Ladder bar w/floater or Caltracs

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Steve Reynolds

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My wife & I race a 71 Demon w/a 440 & torqueflite with a 4.30 geared 8 & 3/4. It now has S/S springs, pinion snubber, 2 in lowering blocks for stance & 29x12x15 Hoosiers. I have been trying to decide which way to go for traction & better 60ft, ladder bars with floater or Caltracs with split mono springs.
My wife is the driver,(better rt, & she is substancially lighter). The car has 640 hp, 570 tq & now runs 10.20s @ 131+ with occassional tire spin. I would like 0 tire spin at all. Car is all steel except hood, 12 point cage, frame connectors & all the above. car weighs 3487 w/o driver.
 
I would remove the lowering blocks,let the rear ride higher,set front end ride height and then see what happens .if you dont have tubs this will allow more tire as the outer tire can stick out a tad,is all in the inset, also if your using a transbrake try launching at a lower rpm. tell me more about your combo and ill try to help out glad to see another mopar bb A body couple here, maybe try a 28 or 28.5 slick with the 4.30s use a solid djustable pinion snubber rod welded to gusseted frame and to the top of the old snubber minus the rubber,or adjust the snubber til it touches the frame,similar to a tractor top link but on a smaller scale
 
Get the Cal tracs and their mono leaf springs. Much lighter than the SS springs AND you can order in any arch to set your desired ride height. Easy, low maintenance and they work!!
 
I had the ss springs on my 67 dart and it raised the back end about 3". I only had 14" wheels and the widest tire I ran was a 245 /55 or 60 ( can't remember). It had a lot of wheel spin. I raised the front end to try a dist the weight better and helped. I than bought the caltrac bars and with a little peload you could tell it hooked a lot better and rear was really stiff. But I dont think the ss springs and caltracs are a good match up. The Caltracs work off axle rap and ss springs dont let that happen too much. Plus they are a lot heavier.
On my 68 I bought their 2-piece monoleaf to run with the caltracs. I could order it with stock height or 1" higher to help clear up to 29-30" tall tires.

Also think about the ladder bars would need a lot more fabrication (I'm sure thats not an issue) but the Caltracs might be a little more money depending on what ladder bar set up.
I haven't seen too many ladder bar car in my town but my buddies dad has a 68 camaro thats been built in the late 70s early 80s with a ladder bar, dana 60 and 32x15.5x15 slicks and he broke a hime joint about a year ago.... it could of been cause its almost 30 years old or from the wheel stand=P~
 
could you use caltracs if your springs have been moved inboard (under the frame)?
 
Yes, You'll just have to clearance the box (frame) for the caltrac triangle plate. Or just trim the box down and not cut out so much from the frame. I can't remember if you could just drill the spring eye bolt location lower to get the clearance.
 
Here's one way to get the clearance for the CalTracs when you move the springs into the frame rails. One of the guys on BBD who's doing a 66 Dart did much the same except he just made a rounded out section to clear the pivot instead of cutting it square. Same result. :)

cal_springbox.sized.jpg
 
Or buy the CalTracs that are set up for the relocation boxes.

pivot.jpg
 
where can you get the caltracks set up for the relocated boxes?
 
This is my opinion based on my experience only.

I have the entire CalTrac setup, adjustable shocks and all on my Duster, 360/904/8.75/11.5x29.5, runs 10.50's. It works pretty good but at the tracks I race at, it's not great. I had SS springs on it before, what it did was calm the car down and made it more consistent, not any quicker.

It is adjustable though which in my view makes it better than ladder bars.

All said though I'm finishing up a four link car and after having driven several and seen the difference I highly recommend saving your money and just doing the four link. Your car will probably pickup at least .5 seconds, some I've seen picked up as much as .7 after nothing more than the backhalf, even though the car was heavier afterward.

