Hello all, I am new here and had a couple questions regarding front suspension torsion bars on my 65 Belvedere.
Originally a 318 poly car. Now running a big block.
I am replacing the K-frame, upper and lower control arms with tubular pieces.
My major question concerns are with the torsion bars that are still original items. I see aftermarket pieces out there, but what would some of you recommend I go with???
The car in question will be mainly a street cruiser with the occasional run down the 1320.
"Would I be best to go with the upgrade to big block bars or something smaller?" I do plan on adding front drag shocks as well as replacing the rear springs with a Caltrac set up.
HP is around 550-575.
Thanks, I would appreciate all comments/help from those who make this site a huge help to us all.

For a street cruiser you might want the BB size bars, especially if you plan to bend the car into corners, and double-especially if you're not running a front sway bar.
For drag racing, you want a smaller bar so the car will pitch-rotate and transfer weight to the rear; this may not be as much of a concern with the Caltracs setup; someone with Caltracs experience will probably have a comment on that.

Quote:

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The car in question will be mainly a street cruiser with the occasional run down the 1320.
"Would I be best to go with the upgrade to big block bars or something smaller?" I do plan on adding front drag shocks as well as replacing the rear springs with a Caltrac set up.

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I would not run 90/10 shocks on a mostly street driven car. I would go with .960" t bars. How about some pics? 65 B body's are cool.

Early B's didn't use a different bar for BB and the A/LA, both used the .860" bar.

here is what I would run .. they are on sale right now as well

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-HP-...s#ht_500wt_1182

I appreciate the comments here so far. All I have had to go by is an old issue of a Mopar Chassis manual. Some great info in there yet seems some things are dated being the book is over 10 years old and there is many new aftermarket parts out there that just werent available then.
Currently the cars torsion bars are original. Im running skinny's on the front and with Hoosier 29.5x10.5 tubed DOT slicks. Car just wouldnt hook up with drag radials and 4.30 gears. Was an awesome ride though off the line. The front end comes up quick and launches hard at this point!
I dont plan to bury it in corners with the lil tires on the front and love the look it has. I also dont want to slow the weight transfer with a heavier-thicker torsion bar.
Also trying to change to 3.91 for a lil more drivability.
Thanks again for the comments.
pics to follow, just trying to find out how!
Billy

Nice-looking car. John, thanks for the bar info; my (originally 318) '63 is so floppy in corners (no sway bar) that I assumed (feel free to capitalize the 1st 3 letters!) that it had small bars. Dropping the 440 in it seems to have accentuated the leaning in turns; maybe BB cars got the sway bar for that?

Stroked.
Welcome to the game room.
For the last 21 years or so, I've driven my 65' Sedan mostly on the street and I also Drag it at the strips. I have my original 273 small block bars on there and it is super fine. For drag racing and or Hot street, you want to keep your small block bars for great weight transfer with the correct front shocks. You are fine with what you've got now.
The super, super duper factory trick is to use 6 cylinder bars for an all out drag car.
I also have super loose Calvert 90/10 up front and the car is fine with them also. What you are describing is a purpose built machine to aim and not drive. LOL.
All kiddin' aside, I drive all over the city streets with the manors of a Gent and the car is a joy to drive. Just don't get cocky and heroic with the gas pedal and steering wheel and you will be just fine.
Horse power is nothing to be horsing around with. Real people who know the orchestra of a real good motor piece need not have to taunt you to get silly on the streets. You shouldn't taunt your self neither.
A rule of thumb that I use to play and live and ultimately survived by was: If you want to see this thing get drunk, then pluck your money where your mouth is and meet me at the starting line.LOL.
PS: I think you will be crazy happy with 410's back there. I have them and drive out to Englishtown at 3000 RPM while passing 55 MPH traffic.

Full Metal! great reply! made me laugh a lil here. Its all for the most part a strait shooter! so to speak, yet how far can I drive the geared car that way. I didnt get into the engine aspect though I feel the typical stroker type engines dont need all the gears but for what I want and the tall tire will make me a powerband happy racer on occasion and sadly will still have to trailer my car to Englishtown to run the Mopar Nats in May!
Its been my goal since I missed the last one to race there. At least the one run before they shut me down for not having a cage.
Glad to see your from Brooklyn. I work in Brownsville and just happen to frequently motivate a large red engine through the streets so I happen to know the power to weight/ratio aspect! Its always fun though... Thanks for the post. Im leaning to just leave the bars and roll with my intentions and hope for what it is.
A long island cruiser, and see ya all at Englishtown in May!
The thought of LOW LOW 11's would be fantastic!

