Removing Torsion Bars? and leaving them out?

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60-62 Chevy trucks, VW T1, T2, and T3 Transporters/busses (or any air cooled VW)
 
all of my datsuns trucks (69-77) have torsion bars that can be adjusted for ride height and my 65 barracuda 225/6 automatic has them as well
 
65 CUDA said:
all of my datsuns trucks (69-77) have torsion bars that can be adjusted for ride height and my 65 barracuda 225/6 automatic has them as well
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My 84 Nissan pickup had adjustable T bars also.
 
225Cuda said:
correct me if Im wrong the torsion bar is just a different style "Spring" right, and as I remember torsion bar suspensions are only adequate for pickup trucks and not for road racing and euro cars dumped them only a few years after 1st using them.
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Yes, they are a spring.

Other than that, you are completely, totally, 100% wrong. Torsion bar suspensions are just as capable as any other suspension type on the road. Yes, they have been and still are used in trucks, including semi's. But they have been, and are, used in sports car suspensions as well. In fact, the new Ford GT uses a torsion bar suspension. So, yeah, good enough for a brand new, 600+ hp supercar.

And, NO, you should not leave the torsion bars out if you intend to use the stock LCA's. The strut rod will keep the LCA from falling off the car completely, but there's no reason the LCA can't walk around on the LCA bushing. Only the bonded rubber of the bushing holds the LCA on the pivot pin, and that is not intended to support those kinds of fore/aft forces.

If you want air ride, you need to completely replace the suspension. Yes, I know that there are kits out there that retain the torsion bars. All they are is a band aid to add air ride so you can look cool. Handling is not their intent, nor their design.

You should look into one of the coilover replacement systems (Alterkation, HemiDenny's kit, etc) if you absolutely need to have air ride. Keep in mind that the front end of these cars were never intended to carry the suspension forces above the framerails though, all of the suspension forces from the torsion bars are carried in the K member and the torsion bar cross member, so if you actually want the car to handle properly the unibody needs to be structurally reinforced if you change the suspension type.
 
X2^^

So, assuming you didnt know these things,before today, and that you have learned some new stuff, please know that your A-body can be lowered quite a bit, using oem parts, and can actually be made to ride and handle down there pretty good.
So, if youre interested in that, just ask.
But if you did know all this, and just came to stir the pot, um, shame on you.
 
ggt1_02 said:
My 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 had torsion bars.
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Tis true, as does Dakota and some GM trash (Now that I think about it, I remember being underneath a GM SUV on a rack a couple years and being surprised by T-bars.)

I learned something today!
 
225Cuda said:
correct me if Im wrong the torsion bar is just a different style "Spring" right, and as I remember torsion bar suspensions are only adequate for pickup trucks and not for road racing and euro cars dumped them only a few years after 1st using them.
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Where did you get that idea? Many cars over the years have used torsion bar suspension. There is nothing intrinsically different, the spring is just packaged in a different shape. The main drawback is routing headers. They have a lot of advantages as a suspension system -- the geometry is superior to the typical mid-60s pony car setup, and the spring load is transferred to the unibody at its strongest point below the firewall, rather than through the front inner fenders and subframe.
 
jos51700 said:
Yes. It's a spring. In fact, that's exactly what it is and nothing more.

And, um, I don't know of a truck, dodge or otherwise, with torsion bars.

That said, same tricks apply to all springs. With the weight of the vehicle on them, slowly heat them bitches up to dull cherry red evenly along their length and let air cool. Control arm still located, but the spring is out of the equation. Then bag to your hearts content.

Figuring out how to heat them without getting squished when the car drops is up to you.

I guess the low rider crowd does things differently than they used to?
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4x4 Dodge Durango/Dakota, some Chev trucks, some Toyota trucks used torsion bars. I don't know of others.
 
Coil overs don't give ride comfort and have way to much body roll for my taste, any one notice a Pattern "TBS's are for utility not racing" I have a friend who has an all original Maserati Merak SS 73' model year and is a real sports car and.........No torsion bar suspension . even Wikipedia says its for Utility vehicle.
 
Your high!

Wiki-lies is written by anyone with a keyboard. There are many many race cars, road race cars, super cars, sports cars, sprint cars, midgets and trucks with torsion bar suspensions. It's how they are designed and tuned that determines if they work.

Wiki-lies is the worst place to find the truth.

Do some more homework on multiple sites and you will see they work.

I have a 911 with front and rear torsion bars and nothing I have ever driven comes close to how well that car handles and how flat it is in the corners.
 
This would be a great "Fast and Loud" build. Getting a chevy chassis and drop b'cuda body on it. Throw on some air bags
 

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or just do what you plan and drive with out the torsion bars
 

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i know for a fact that if you take the bars out the lower control arm will pull the pin out of the bushing when backing up. when i built my car i had the front suspension all done and was just pushing it in and out of the shop with no tortion bars in the car. the driver side lower control arm cocked one way and i had a severe toe in on the drive side. i crawled under and the pin had pulled out and ripped the rubber bushing to ****. the strut rods are only intended to to prevent the lower control from pushing back.
 
Some of the Ford Rangers have torsion bars. My 2004 did. Rode great. A torsion bar suspension is one of the most capable suspensions there is that can handle off road, road racing, drag racing and anything in between. There is no need for anything else, really.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Some of the Ford Rangers have torsion bars. My 2004 did. Rode great. A torsion bar suspension is one of the most capable suspensions there is that can handle off road, road racing, drag racing and anything in between. There is no need for anything else, really.
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99% correct here. but........... a little bit of header clearance would be nice. just sayin. lol
 
younggun2.0 said:
99% correct here. but........... a little bit of header clearance would be nice. just sayin. lol
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If a guy buys a quality set of headers, even clearance is no issue with torsion bars. Maybe a little work to shim the mounts around a bit, but no problem.
 
replicaracer43 said:
If a guy buys a quality set of headers, even clearance is no issue with torsion bars. Maybe a little work to shim the mounts around a bit, but no problem.
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I have $800 worth of quality. My factory suspension limits my ability to run a large tube header no matter who makes them or how much.

I have purchased a HDK and will be running the TTI 2" primary tube headers with room galore.
 
younggun2.0 said:
I have $800 worth of quality. My factory suspension limits my ability to run a large tube header no matter who makes them or how much.

I have purchased a HDK and will be running the TTI 2" primary tube headers with room galore.
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Yes, you are correct, the bigger the tube, the harder they are to package.
 
225Cuda said:
Coil overs don't give ride comfort and have way to much body roll for my taste, any one notice a Pattern "TBS's are for utility not racing" I have a friend who has an all original Maserati Merak SS 73' model year and is a real sports car and.........No torsion bar suspension . even Wikipedia says its for Utility vehicle.
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So, a Maserati built in 1973 is a "real" sports car, and the 2017 Ford GT isn't? Because the GT has a torsion bar suspension. Doesn't look like a truck or utility vehicle to me...

ford-gt-02-600-001.jpg


But, by all means, continue with your airbags and removing your torsion bars and re-using you stock LCA's. Just don't be surprised when the LCA falls off of the pivot while you're trying to look cool.
 
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