Torsion bar upgrade?

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DustyDan

DustyDan

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I got a 73 Duster 340 4 speed, I was looking to do some suspension upgrades, I was wondering about any options for the torsion bars, the car is mainly for street mostly I just cruise but at times I do like to let it rip and have some fun. One of my wife's torsion bars broke in her 71 scamp, so I figured I'd just get new torsion bars for my duster and put my old ones in her car. Her scamp is in rough shape its her daily driver she drives it all year round snow rain ect. So I'm not sure if I should just get stock replacements for mine or if there is an upgrade I'm not looking for the car to ride like a dump truck, I don't want anything wicked stiff just something that will be a little better cornering and taking off. Any suggestions or experiences welcome. Thanks.
 
weird thing - smaller t-bars will make you launch better because they give slightly better front end rise but bigger will give you a stiffer and better ride for turns... you could go up a size and not compromise the ride much though - sway bars (front & rear) will net you more as far as cornering goes
 
i've run both .920 and 1" bars. both still ride nicely and firm it up quite a bit.

i say just say no to the stock bars.
 
1.03 pst in my 340 six pack 67 barracuda. I LOVE them. Also have bilsteins shocks with 2" sway bar. No dip or dive in the corners although it is just a street toy. I can't say if it's a stiff ride or not, that's kind of a personal preference. Bilsteins shocks in the back with leaf springs +2 in lift, with 1" sway bar. Also I run a 225/60/15 tire up front. 27" tall. Lots of section width. Back are 275/60/15. 28" tall lots of section width. So my suspension is fairly tight or stiff but I have lots of flex in the tires. I hope this helps.
 

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So the consensus is 1". What size are the stock torsion bar? I play it conservative with suspension. Ever since I put coil overs in my neon srt4. They are wicked stiff and it's a crap ride around town on our new England roads, rides good and handles good on the highway, can take exit ramps at 80 no problem, but around town nope.
 
Your OE bars should be .870 , 318 w/AC & 340/360 cars, .850 for 318 w/o AC.
I just picked up the OE big block bars, .890 for my /6 '64 which is much lighter than your
car, plus I'm removing weight from the front for about a 40% net increase in rate. The OE
slanty bars are .830. I ran .870's I have on a '72 swinger /6 w/a 1.25 bar up frt. ,and a
set of extra leaves w/a .75 bar in the rear,cornered great while still a tad "cushy".
As mentioned, "too stiff" is subjective , but I'll leave you with this. Generally
30-35% higher rates are the highest acceptable to the avg. driver B4 it crosses into the
"uncomfortable range".Most of us gearheads find a lot more than that TOLERABLE,for
the sake of the performance bennies. Also mentioned above is the shocks,of which a
hi quality/rate adjustable set is mandatory if you're going up in rate very much.
The .920 bars are the first step larger than the BB bars,and would be 25%
higher rate than the .870's , just for reference.
 
Dave1967 said:
1.03 pst in my 340 six pack 67 barracuda. I LOVE them. Also have bilsteins shocks with 2" sway bar. No dip or dive in the corners although it is just a street toy. I can't say if it's a stiff ride or not, that's kind of a personal preference. Bilsteins shocks in the back with leaf springs +2 in lift, with 1" sway bar. Also I run a 225/60/15 tire up front. 27" tall. Lots of section width. Back are 275/60/15. 28" tall lots of section width. So my suspension is fairly tight or stiff but I have lots of flex in the tires. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Where in the world did you find a 2" sway bar? Nice car, by the way!
 
Here's some info --
 

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I have 1.06's. If you buy good shocks like Fox/Hotchkis or Bilstein, they'll still ride pretty good. Pretty much rides like a 2011 Performance Package Mustang
 
Firm Feel 1.06's here. Lot's of street miles on them.
 
We went with Just Suspension 1" bars, PST was out of stock on the 1.03" ones and couldn't tell us when they would restock...

The Just Suspension 1" went in without any problems...
 
I would be careful what you call an "upgrade". There are lots of inferior products on the market. PST though ^^^^ makes quality stuff and as evidenced, has support available right on the site.
 
While we're on the subject if I were to stiffen up the front a little what would you guys recommend doing to the rear. What are the options for Springs. I plan on taking the whole rear end out changing all the bushings , ect I'm not sure but do they make a sway bar setup for the rear, if so then I will put one in, as far as I've seen for Springs are mopar performance super stock which I hear rides like a dump truck. Or would a cal tracs setup be better? Any opinions and experiences greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Nevermind I found em, it seems like pst is the route I'll take seeing they are over $100 cheaper than the .890 and .920. What are good shocks to run with the, what do you guys run and where can I find them?
 
DustyDan said:
Nevermind I found em, it seems like pst is the route I'll take seeing they are over $100 cheaper than the .890 and .920. What are good shocks to run with the, what do you guys run and where can I find them?
Click to expand...

Im just running cheap Monroe's but I plan on upgrading someday to the KYB's
 
I would go with Bilstiens, best shock for the price and performance.

thanks
James
 
Dave1967 said:
1.03 pst in my 340 six pack 67 barracuda. I LOVE them. Also have bilsteins shocks with 2" sway bar. No dip or dive in the corners although it is just a street toy. I can't say if it's a stiff ride or not, that's kind of a personal preference. Bilsteins shocks in the back with leaf springs +2 in lift, with 1" sway bar. Also I run a 225/60/15 tire up front. 27" tall. Lots of section width. Back are 275/60/15. 28" tall lots of section width. So my suspension is fairly tight or stiff but I have lots of flex in the tires. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Hey dave, do you have pictures of the car from the sides so we could get a good idea of how that looks?

I've been thinking of either 1.03" or 1.06" from either PST or Firm Feel with the Bilsteins. I know I'm also going to have to replace my leaf springs, so I'm looking for pics of '67-'69 fastback cars at different heights both front and rear.

A TWO inch sway bar sounds kinda huge and heavy???
 
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