Hi everyone,
I'm new to the site and just recently adopted a 1962 Dodge Lancer 4-door.
Its just going to be a nice cruiser for my lady, dog and I. Nothing crazy but i do want to lower it a bit (2" front, 3" rear), close out wheels gaps front and rear. I know i need lowering blocs for the rear but i have never lowered a torsion bar front end before. I did search a bit and came up empty. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Patrick

There is a bolt in the lower control arm, it's the torsion bar adjuster. Loosen the bolt and the front end will lower, do it a little bit at a time and make sure you adjust the driver and passenger side the same amount.

-Ryan

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1965 Plymouth Belvedere II Turbo Project - SOLD
2002 Subaru OBS
1995 Lexus LS400 Race Car

so how low will adjusting those get me? anybody make aftermarket shocks for it when its lowered? maybe something from another car?

Mine is lowered over 3 inches in a b-body. OEM shocks.

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1965 Plymouth Belvedere II Turbo Project - SOLD
2002 Subaru OBS
1995 Lexus LS400 Race Car

hows the ride? is it very "floaty" any bottoming out issues?

if you take the pressure off of the stock torsion bars to lower the car it will float around and bounce off of the bump stops. if you go aftermarket with thicker torsion bars it will be a little better but your best bet would be to find or have someone make a set of drop spindles so your suspension works the way it should.

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1966 Plymouth Valiant, 225, 3 on the tree, 8 1/4 3.21 sure grip, hyperpac, holley 650dp, holset h1c

It's not floaty on mine, but I'm bringing it up a little for drag. Like junior said, get drop spindles (if you have the money).

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1965 Plymouth Belvedere II Turbo Project - SOLD
2002 Subaru OBS
1995 Lexus LS400 Race Car

thanks for all the input guys, very helpful. I'll lower with the torsion bars for now. ill probably keep my eyes open for drop spindles for the future.

so when "loosening" the torsion bar adjuster how much should i go each side at a time? 1 rotation? 1/2 rotation?

if you are going the torsion bar route make sure your shocks are up to par to help with the floating. as far as backing off the adjuster i usually go 1/2 rotation because it is easy to keep track. you can do a full rotation if you like. you may want to start spraying them with some penetrating oil before attempting to turn them. let it soak in.

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1966 Plymouth Valiant, 225, 3 on the tree, 8 1/4 3.21 sure grip, hyperpac, holley 650dp, holset h1c

Note that when adjusting the suspension, everyone so far has assumed that the car is in excellent driving shape. Make sure to inspect your bushings, if they are old and cracked and you put more stress on them by changing the adjustments a bit you might end up in an accident.

If changing the torsion bar adjusting bolt, you have to loosen the lower control arm stud nut so the arm can "float"...if not done this can unwind the torsion bar and damage the lower control arm bushing. Once adjustment is completed you can then torque it back to normal and move on.

2 cents,

-D.Idiot

Just had a poke around under it and looks like ill be doing some bushings and shocks too.

So do I need to loosen the lower control arm nut if I'm just backing the torsion bar adjuster out? Or do I only do that if I'm changing the adjuster out for a new one? I'm new to this whole torsion bar set up.

Yes, any time you adjust the lower control arms you need to loosen the LCA stud nut to allow it to "move", then you make the adjustment, then tighten the nut back up and you're good to go.

-D.Idiot

right, got it.

Another thing to consider, if you're lowering the suspension (say, more than an inch) then you change the camber angle of the front wheels- it usually goes more positive. You'll need alignment if you do bushings & such anyway, but if you "go too low", you might not be able to get alignment (camber/caster) angles back within spec.

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl