My question is, at this ride height, the adjuster bolt/block is loose with the suspension unloaded. Is this normal? Also, there is less than half an inch between the lower bumpstop and frame on the passenger side and just slightly more on the driver side. Am I going to be bottoming out all the time?
If the the adjuster is loose when the suspension is fully unloaded (UCA on the upper stop), based on your ride height, torsion bars and other equipment then what you have IS normal. It's not binding, it's not the shocks, and you don't need drop spindles. And no, a 1/2" from bump stop to frame is not enough with 1.06" bars, you will bottom out too often IMO.
What you need to do is run a taller upper bumpstop and a smaller lower bumpstop. You have to re-center the range of travel, making your current ride height the middle. Or as close to it as you can. The larger torsion bars don't twist as much when loaded, so, you have to make sure the range of travel and the adjustable range on the adjusters match very precisely. With smaller torsion bars this isn't an issue, they twist a lot and the adjusters always stay loaded as a result.
I had to do the same thing with my car. I run 1.12" torsion bars and just under 25" to the fender lip from the ground. With the suspension fully unloaded I only have about 1 turn on the adjusters from the point when the adjusting bolt hits the lever.
I run these upper bump stops, with an additional spacer underneath them (~3/16")
Energy Suspension 9.9136G Energy Suspension Bump Stops | Summit Racing
I run these lower bump stops
Energy Suspension 9.9132G Energy Suspension Bump Stops | Summit Racing
That gives me just under 1" from LCA to bumpstop, and I do still occasionally bottom out. Not frequently enough for it to be a problem, but often enough to know I couldn't go lower without larger torsion bars. Here's a picture of my set up...
One thing is I see you have the new QA1 LCA's. I have the old design that did not have a built in bump stop, which is why my bump stop is on the frame horn and not on the LCA. The old style adds about 1" of suspension travel back into the system. The way they added the bump stop they reduced that a bunch. Some of that is bumpstop, which you can swap out for a thinner one. Part of that is the threaded boss for the bump stop, which you're stuck with unless you're willing to cut it off and put the bump stop on the frame horn like I did. And some of it is a larger gusset, but that's a pretty small amount and not worth messing with.
Old style
New style
Best suspension geometry is where the ball joint and pivot are level, so if you're familiar with the FSM height process that would be an A-B of 0, or 1-7/8" lower than stock. That's about where my car sits, which I'm fairly confident is still a little bit lower than where you're at. Duster fenders and Dart fenders put the wheel lip in the same place vertically, not entirely sure about Barracuda fenders. But based on what I know about the QA1 LCA's with the new bumpstops, if you've got a 1/2" with everything the way it is now you're about a 1/2" higher than me with the old QA1 LCA's. So maximum drop on the street shouldn't be the goal, but as it turns out you're still above ideal if you're lowering for best geometry.
Drop spindles on these cars are a bad idea anyway. They add bump steer for one, which isn't great. The other thing is, they don't actually give you travel back. That's the idea of using them, you lower the car without losing suspension travel. The problem is, you just run out of space somewhere else. On my car, with the old QA1 LCA's and the ~1" additional travel they give, when my LCA is on the bumpstop the spindle is only 13" from the bottom of the inner fenderwell. Meaning, with a 26" tall tire and the suspension bottomed out the tire would hit the inner fender. Out of travel. My 275/35/18's are 25.6" tall, so it won't actually hit, but I'm at the limit. A 2" drop spindle instead of the earlier QA1 LCA would mean I'd get the same 1" of useable travel, and then spinning parts would hit stationary parts and things would go bad. Basically I'd have added more bump steer to get travel I can't use anyway.
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