well i am sawping the huge v-8 style torsion bars ( yep that old dart had the biggies! ) from my 73 over to the 64. because the 64's are tired and wimpy. any advice would be awesome cause i have no idea and none of us @ teh shop have ever done such a thing.

help us n00bz please

neil

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"Marilyn" 64 Dart GT & "Stella" 64 Valiant V100 Sedan - 63 Norton Project

The FSM recommends a special tool that's nearly impossible to find. I've found that a cable clamp (aka a wire rope clip) like this one makes a good substitute:



Wrap it around the T-bar and brace a bottle jack against the holding portion of the LCA - once you've removed the snap ring and separated the lower ball joint, the bottle jack will pop it right out.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

awesome, i'll hit home despot and grab some of those and give it a try.
oh it easyer to do with the motor out? cause i might just wait till both motors are pulled and do the steering box and torsion bars then.

thanks!

neil

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"Marilyn" 64 Dart GT & "Stella" 64 Valiant V100 Sedan - 63 Norton Project

Don't forget to take the clip out of the rear T-bar ancher. I have always just hit the lower control arm with a big hammer to get the bar out of the rear ancher (after undoing the lower control arm retainer nut and the strut rod nuts under the radiator support), and usually the forward part of the bar (in the control arm) will come right out. Also, make sure your adjusting screws are all the way out so there is no tension are on the bars. Don't worry about doing any damage to any of the parts with a big hammer. Suspension pieces are pretty tough.

There's also this torsion bar removal/installation tool (scroll down):

http://www.americanmuscle.biz/parts.html

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vm

I pulled the T-bars with the motor in when I swapped out mine. I don't see any real advantage to pulling the motor, although there might be one to removing the exhaust pipe.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

The cable clamp idea is a keen one. The main thing to avoid is anything that would tend to create sharp ridges, nicks, or gouges/scratches in the surface of the bar, because these will act as stress risers and greatly increase the likelihood of the bar breaking. This means no vise-grips!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

ok no tool mars or dings...

gotcha!

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"Marilyn" 64 Dart GT & "Stella" 64 Valiant V100 Sedan - 63 Norton Project