would recommend them. second car i put them on.

although literally just mocked them up on the car today (66 dart).
 
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