Traction bar leaf spring clearance

[Slugfarm]

Hi all. I recently put a 4.10 sure grip and a T5 transmission on my 65 Valiant and now I have wheel hop. I've got some Lakewood Universal traction bars I'd like to put on but the suspension on this car has also been lowered 2". Do I have enough room?

 

[RustyRatRod]

Nope. You need a taller tire. A lot taller.

 

[67/6barracuda]

You lowered your car and disrupted the pinion angle. I would address that with some shim wedges and put an adjustable pinion snubber on also you can clamp the leave springs together in front of the axle to stiffen them up. Old slapper bars work but I wouldn’t run them in the street.

 

[Professor Fate]

I don't know, but what springs do you have and how old are they? The last pic especially makes it look like your springs are sagging. If so, it's new springs time.
Otherwise, take the clamps off the rear spring segments and add clamps to the front segments. And re-check your pinion angle.
And are those air shocks I see on there? Invest in a decent set of drag shocks.
As far as the slapper bars go, hold them up there and see for yourself how low they hang. If they hang below the wheel rim, either modify them to raise them up, or toss them. They can work, but I've never seen a set of pre-made ones (Lakewoods or any others) that fit a Mopar correctly- the front section is never long enough. The front section needs to locate the snubber directly under the front spring eye, with about 1/2-1" clearance. And then a lot of them hang too low for street use. By the time you've modded them to fit correctly, you'd be better off starting from scratch.
Try the clamps first, though. Chances are that'll take care of it. Provided your springs are any good.

 

[Slugfarm]

I don't know, but what springs do you have and how old are they? The last pic especially makes it look like your springs are sagging. If so, it's new springs time.
Otherwise, take the clamps off the rear spring segments and add clamps to the front segments. And re-check your pinion angle.
And are those air shocks I see on there? Invest in a decent set of drag shocks.
As far as the slapper bars go, hold them up there and see for yourself how low they hang. If they hang below the wheel rim, either modify them to raise them up, or toss them. They can work, but I've never seen a set of pre-made ones (Lakewoods or any others) that fit a Mopar correctly- the front section is never long enough. The front section needs to locate the snubber directly under the front spring eye, with about 1/2-1" clearance. And then a lot of them hang too low for street use. By the time you've modded them to fit correctly, you'd be better off starting from scratch.
Try the clamps first, though. Chances are that'll take care of it. Provided your springs are any good.

Shocks are QA1 Stocker Stars. Rear end is a rebuild off a 71 Demon, and I'd be surprised if they're not worn. I'll check that out for sure.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Shocks are QA1 Stocker Stars. Rear end is a rebuild off a 71 Demon, and I'd be surprised if they're not worn. I'll check that out for sure.

New leaf springs will not give you more room for traction bars. There's only one way to do that. Taller tires. The biggest baddest SS springs there are will not give any more clearance between the bottom of the shock plate and the ground. That's where clearance is needed and you don't have it.

 

[Slugfarm]

New leaf springs will not give you more room for traction bars. There's only one way to do that. Taller tires. The biggest baddest SS springs there are will not give any more clearance between the bottom of the shock plate and the ground. That's where clearance is needed and you don't have it.

I'm just about due for new tires anyway . How does Vixen like those Grip Maxxes?

 

[RustyRatRod]

I'm just about due for new tires anyway . How does Vixen like those Grip Maxxes?

Man they ride great so far! I'm pretty impressed. I have some traction bars for her, too, but I have to make some mods before I can put um on.

 

[Slugfarm]

I'm finding that the BFGs I have aren't that great in the rain, and it rains a lot here.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I'm finding that the BFGs I have aren't that great in the rain, and it rains a lot here.

The tread on them is like a hard plastic now. They skate real bad in the rain. I don't drive Vixen in the rain unless it comes up a shower when we're already out. Her passenger door seal leaks. I'm sure we'll get caught out one day. The tread on the Maxgrip is similar to the Goodrich, but not a copy. There are some differences. I thought they were the same at first, but they're not. I have both types here and they are different.

 

[matthon]

There are bars that include the shock plates as well, not sure if that will provide more clearance.

 

[RustyRatRod]

There are bars that include the shock plates as well, not sure if that will provide more clearance.

View attachment 1716509041

HARD to find correct for a Mopar.

 

[niceolddart]

Would an adjustable pinion snubber or spring clamps do the same job? I just don't like traction bars myself.

 

[Kendog 170]

I agree with checking pinion angle, snubber, and clamping the front springs. I had a 69 Dart in the day that had wheel hop and I fixed by adding a front half leaf to the springs and clamps in the front.

