Installing torsion bars yesterday, I used a socket and hammer to pound on the back side to move them into the LCA pockets. They ended up about 1/2" forward of the retainer clips in the back.

Should I move them backwards so they are touching the clips before I put tension on them?

They don't need to touch the clips, but they should not be jammed against the lower bushing and pivot either. What kind of shape are your lower bushings in? The thing to look at is whether or not it was pounded enough to push the inside of the lower arm forward or not.

The pivot and bushing are supposed to locate the arm, not the torsion bar.

If everything is clean it does not take much effort to get torsion bars in. If it takes a real beating then it is not going right.

I would check things and move the bars back at least a 1/4" so they are not pushing against the arm before putting a load on them.

Thanks, I thought the clips went in farther, so I did some pounding. The LCA bushings are new, in fact, all the front suspension is new, or sandblasted and painted, the torsion bars are the originals.

but, now that I think about it, the left torsion bar went in fine and the back socket and front pocket lined up.

But on the right side, I had to put a pipe wrench on the front socket to twist it a little, because where the torsion bar fit in the back socket, the hexagonal pattern didn't quite line up with the front pocket. Is this weird or a problem?

Not at all. The thing to be aware of is the position of the T-bar adjusting arms when you're installing the LCAs. When you tighten the nut on the lower pivot, it can twist the adjusting arm up or down (depending on which side of the car you're working on). This can cause a slight misalignment between the hex in the LCA and the torsion bar mount. To avoid this problem, I wait to snug up the pivot nut until I have the T-bar installed. The only way this misalignment is a problem is if you're a full "tooth" (for lack of a better term...) off when re-installing the T-bar into the LCA. This will make itself apparent when you go to tighten the T-bar adjusters (one side will go in waaaaay more than the other. DAMHIKT), so check to make sure the arms are in the same position side-to-side before you get too much further along in your assembly (again, DAMHIKT)

Best of luck,

Nat

_________________
1970 four-door Dart, 225/A-904/2.45 gears. 0-60 in twenty three minutes!