Quote:
If his are sagged
Kinda like "if" the sun rises in the East tomorrow morning 
Quote:
a new set with one extra leaf would do it (5 leaf OK, 6 leaf is overkill...)
Agreed!
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| How do I lower the front end of my 1976 Valiant? https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46782 |
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| Author: | 76 Valiant [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:13 pm ] |
| Post subject: | How do I lower the front end of my 1976 Valiant? |
A guy at work told me it was possbile to lower only the front end of my Valiant by adjusting the torsion bar but he mumbled a bit I missed half of what he said. I'm trying to achieve a "raked" look by doing so and would like to know if anyone has some step by step instructions on how to do this. I'm new at the game but have all the tools it takes. Thanks in advance, Joe |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:10 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Yes, it's true, you can lower the front end of your Valiant by "loosening" (turning counterclockwise) the torsion bar adjustor bolts. Doing so will throw your front end alignment out of whack; those adjustors aren't there to facilitate lowering for cosmetic purposes. Correct(!) adjustment of the front suspension height via the T-bar adjustors is the first step in a front-end alignment on a car such as yours. I respectfully suggest that making random adjustments without understanding all their effects is not the best place to start if you are new at this. The best place to start, IMO, is by buying and reading the three books described in this thread. Note that many old A-bodies at this late date have sagging rear springs, causing it to look as if the front's too high when in fact the rear's too low. A new set of springs will bring the rear back up where it belongs, not only restoring ride height and quality and handling and load capacity but also getting rid of the high-front/low-rear appearance. |
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| Author: | 76 Valiant [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:58 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
It has rear leaf springs. |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:13 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Yes. It has rear leaf springs. |
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| Author: | Reed [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:31 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
The easiest way for you to achieve the raked look you want would be to install some really long rear leaf spring shackles. However, that will create other suspension related problems. The right way for you to lower the front of your car would be drop spindles or to replace the front and rear suspensions with something like an air bag suspension. Otherwise, Dan is right on. |
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| Author: | DusterIdiot [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Lol... |
Quote: The easiest way for you to achieve the raked look you want would be to install some really long rear leaf spring shackles.
You can also put a new set of HD leaf springs in the rear and those will keep it popped up...My duster's rear doesn't even out until I put the spare,jack, full tool box, spare parts, and a full load of groceries back there...If his rear springs are sagged, a new set with one extra leaf would do it (5 leaf OK, 6 leaf is overkill...) -D.Idiot |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Lol... |
Quote: If his are sagged
Kinda like "if" the sun rises in the East tomorrow morning Quote: a new set with one extra leaf would do it (5 leaf OK, 6 leaf is overkill...)
Agreed!
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| Author: | kesteb [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
There is several ways to get a "raked" look. The easiest is to do a rubber rake with big and smalls, just like classic hot rods. Big and small refers to the diameter of the tires, i.e. P215x15s in the back and P195x14s in the front. You can also safely crank the torsion bars down to lower the front by 2" The worst way is to raise the rear end using spring shackles or air shocks. This will make the car extremely tail happy. On my '65 Dart I have done a rubber rake with P205/60x15 in the front and P235/60x15 in the rear and cranked down the torsion bars. The car sits quite nicely, with plenty of suspension travel and handles quite nicely. I have gone so far as using 13x5.5" rims in front with a C60x13 tires along with 14x8' rims with G50x14" tires in the rear. I also cranked down the torsion bars to the point where I had to cut the front bumpers. This was of course 30 some years ago on a '66 Dart that I had. When that car wore out, I moved those rims over to a '71 Demon and ran them for several years. |
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| Author: | SlantSixDan [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:16 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Different tires/wheels in front vs. rear means you also get to either press your luck and never drive too far, or eat up your trunk space with two spare tire/wheel assemblies. Seems like a lot of nuisance to achieve a particular cosmetic appearance, so for me it's "No thanks, I'm driving", but I guess it depends on your priorities. |
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| Author: | Reed [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I never said long shackles was a technologically good idea. I just said it is EASIEST. Personally, I like keeping the A-body suspension the way Mopar designed it. I'm more of a form follows function kinda guy. |
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| Author: | Joshie225 [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:50 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Not the best picture, but you can see the rake I achieved with 205/50R15 and 235/60R15 tires on my '66 Dart. The front suspension still has lots of bump travel available. I later made better brackets for the sway bar. 
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| Author: | exoJjL [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Thread started by me with a stupid opening question here: HERE Don't mess with it unless you know what you're doing, we're talking suspension here thus your safety and lack thereof if you modify it incorrectly; you'll end upside down in a ditch! And I recently got the Stockel&Stockel, and Petersens book that Dan recommended in that thread and they're great books! I got them for CHEAP at Amazon.com |
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| Author: | exoJjL [ Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Quote: |
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| Author: | 76 Valiant [ Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Thanks for all of the advise. I'm not sure which route I want to take but the safest and cost effective route is my style. Joe |
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| Author: | Reed [ Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Quote: I'm not sure which route I want to take but the safest and cost effective route is my style.
Well, that answers it. The safest and most cost effective route would be to repair or replace your sagging rear leaf springs. Replacing the worn originals with new five leaf springs will give your car a slight rake.
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