Thread: ladder bar ajustment

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i have a 75 vega back halfed.9 inch ford rear end.when im staged and take off it pulls to the left.ladder bars have no ajustment,just a bar going across the ladder bars.how do i adjust that to get it to launch straight?

Do you have a track bar or a panhard bar? The best way is to square up the car. Measure the left side wheel base and compare it to the right side wheelbase. Don't your ladder bars have adjustable heim ends on the front end of the bar???

To add to Dave's comment, have you thought of causes other than the ladder bars? Chassis pre-load? Tire pressure? Is the rear axle perpendicular to the centerline of the car?

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Do you have a track bar or a panhard bar? The best way is to square up the car. Measure the left side wheel base and compare it to the right side wheelbase. Don't your ladder bars have adjustable heim ends on the front end of the bar???

no,there set into brackets like a set of leaf springs were.it has a bar going from the front right to the bottom left of the ladder bars,these have adjustments .

That diagonal is the track bar. Shortening or lengthening it will square up the rear axle You need to do some careful measuring and make sure that the rear axle is square with the car.

Also, don't forget about tire pressure and spring preload.

I would also make only one adjustment at a time (Then try a launch) and carfully document every change until you get it straightened out. If you go the wrong direction at some point it will make back tracking much easier. Bad tires could also be a possible cause.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

That diagonal is the track bar. Shortening or lengthening it will square up the rear axle You need to do some careful measuring and make sure that the rear axle is square with the car.

Also, don't forget about tire pressure and spring preload.

it measures 96 inches on both back tires.i havent tried the rear shocks yet.there coil overs.which side should i start with if it goes to the left on launch?and how many turns? thank you

If it moves to the left, crank more pressure on the left tire to make it dig a little harder. I can't tell you how many turns. You have to experiment. Just change one thing at a time, though.

excellent advice above plus you may want to run a stiffer shock on the left (or a softer one on the right) depending how severe your pull...

what do you have for diff... posi, locker?

Great advice. If the wheelbase is correct side to side, my first move would be stiffening the left shock, if you have adjustable valving on the coilovers, stiffen the left one click. I've had to go so far as to change springs, but this was only on a car that made hard moves to the right.... Make you changes small, and keep track of what they do as Pro suggested...

Originally Posted by skids72

excellent advice above plus you may want to run a stiffer shock on the left (or a softer one on the right) depending how severe your pull...

what do you have for diff... posi, locker?

540s with spool or 30s. 360 motor,14 to 1 compression.supposed to be.the owner said it ran 10.40s all day,dynoed at 647.i doubt it.its got pro action heads and a herbert 640 lift roller cam, custom headers,eagle rods,weisco pistons,holly dominator carb. best time in the eight was 728 at 97 miles a houre and thats letting off and hitting it again.its weight is around 23 2400.what do you guys think?it pulls to the right not left,my mistake.doesnt do it in burn out,just launce. compression is 190 195 or so on drivers,200 210 passenger side

Same advice applies just to the other side. Make one change at a time between runs so you know what is helping and what isn't. Document each change and what it's affect was. A detailed log will be valuable information.

Try something real simple, swap the rear tires from side to side.

He's got coil overs. He can preload the right side by cranking the adjustment ring on the shock body. Swapping tires before trying any of that may be a good idea also. If it still pulls right after swapping the tires, you'll know it isn't the tires.

Also, make sure you have equal pressure in both tires to start with. To get equal pressures, you need a very good tire gauge with the proper pressure range. A gauge that reads 0 - 60 psi won't measure very well down at the 5- 10 psi you're going to put in your slicks. They make crossover hoses that connect to both tires, so the pressures have to end up equal.

i would agree check the tires 1st i fooled around with a set of old tires on my bucket when i 1st got it going and it would pull to the one side, found same series tire different brand different size.