Torsion bars and spings

[bcroe]

I think it doesn't matter which end of the Tbar is in front, the twist is the same. But it needs to stay on the same side. Bruce Roe

Incorrect, Bruce. Turning the torsion rods front to back / back to front will reverse the direction
of the twist relative to the vehicle. It would be the same as swapping them from side to side.

My question was what direction do they twist relative to the car. When sitting in the driver's seat is it Left/CW and Right/CCW? Or is it Left/CCW and Right/CW?

I believe you should rethink that comment. Imagine looking at the front of the passenger
side T bar; the weight of the car tries to twist it clockwise. From that vantage the rear
anchor twist appears the opposite, CCW. So now walk around to the rear and look at the
anchor end; this reversed perspective makes the anchor twist appear CC. So no matter
which end you look at, its being twisted CC. So the ends are interchangeable.

On all the Toro/Riv/Eldos I've looked at, a forging is pushed onto each end of the T bar,
its NOT crimped. Might take a few solid taps before its ready to slide on/off.

[Otto Skorzeny]

Yes, you're right.

For some reason I was envisioning each end twisting the same direction relative to the car which of course would mean that the rod was not a torsion rod at all.

[bcroe]

Yes, you're right.

For some reason I was envisioning each end twisting the same direction relative to the car which of course would mean that the rod was not a torsion rod at all.

Yes, and my CC was supposed to be CW. Bruce

[69W34]

........the twist is the direction that carries the load, visualize this sitting in the driver seat facing forward, the bars are inboard of the wheel/tire the rear of the bar is figuratively 'parked' in the adjuster /cross-arm at '0' load, (give the shock extension) lowering the car down from a raised position, each bar will pick up the load as the weight of the car settles into the bars, in which case the left will rotate CW the right will rotate CCW to increase the capacity of the bars one will need to tighten the adjuster bolt which are located once again inboard of the bars turning the bolt in (regardless if L/R) forces the bar to pick up additional load and loosing it will reduce the capacity in effect lowing the car.

[bcroe]

........the twist is the direction that carries the load, visualize this sitting in the driver seat facing forward, the bars are inboard of the wheel/tire the rear of the bar is figuratively 'parked' in the adjuster /cross-arm at '0' load, (give the shock extension) lowering the car down from a raised position, each bar will pick up the load as the weight of the car settles into the bars, in which case the left will rotate CW the right will rotate CCW to increase the capacity of the bars one will need to tighten the adjuster bolt which are located once again inboard of the bars turning the bolt in (regardless if L/R) forces the bar to pick up additional load and loosing it will reduce the capacity in effect lowing the car.

I am certainly glad they decided to do that. Just turn a bolt to adjust height. Need a
different stiffness, there are 20 years of cars with varied T bars that will fit mine. I'd
rather work on one of those front ends than any other. Since we got crossed engines
we are stuck with McAwful struts that can't be properly aligned. Bruce Roe

[69W34]

.............. I hate struts with a passion pa-tooey, yuk, that's one thing Chrysler had over Henry and the General was their torsion bar suspensions. The selection of bars was enormous as was their rear spring rates. Add stiff sway bars with a great set of tires and traction bar it was like riding the rails ..... if you did loose it you had a fighting chance of recovery as body roll can really put ya in one hell of bad spot. I am surprised that a rear sways was never offered on 66-70 E bodies think it would have add and interesting dimension to already fun front drive experience!

[Doc Hubler]

Bcroe,

The Pictures You Show Are The Adjusting Cams For The Torsion Bars. These Are Not The Crimped Metal Caps To Which I Was Referring. Those Metal Caps Are Crimped Or Peened Onto The End Of The Bar. The Cams That You Show Slide Over The Caps.

[bcroe]

Bcroe, The Pictures You Show Are The Adjusting Cams For The Torsion Bars. These Are Not The Crimped Metal Caps To Which I Was Referring. Those Metal Caps Are Crimped Or Peened Onto The End Of The Bar. The Cams That You Show Slide Over The Caps.

Oh, sorry I didn't understand. You are talking about the manufacture of the bar,
before the enamel went on. Of that I know nothing. Bruce

[Doc Hubler]

bcroe,

If you look at the video of our restoration on our FaceBook site, you'll see the metal caps on the torsion bars (there are also rubber boots that you can see slid down the bar). The cams fit over the caps on the ends of the torsion bars.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=55 ... =2&theater

[Doc Hubler]

Forgot to say that first clear at 30 seconds, watch to 45-50 seconds into the video.