fastcamaroz28

has any one did a labber bar or 4-link try to get ideas of how to do one on my 85 f-body any will help thanks

Shagwell

do a search, it's been covered many times.

- yes, it's been done. Ladder bars are basically not streetable, as they allow ZERO body roll without twisting the body and the rear end housing. A 4-link works for street driving, but only if the upper and lower bars are parrallel. If you run the upper bars at an angle(better for launch traction) it will cause the rear end to turn under the car when the body rolls, and believe me, you do not want the rear to be steering the car.
Either scenario basically erquires "back-halfing" the car, thus cutting the floor out from behind the seats and installing the proper frame-rails, etc to hook these components up to.

All this said, why do you think you need either? There are plenty low 9 second (some 8 sec, even a few 7 sec) cars running the factory lay-out rear suspension.

Profootbrake

Depends on what the car is used for. If it is an all out racecar then both are good. Ladder bars are a little easier to set up but a 4 link has more adjustments. If the car were used on the street I wouldn’t cut up a good car.

fastcamaroz28

factory rearend or 9" or 12 bolt. can u build the stock rearend up enough or would it be easier and a little cheaper to put ladder bars w/ 9" or 12 bolt. i'm building a bracket car that should run anywhere from 10.50-11.50, or will a little work to rhe factory rearend and a adjustable tq do the trick. thanks for the replies.

Shagwell

The stock 7.5 10-bolt can be built to take a 10 sec car, if you run no lower than a 3.73 gear. Dollar for dollar spent, you can buy a 9" or a 12-bolt from moser(or several other manufacturer's) that has the proper provisions to bolt in.

Ladder bar or 4-link will cost you your back seats, among other things. Ladder bars are easier to set-up, but do not offer even close to the tune ability of a 4-link. They work, but they're not even close to a decently set-up 4-link.

- A stated, it all comes down to the intended use of the car. If you're wanting a solid street car that you can bracket race, then stick with the stock design, just put in decent components(suspension and diff wise). If you want race only, cut the car up, put in a frame, cage, 4-link, tubs/tin interior, throw on some big slicks and race it.

camaroal9668

I have a 91 with a 12 bolt moser ,subframe connectors ,torque arm ,and an 8 point cage that consistantly ran 10.40's for over 400 passes. A ladder bar set-up for the times you want to run isnt needed,you could put that money to better use.The rear is important because you blow that you arent goin anywhere. Thats just my opinion,there are a million ways to do it but thats how I did it,good luck with the build. I say ran because that motor is going in something else.