My swaybar is upside down, isn't it...?

The tie rod is hitting the sway bar. I just cut one coil off the driver side, and now it is resting on the swaybar.

Is the sway bar simply installed upside down?

Also, should I leave it at this height and let the finished weight and spring settling bring it down that last little bit? Lower A-arm should be completely level.

 

yep it looks upside down.

 

Got both sides cut and weight back on the tires. Now the alignment is WAY off

I need to roll the car forward and backwards a few times, and see if it settles into the springs a bit more before i cut anymore off.

How much will the springs "settle" once I get all the weight back into it and drive it a couple times, running the springs through all their range of motion?

Should I leave them like they are until after I drive it around the block a few times, then trim the springs a bit more, or just cut them now until the A-arms sit horizontal?

Done for today...sun came around and is now coming into my garage. Already 90 degrees out there in the shade, and I don't plan on working on it with the sun beating on me also.

 

I wouldn't drive it till the sway bar is flipped. Even if it isn't hitting with the vehicle at rest, it might when you hit a bump or dip. Talk about bump steer ...

 

Oh nooo! I mean AFTER it is all assembled correctly.

How much should I expect the springs to settle, if at all?

I will flip the sway bar tomorrow if I have time before family stuff starts to happen.

 

If they are new springs, they won't settle much at all. Old springs will settle overnight with the full weight of the car. It doesn't look like that swaybar is gonna work with that setup even when flipped over (I could be wrong though).

 

I bought the swaybar as part of the Rod and Custom kit. It should fit once I get it on right. All the other parts are Rod and Custom, from the RC-106 kit.

Good to know about the springs. I will roll the car a bit in the garage, and cut a little more off the springs. Maybe only another 1/4 coil and see how it sits.

I have had weight on the springs, including engine and trans, for nearly a month. Maybe that is all they need, to do any settling they will be doing...

I will not put the sway bar back on until I get the A-arm level. They are in the way, anyway.

 

Looking at the pic it looks as if the end link could rub the steering linkage during a turn.. Hard to tell in the pic..

 

Gene, I am sure that if I attempted to turn with it upside down like this, those lock nuts on the end links would either bind by hitting the sway bar, or at least catch and pop as I turned. The sway bar is actually sitting ON that end link.

Sway bar is off now. Hopefully I will get time in the morning to cut the springs down a bit more. Then flip the bar and see how it all fits.

Of course, I will post pictures of how it all sets when I am done.

I am still thinking I will need 2" drop spindles before I am completely done.

Good thing is I am getting pretty adept at assembling and disassembling the front suspension, and I have figured out some shortcuts to messing with the springs that makes this all WAY safer and easier.

 

Better make sure the shocks you are useing have enough travel for the amount of lowering you plan on doing. As for your springs setteling...Sure they will, over the course of about 30 years...

 

I am not "lowering" it. The lower A-arms are supposed to be flat horizontal, so that the geometry is all correct.

I am only cutting the springs to lower it until it sits horizontal like it is supposed to.

 

you don't need to even drive the car to settle the ride hieght to static.

All you need to do is bounce the front end as hard as you possible can(I usually hop on the bumpers.. or in the case of this cars cosmetic style bumper.. get right into the bay and bounce the front frame rails.. or even the sway bar.. pretty heavily) which moves the suspension through the camber curve and scrubs the tires slightly to hit normal ride height. having 2 people do it is even easier since you can just push on the rad support to achiev the same bounce.

as for the spring height settling on high performacne or premium style springs?.. if it does.. it will be so slight that you'll never see it or be able to really measure it anyways. biggest thing is to scrub the tires so they sit correctly loaded on both side walls. which is what all the bouncing around does.

 

I have bounced the car with my own weight, and I figured that rolling it forward and back about 6' will help it settle out a bit, so I can re-evaluate how much to cut off on the next go-around. I have jacked both sides up and let them back down, but it really knocked the alignment out a bunch. The top of the tires are sitting way out.

Thanks for the help. I hope to have it sitting correctly by the end of the day tomorrow, if my other life events don't interfere.

 

another thing is to leave the control arm pivot bolts loose. if they are tightened when the suspension is drooping they can provide some upward force. they should be tightened when the suspension is compressed to ride height.

 

Bryant, thanks for reminding me about that. I had them loose when I started this project, but when I first got the springs installed, I tightened them.

i will loosen them back up and wait til I get the correct spring height before I crank them back down.