southside machine lift bars kit pls help - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

daxfas26 · 05-28-2003, 01:22 PM

has anyone here installed a southside machine lift bars kit on thier 3rd gen camaro? if so how was it installed i am having a hell of a time finding someone locally brave enough to do the install. any help would be greatly appreciated! i have contemplated on maybe trying to do the install myself with a friend that is a welder but never worked on cars and uhh about the digital protractor for the driveshaft alignment thats over my head haha thanks

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daxfas26 · 06-19-2003, 06:12 PM

anyone please help!!! pretty desperate here

thanks

GP406Z · 06-19-2003, 11:21 PM

Had them for awhile now.We followed the instructions to the letter and everything went fine.The sub frames are first bolted to the lca`s forward mounting hole then swung up to meet the car`s frame using a floor jack.They will slightly compress the floorpan(nothing drastic)on their way to touching the front subframe.Stitch-weld every place they touch the bottom of the car,use a hammer to make the the body`s sheetmetal touch the outside of the frame connectors wherever possible. This is the area where there are 3 or 4 layers of sheetmetal running under the rocker panels all the way down.BTW,stitch-welding means weld 2 inches,skip 2.Weld 2, skip 2 etc.
Once they are in,bolt the bars to the xmember and raise the bars to meet the rear axle,they`re cut to fit against the axle tube in a semi-circle.I used blocks of wood and some wood shims to keep them snug here. Raise the xmember up to meet the the frame connectors,again, the lift bars will slightly self-clearance themselves.Make sure everything is square and TACK the xmember in place. Set desired pinion angle and TACK bars to the axle tube.Then it`s a matter of fully welding everything including all the gussets and axle straps supplied with the kit after your sure everything is where it needs to be.
This is a quicky rundown of the basic idea,READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!! Good luck!!

daxfas26 · 06-20-2003, 07:53 AM

hey thanks for ur response ur car sounds mean im running somewhat similar to u im afraid of messing this up if i do the install and it says u remove the torque arm . is that a good idea if i want to keep it for the street also its gonna be a weekend car for street and strip? thanks

GP406Z · 06-20-2003, 04:50 PM

The torque arm is no longer used with this setup.They move the instant center of these cars back to where it should be for best drag strip grip.I drive mine quite often on the street,just don`t take turns like I used to when the car was new.There is some suspension "bind" that occurs with the lift bars, when going over a speed bump or say pulling out of the driveway crooked,as with any ladder bar setup that doesn`t use spherical rod ends.I`ve had these installed for around 8 years now and see no evidence of any metal fatigue on the bars or the axle tubes,which is where these stresses happen,and I drive the thing everywhere.

IMO they are a great drag race suspension,I`ve managed a best 60` of 1.39 on factory shocks/struts.An aftermarket TA would be far easier and reusable should you decide to replace the factory rear.Also,some events require "factory suspension/factory mounting points"to be able to race.Hell,some of the aftermarket jobs are a foot shorter so there goes factory mounting position and are adjustable at both ends!Once the SSM kit is in,there goes any adjustability!Oh well.

Streetable? I think so.Then again,I don`t think twice about driving around with my spool and no p/s either.

Later,
Glen

daxfas26 · 06-20-2003, 05:36 PM

ok so ua re saying im better off with getting an adjustable torque arm if i do plan to change the rearend im sure with my new combo its gonna tear up the factory one and also the tranny the 700r4 looking to get a 350 turbo transmission. thanks for the info i appreciate it very much.

GP406Z · 06-20-2003, 06:34 PM

Definately. When I killed my 10 bolt,nobody made a 12 bolt with cast-in provisions for TA mounting on the rear itself,so i got one out of a chevelle and reused the factory suspension brackets.Still had no way of locating the axle for pinion angle,plus I still needed frame connectors .The Southside kit was my solution at the time.

Start saving for a rear with that combo

Do a search for 11SEC91Z,he`s almost 4 mph faster than me still using a 700r4.They can take it if done right.

daxfas26 · 06-20-2003, 06:51 PM

i did a search for 11sec91z and it brings me right back to my own post and nothing else how do i find that?

GP406Z · 06-20-2003, 10:37 PM

http://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/show...hreadid=177599 (New best ET!)

daxfas26 · 06-09-2004, 10:47 PM

New question........I still havent installed the SSM kit........ can i take the sfc out of the kit and weld them on just the sfc or do i have to have the whole thing together???