The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop torsion bars again

hello, new here, i did a search and found barely a whisper on this.
i traded a 1988 jeep wrangler for a 1960 chevy step side and the front end is already lowered with the torsion bars and not drop spindles. the guy has 14" rims on the front and 15" rims on the back(1970 style)and the front end feels like jello. he said he has new shocks on it but i don't believe him as every time i go over a speed bump i hit the bump stops and bottom out three times. any way wondering what the stock height might be or where i can figure out the right shocks for this as it sits now.

The shocks can't control the bounce when all the tension is off the torsion bars. Jack it back up to normal ride height and put the right wheels back on, and your bottoming-out problem will go away. Otherwise, buy a trailer, and tow your lowrider to a car show, win your trophy, and trailer it home. It's dangerous to drive when it's bouncing all over the road.
Jerry

ok, what height is that? stock dimension is unknown to me i being the rookie.

Since you don't say what series your truck is, I will quote from the manual for a series 10-40;
"Vehicle curb height measurement is taken from the bottom edge of the cross member to the top outer flange of the lower bumper bracket at center line of spindle".

The measurement for this series is 41/4 ". Adjust the torsion bars to fit this measurement. If you want a picture, send me your email address to my office at [email protected]
Note: the truck came originally with 6 bolt 15" rims, so if the front has 14" 5 bolt rims, the spindles were changed, or the hubs were modified or.....who knows !

I have a 60 C10 and it has drop spindles and 5 lug 15" tires on it and it rides really nice with the torsion bar suspension. Like TimK mentioned maybe the torsion bars need to be adjusted.
Joe

you know i'm not sure of the series how do i tell? but they are six lug rims. thank you for the numbers though that's fantastic.

six lug would be c10. i have heard of people tightening the torosion bars to lower and it drove fine. i haven't figured out a reason for a low truck that i can't get under to even change the oil. hahaha to each his own though.