Thread: Question about ladder bars/coil overs

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Quick question.......anybody ever run ladder bars with coil overs on a street car? Any insight as to pros and cons.

I had some experience with ladder bars and leaf sprigs many many moons ago (not the hot ticket on a street driven car) but never personally did anything with ladder bars and coil overs.

Looking at a Street/Strip car......... (more strip than street presently) and need to know if I should plan on getting rid of the ladder bars and put it back on leaf springs.




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I'd be of the opinion that as long as the setup was "good" \ "right" there shouldn't be much difference to say a 60's Chevy Pickup Truck. The ladder bars / trailing arms set the axle location and pinion angle. You'd probably need a watts link or other centering device.

My roadster has Pete & Jake's triangulated ladder bars with coilovers. So far I've seen nothing wrong with it, but it hasn't seen any long road trips.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...xoCxRYQAvD_BwE

i have mono leafs with sliders for my falcon. will run long ladder bars

Mike, I'm glad you asked this. The 39 Olds frame we will most likely use for Colt's car has ladder bars and coil springs. I was wondering how it would work on the street too. I also figured a good set of coil overs and a track bar would net it alright to run. I have a 72 Nova that is tubbed and has ladder bars and I have been researching the pros /cos of them. I think the biggest consensus on a ladder bar car over a 4 link car is the lack of adjustability on the ladder bar car. This is from a drag racing perspective. So on a street car it shouldn't be an issue as long as it is set up correctly to begin with.

".......i have mono leafs with sliders for my falcon. will run long ladder bars......"

Shine , my only first hand experience with ladder bars was in the late 60s-early 70s. At that time I don't even think that sliders had even been developed yet or if they were they weren't well know. I've read good reviews on them but would sure like to here your thoughts on them after you get the car together.


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i ran them on several cars. our camaro ran straight and hard with never a blip. i'm not a fan of rear coil over setups on the street. just never liked the ride.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

I think the biggest consensus on a ladder bar car over a 4 link car is the lack of adjustability on the ladder bar car.

I'm not sure what adjustability might be missing, but the Pete & Jakes bars are triangulated, eliminating the need for a Panhard bar or Watt's Link; and they have Heim joints top & bottom at the brackets welded to the axle tubes which lets you adjust the tracking angle for alignment, and the pinion angle, too.

I've got to agree with Shine, the coil overs on the rear are harsh at best, and I've not yet found the magic setting to soften the ride without them bottoming out because of the short travel. I just accept that a bump in the road is going to be a jolt to my lower back!

ladder bars installed right have plenty of adjustment. not as much as 4 link but still pretty good and no panhard bar needed.

I've ran a couple different cars with ladder bars and coilovers on the street, no major issues for me. A lot depends on the travel of the coilovers, most are only 3" of travel and makes for a harsh ride on the street. I used some AFCO coilovers with 5" of travel on a Maverick with a Windsor stroker, the ride was acceptable and with the right adjustments worked great for some Friday night grudge racing at the strip! Nice car, by the way! If everything is done correctly it will save you a ton of time and money on the build. Have fun and keep us updated on the progress!

Thanks Dave, good Info. I don’t know what the travel on the current coil overs are, but will check when I get a chance.

The guy who I bought the car from had one of those Mid Rise Scissor Lifts with an open center, so I was able to spend a fair amount of time under the car checking modification and welds…..not saying I won’t find issues I missed later on but, everything looked really good. Actually , I might look into one of those lifts somewhere down the road.

“……..If everything is done correctly it will save you a ton of time and money on the build……”

That was kind of my thoughts on it. I originally was looking for something with good paint and upholstery (basically an original car) and my initial reaction was to pass on this one. The more I mulled it over I came to the conclusion that on an original car I would end up spending a bunch of time and money upgrading the suspension, finding an A Body 8 3/4 rear end and setting it up, and upgrading the brakes, (not counting the actual swap) ……laying on my back doing this at this point would not be fun at all. This cars already set up for a motor that weighs almost as much as the HEMI so that is a BIG plus in my mind.

Right now I’m in the collecting parts and info stage. I’m waiting to hear back from a guy who has a another 68 Plymouth Valiant 2dr Sedan for sale on the local Market Place he’s not real out of line on his pricing from what I see in the pictures…..you can never have enough parts LOL.

I’ve got a core 331 Hemi to use for mockup, and I’m going to stop by my buddy’s trans shop to see if be has a 46RH/RE case and OD housing I can borrow for a while to do the mockup with.

I think this will be interesting, I haven’t come across many people who have real experience with a Gen 1 HEMI into an A Body (2 so far). Due to clearance issues it’s going to be a bit more involved than set the motor and build mounts. Difficulty wise I wonder where it will rate on the difficulty scale compared to the other swaps I’ve done .



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