62 Front SwayBar Installation

[Joe Pass]

A follow up on the torsion bar keys and how I raised them almost 1"
I had a chance to takes some pictures of how I gained some ground clearance.... so here's some pictures.
The bushing was sourced from center axle on some throw away castor. A friend sourced his at the local bearing supply in bronze under $10. The picture shows the dimensions with my example. You will also see the skid plate I attached to the X pipe out of 1/4" plate to help protect every thing a little further.
As you can see there is a speed bump that hates me in my driveway, but the keys haven't scraped

[slepysal]

Just outstanding thanks

[61_FL_Apache]

So you removed the piece in the 2nd picture to get it higher off the ground.

[doobiebro]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

Well there is one thing I did to gain ground clearance is I eliminated the spacer under the head of the torsion key bolt. That allowed T-bolt to settle almost an inch higher in the torsion key saddles. The only pictures I have are from my build that show it before the removal, but you might get the idea. If you look at the bolt in the pictures there are 2 square blocks under each bolt. I then removed the one directly under the bolt head. The second block has a larger inner hole so I used some thin wall bushing material to reduce the slop and reinstalled it. I turned both bolts gradually until the lower arms were level and since readjusted them up a little bit after it settled. I wish I took some photos but I was at a friends alignment shop and did this a the fly. That area is my lowest point and sits 4.5" above the level ground. So far I scraped twice on the X pipe but the bolts /keys cleared any harm.
Attachment 1399924

Attachment 1399925

Attachment 1399926

Attachment 1399927

Very nice under belly.. My 60 torsion bar bolt heads measure 4" to level ground. Your truck stance looks similar to mine. I have 2 1/2" dropped spindles and I cranked the torsion bar bolts up front and at the rear 4" drop coil springs. I also ran both exhaust pipes in between the torsion bars just like your pic on the x pipe. My 1st truck was a 62 and now I have a 60. Thanx for the write up... Man I love your truck

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by 61_FL_Apache

So you removed the piece in the 2nd picture to get it higher off the ground.

Correct....Joe

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by doobiebro

Very nice under belly.. My 60 torsion bar bolt heads measure 4" to level ground. Your truck stance looks similar to mine. I have 2 1/2" dropped spindles and I cranked the torsion bar bolts up front and at the rear 4" drop coil springs. I also ran both exhaust pipes in between the torsion bars just like your pic on the x pipe. My 1st truck was a 62 and now I have a 60. Thanx for the write up... Man I love your truck

Thanks, Love to see how you did your exhaust also

[par4tom]

Your truck looks awesome!!!

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by par4tom

Your truck looks awesome!!!

Thank You....I'm honored.

[verdell]

Hey Joe and Doobie,

what shocks are you guys running front and rear?

[OldChevy61]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

Summit racing is where I got these http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pt...model/chevelleAttachment 1399973

Joe Pass, was there any spark plug issues with those headers. Looking at the pics,looks like they drop in front of the bell housing. I'm running a factory bell with hydraulic clutch on passenger side. Do you have a pic of the pass side by chance? Awesome looking work there by the way.

[The Rocknrod]

Very, very nice job Joe!

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by verdell

Hey Joe and Doobie,

what shocks are you guys running front and rear?

My shocks are Bilstien's right from CPP The front are standard length application and the rear accommodate a 5" drop spring

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Very, very nice job Joe!

Thank you

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by OldChevy61

Joe Pass, was there any spark plug issues with those headers. Looking at the pics,looks like they drop in front of the bell housing. I'm running a factory bell with hydraulic clutch on passenger side. Do you have a pic of the pass side by chance? Awesome looking work there by the way.

No spark plug issues..
Here's the pictures I have, hope you can see enough....just so you know I'm an automatic and relocated the trans mount to the back. I trimmed flush the bell housing crossmember/mount which opened up a straight shot back.
Joe

[doobiebro]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

My shocks are Bilstien's right from CPP The front are standard length application and the rear accommodate a 5" drop spring

Originally Posted by verdell

Hey Joe and Doobie,

what shocks are you guys running front and rear?

same exact thing said by Joe Pass except my rear is 4'' drop spring

[61_FL_Apache]

Heck with the sway-bar! Look at that exhaust system!! Sweet

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by 61_FL_Apache

Heck with the sway-bar! Look at that exhaust system!! Sweet

Thanks....

[Captainfab]

With a manual trans and the original bellhousing crossmember in place, you will not be able to run any of the car headers. IMO your best bet is the Hedman #69260 headers. They are listed to fit '55-'65 trucks. No spark plug issues. In fact these will work with angle plug heads.

Originally Posted by OldChevy61

Joe Pass, was there any spark plug issues with those headers. Looking at the pics,looks like they drop in front of the bell housing. I'm running a factory bell with hydraulic clutch on passenger side. Do you have a pic of the pass side by chance? Awesome looking work there by the way.

[The Rocknrod]

A bit pricey for some, however these would give your X-pipe some clearance:
http://www.spintechmufflers.com/x-pi...s/cat_126.html

[bosephus]

Originally Posted by Joe Pass

Summit racing is where I got these http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pt...model/chevelleAttachment 1399973

Hate to beat the exhaust questions to death but there isn't much information on header application for trucks retaining the torsion bars. Are your headers the Patriot clipsters in the link or are they Hedman 68608 that I seen in an earlier post? That system is awesome! Thanks,bo

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by bosephus

Hate to beat the exhaust questions to death but there isn't much information on header application for trucks retaining the torsion bars. Are your headers the Patriot clipsters in the link or are they Hedman 68608 that I seen in an earlier post? That system is awesome! Thanks,bo

I'm using the Hedman...Answering the question I just wanted to show the link to a style I was using...sorry for any confusion
Joe

[bosephus]

Thanks for the info Joe! Beautiful job on the truck.

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by bosephus

Thanks for the info Joe! Beautiful job on the truck.

Thanks...

[par4tom]

Hey Joe,
I got my sway bar installed and finally getting a chance to run around with it a little bit. I had to replace a brand-new motor with another after the guy at the exhaust place wiped out the cam revving it up!!! (He wouldn't take ownership of it though)

The ride difference on this with the sway bar is remarkable. Much more stable and much less vehicle sway!

Anyway, I am getting a bit of rubbing of the right front tire on the side of the sway bar. I have the old tires on there that have quite a bit of bulge until I can get the axels swapped out and converted over to 5 lug.

Did you have any rubbing issues?

Also, what kind/size of wheel are you running and do you remember the offset?

Tom

[Joe Pass]

Originally Posted by par4tom

Hey Joe,
I got my sway bar installed and finally getting a chance to run around with it a little bit. I had to replace a brand-new motor with another after the guy at the exhaust place wiped out the cam revving it up!!! (He wouldn't take ownership of it though)

The ride difference on this with the sway bar is remarkable. Much more stable and much less vehicle sway!

Anyway, I am getting a bit of rubbing of the right front tire on the side of the sway bar. I have the old tires on there that have quite a bit of bulge until I can get the axels swapped out and converted over to 5 lug.

Did you have any rubbing issues?

Also, what kind/size of wheel are you running and do you remember the offset?

Tom

That's sad about the motor....I tend to disable the ignition when I have to entrust someone's help on my trucks in case I'm not there to watch. Never had much issues myself but I worked at a differential repair shop and the shop owner's test drives consisted of personal errands and to pickup his lunch with a customer's car...
Anyway I haven't had a rubbing issue on the swaybar...I run 15x7" front wheel with a 3.5" backspace. The tire is a 225/65/15 and its a BF Goodrich "G" force tire with a stiff sidewall to also help with its handling.