The CalTracs were originally developed for NHRA Stocker type cars that have to keep the original suspension configuration. And although they work well in their intended application if you don't have to keep the leaf springs then I wouldn't. I did on my Duster because it's an original 340 4 speed car and I didn't want to cut it up.

If yours isn't then I say cut away, you'll be a lot happier in the long run.

Good Luck.
 
A floater setup is much heavier than a set of coil-overs and wasn't the way I went. A friend had floaters and ladder bars on a Volare and it worked well but, required more maintenence than my LB, coil setup. I was glad that I spent the extra dollars and I'd certainly do it again.
 
I guess for all practical & econmonical purposes I will be going to a ladder bar & housing floater, but still using the adjustable shocks in the rear & using the S/S springs to support the load. Here is a question though, the car currently will pull the front tires anywhere from 3in to alittle over a foot upon launch.
I have been told to keep the car from dragging the bumper wheely bars would be necessary, Is this true or does it have some validity or is it just not true, also i have read & been told when installing the ladder bars to make absolutly sure the lower bar is installed perfectly parrallel to the ground?
 
I'm not a fan of the floaters.

If you go ladders, go all the way, put coil-overs on it. You'll have to get some better shock more likely than not to control the rear with the bars.
 
I have a car with ladder bar way better then a cal trac car my father has a car with cal trac night & day the ladder bar is so much better. You ask the track about it they told use cal trac & leaf spring cars in the cold are no good under 10.50 Ladder bar around same cost & way better handling
 
It's not cheap to have a chassis done right but, its far more expensive to replace the driver and with the speeds your car is already capable of, safety should be very important. 10.50 was my goal for cost and rookie driver comfort considerations, but you're already beyond that. When I built my car I decided that I'd be money ahead by doing things once and doing them right, with 10.50's in mind.
Ladder bars will make your car pitch happy, guaranteed!! The first motion a ladder bar makes is to lift the mounting point straight up. My car was not as powered up(10.70's)as yours and would lift the frontend 3 feet before moving forward much. Even with a Moroso 7.60 front tire redligting on a .5 pro tree was a problem.
Having spent the money on power that you obviously have, I'd say it's time to do some chassis work(read 4 link) to keep the driver safe and happy. A 4 links first reaction, when the driveshaft turns the gears, is to move the chassis mounts forward, making it more efficient and the links are near infinitely adjustable, making it capable of attaining safer(no monkey business) settings. With a 4 link backhalved car you'll be able run a 14x32 tire and almost eliminate tire spin from your dial-in guesstimates.
A good chassis under that car and she'll be running 9's and thats a major step in the minds of the rules makers and engineers at NHRA.
 
Ladder bars are obsolete and the floaters are heavy. With your car sittng on level ground measure the rocker panel in front of the rear tires and the measure it behind the front tires . The front needs to be a little higher or at least level with the back and your ss springs will do their job much better. If the super stock cars ran them into the 9s IMO they should still have some life left. Happy Horsepower
 
I would either run what you have, or go four link at this point. If you're pulling the wheels a foot and simply carrying them for 10-20 feet you dont need bars. If it's hanging them for 60', you should ge teh 4 link and you'll need bars...lol. The instant center on a leaf car is pretty much non adjustable, except for the front end rise and ride height. On a 4link you can adjust it where you need it and you will go faster. If you are contemplating ladder bars, go 4link. They are so similar in install that it doesnt make sense IMO to replace leafs with leafs, or go ladder keeping the leafs which is simply adding weight and nothing else to the package.
 
Pros of CalTracs Setup:

-Dont have to cut up car
-Easy to install
-Easy to adjust
-Great tech support
-Cost effective (bars, springs, shocks f/r, ubolts hdware $900 new)
-Proven by Stockers, and heads up. (1.19 fastest 60ft - 7.50 @ 189mph fastest leafspring car)
-Deal direct with the manufacture,no middle man
-Nice looking, great for street or track
-Everything in stock, so you can have it in your hands in 1week or less!
 
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