Brownsville. "The Brooklyn Dodges" garage is on Bergen St. just before Utica Ave.
That is where you will find some of the cities quickest Mopars and some of the loudest foul mouth arguments with the GM boyz across the street.

We hang there usually on Saturdays in good weather and the old man by the name of Top-Boy is the guru ace behind some really stout 904's and 727 flites coming out that dark garage.
Give a shout to my Email slot here on the board and let me know when you might be passing through.

A good decent amount of Torque and good weight transfer should be your 11 second ticket.
Low low 11's calls for a super Jack-o-Lee's health spa diet plan for that big Bronto you've got there. We got a 3900 pound Roadrunner running low mid 11's with a regular stroked 440 though.
Believe it or not, one of the real secrets are concealed in the transmissions.

Nice car. My 63 was a 383 car and now has a mild 440. I left the stock 383 bars in it. I rebuilt all the suspension and added 90/10 shocks up front and SS springs. Weight transfer is good enough to pull a 1.57 sixty in my mid 11 Sport Fury. Ron

Nice 65'
Looks to be a Belvedere II ?
Also looks like there is a fuel pump/filter hanging out back ?
NICE............

I have a 65 as well,,,, i like the side molding delete off the side on yours.......

I put some inexpensive 3 way adjustable shocks on the front of my Charger ( street/strip ),,,and can drop it to 90/10 for racing or other for street use...
On the Belvedere i have some QA-1 shocks,,,multi-adjustable,,,,nice shocks,,,but will be trying some Calvert shocks for racing,,,
Have Caltracs on the 65',,,

Thanks for posting your car,,,very cool.......

Doug

leave your stock torsion bars in, they will work fine but get yourself a nice set of adju7stable shocks,

stock torsion bars working just fine here!

Thanks all for your comments and insight here. As,im sure suspensions changes can do you right or wrong when trying to dial in your car,the help shown here to me is something considerable and appreciated.
Also Fullmetaljacket, I will be in touch once the weather gets a lil nicer and stop by the Bergen St. location to hear more about that transmission story!
Anyone interested in a great 489 case with 4.30 gears and sure-grip ???

Thanks, Billy.

Yeah, We affectionately call it "The Bergen Garage" after the infamous "Woodward Garage" in Detroit by the Chrysler skunk works team.
just E-mail me at absolutleestudio@yahoo.com any time in the good weather. We be hanging all over the joint like an ant farm rally.
PS: You on the FDNY?
Later.

Yes I am. Stationed over on Watkins St. and Pitkin Ave.,in Brownsville. 13 years of chaos and madness. Will make it a point to shout out to ya and stop by one weekend before work.
If anyone is interested in my rear, im looking to sell and replace with a new unit. Still in my car and can demo before pulling out. Will have some other items to sell as well shortly. Big Block K-frame and 2" headers among some other suspension items.
Thanks Billy

Nice car!

I dropped in a 69 B-body K frame and kept the factory bars. That swap moved the engine back about 2 inches and down almost an inch. Out back, I built a knock off of the original Super Stock style springs. It has both front and rear sway bars. The chassis will respond by lifting the rear between 4 and 4-1/2 inches. The front will rise with it.

Mine is not a drag car. It's a one-off science project. The stock converter pushing 3.23 gears and 28" tires doesn't make for good 60' times. About 300 feet out the turbos spool and the entire car lifts straight up. If it brakes traction (on the street below 50 mph) the car drops back down until there's some hook again.

There's a cheesey youtube video of mine titled hot rod burnout that shows the rear of the car moving around a little bit. You can see it rise with engine torque and drop when I shift to second gear.

I wish my car looked as nice as yours. Maybe it will some day. If so, that day is a LONG way off.

Here's my toy:

Have a few friends that were stationed over at Fort Pitt and the Dragon slayers on the Lower East Sides infamous Pitt St. and Chinatown where I grew up.

You guys are Super Hero's even when shopping at the local Supermarkets. Keep safe.