 

[Demonracer]

The very "first" thing I would do would be to check and correct if needed is the pinion angle. From one of the pictures, it looks as if the springs are sagged badly and affecting the pinion angle. Don't just throw parts and pieces at the car hoping for a fix, start with the basics!

 

[jos51700]

Agreed, fix the pinion angles and stuff first. If you're still getting wheel hop, try to find the old Rancho Quadrashocks kit. It won't eat up your ground clearance or look crappy like slapper bars.

 

[Dave999]

if you get the generic lakewoods (20475) often suggested for mopar you will need to put a 3/4 inch chock of steel in the rear mount, 2 holes for the squared off U clamp, to get the bar more or less horizontal

https://amcoautoparts.com/suspensio...1WafTuYRgDMsdxj0wluzjTx3yJ2ECzIdB2-EASqtjbp00

used these cos mine has 2 inch shorter springs than any other A body..

last thing you want is to pole vault tha car at the next curb.....

the snubbers that come with them are rubbish and are a little too tall for the flat ish mopar springs once you get the bars at near enough safe angle

use 1970s lower control arm snubbers instead and aim that at the front spring eye inch or so away

once you do this it doesn't matter how rubbish your springs are, you will leave the line with little fuss

mine is standard height with 14 inch wheels 225 70 R14 i have not hit my traction bars on anything yet


Dave

 

[jbc426]

Pinion angle, the correct springs and shocks work as a system. Getting it all balanced and complimenting each other can be a challenge.

After 40 years of trying all sorts of combinations to get a nice ride height, a compliant ride and lots of traction, I found that two driver's side, 3400lbs Super Stock springs work the best for my application.

My cars weigh in at 3750lbs, and one has nearly 700hp & the other just over 800 hp. I also run Nitto Drag Radials, because normal street tires like Radial T/A's just go up in smoke and feel like I'm driving on a snow covered roads.

I do run a pair of Lakewood slapper bars that I had to modify by cutting and welding the mounts to properly fit my Mopars. I upgrade the attaching hardware, as the hardware that comes with it is too weak and bends. I also cut the rubber snubber to about half the original height, and position it nearly touching the bottom of the front spring eye.

I have this set-up on both my A-Body and E-Body, and I've never had better ride quality or traction. One is an automatic the other a stick. I rarely see traction bars properly adjusted like this. Back in the day, the snubber was often positioned so far away from the spring that the snubber never hit the bottom of the spring, which is the whole point.

I can highly recommend the single or double adjustable QA1 shocks. I've tried Bilstein's, Koni's and AFCO double adjustable shocks. On the stick car, I had to go to the AFCO's Big Dog valving to be able to control and slow the body separation on launch. The car plants the tire so hard that it takes a lot of rebound valving to stop the tire from leaving the pavement on the hit.

 

[Dartsun]

Curious did you have a local shop install the 5 speed?

 

[Slugfarm]

Curious did you have a local shop install the 5 speed?

Yeah, I had Flynn and Spenser at Joe's Garage put that and the rear end in. I no longer have a driveway let alone a garage so I can't do much of anything at home, and they're the only guys I've found in the area that will work on the old stuff, so the've done pretty much everything on the car. I trust them but they're not really Mopar guys.

Tha car is intended to be a pretty aggressive casual mountain, coastal and country road driver. The tranny swap only happened because I blew up the 3-speed, and then I got a really good deal on the rear end.

 

[Dartsun]

Yeah, I had Flynn and Spenser at Joe's Garage put that and the rear end in. I no longer have a driveway let alone a garage so I can't do much of anything at home, and they're the only guys I've found in the area that will work on the old stuff, so the've done pretty much everything on the car. I trust them but they're not really Mopar guys.

Tha car is intended to be a pretty aggressive casual mountain, coastal and country road driver. The tranny swap only happened because I blew up the 3-speed, and then I got a really good deal on the rear end.

Good to know about Joes garage. I have seen some old cars out front there.

 

[Slugfarm]

They did this cool Hellcat swap into a 71 Demon (the one I got my rear end from) that’s on YouTube somewhere.

 

[AJ/FormS]

I happen to like the looks of vintage slapper bars, the kind that you replace the shock-plates with, as in post #11. I bought my first custom-built set, back in 1971, for a 340/4-speed Swinger. So I guess I'm a little biased, I get it, lol.
Ima thinking to build myself another set, but in aluminum this time.

 

[abdywgn]

these would be a bit lighter than the Lakewoods.

 

[matthon]

Same ones I posted above on my car when I got it, immediately, and regrettably, spray painted everything black.

Bars were yellow, everything else, except the exterior, was white.

I'll be returning it to that shortly.