Replacement torsion bars was: breaking (long)

[John Meyer <donkiyoti@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on 2/9/02 16:53, Anthony Foster at monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Hello Gang
> Not that my car needs one, or ever would, is it possible to find
> replacement torsion bars for the larger Chrysler products? I know that repro
> ones are available for Cudas and Chargers from specialty houses but could
> you get them from a spring company?

Hi everybody,

Awhile back I spent some months looking into the idea of obtaining new
torsion bars for '64-66 cars. Eventually I came up with nothing! I spoke to
a fellow that works for a company in Canada that has been the OEM supplier
of torsion bars for Chrysler. He thought it "could" be possible to find a
currently available bar that "might" work, maybe from a Dodge Dakota.

There were four main factors you'd have to look for:

Length, of course. Imperial bars are the longest of all the Mopar passenger
cars.

The diameter really needs to be identical if you want your ride quality to
be as new; a very small difference in diameter makes a big difference in
spring rate on a torsion bar. Of course, Imperial bars are of a larger
diameter than other Mopars.

The hex ends need to be the same size; if they're larger you could have them
machined to fit but smaller and you're out of luck.

The angle of offset of the two ends of the bar (how much twist is built into
the bar when it's at rest) is a big factor, and this is where we ran out of
data since at the time I didn't have a spare bar laying around that I could
measure.

In short, the chance of getting new bars for our Imperials is slim to none.

The good news is that, according to the fellow at the torsion bar factory,
they don't really wear out as such. At least not to the point that you can't
compensate with the adjuster. Nicks, scratches, and corrosion will cause
premature failure, though. (That's why they sell special tools for pulling
torsion bars; NEVER clamp down on them with vise grips!)

In the case of my sagging '65, I got a pair of bars and adjusters from a '66
in a junkyard. I took my car to a good suspension shop and they replaced the
lower control arm bushings and the adjuster and viola! just like new! There
was nothing wrong with my original bars, either. The pair from the '66 are
still on the floor of my garage.

Best,
John Meyer