Ladder Bar Cross-member Location
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
From: Buffalo, N.Y
Car: 1983 Z28
Engine: 350 CID
Transmission: TH-350
Ladder Bar Cross-member Location
Hello, I found a rear end in the junkyard the other day. It apears to be out of a 70's cougar. By the looks of it , it looks like it will fit. I'm going tomarrow to measure it. As long as it is within 64 inches I am good to go correct? I can always use proper backspaced rims. Anyway. This is a friday/saturday/sunday only car. I have a set of ladder bars. The problem is, when i mocked them up under the car I found that to get them level I was only left with about 4 inches of ground clearence. Now if you ask me that might be a little low right??? See these latter bars aren't strait. They curve upward where they would meet the crossmember. My buddy had them on his cuda.
So. In order to mount these and have ground clearence it seems that I would have to cut the floor up.. and actually have the crossmemer in the car!! Money at this point is extremely tight. Now if i mock them up with the link touching the floorpan That gives me about 5.5 inches of clearence. But since its hitting the floor already, I can't put a crossmember there...
Do you guys mount the Xmemer to the rocker panels...??
Actually my buddy suggested I just put some thick plate in the floor pans from the inside and weld/bolt them down and mount the bars that way..... dont know if that would be safe....
I really want to launch this baby...
Another observation...... my 89 lesabre has 2 torque arms like our cars EXCEPT!!! THEY ARE WELDED TO THE AXLE!!!... to my extreme surprise!! Thing rides like a dream... Could this be a posibility?? just welding the torque arms to the axle.
This car is a beater that i'm slowly learning with.... I don't mind hacking it.
If the rear end is short enough, it doesn't seem that hard... what am I missing??? Find the centerline of both rear ends, match all bracketry based on centerline and weld.... Right?? I just dont have enought money to purchase the torque arm mount.... and I have a nice pair of ladders sitting around collecting dirt/oil.....
Thank you,
Rob
So. In order to mount these and have ground clearence it seems that I would have to cut the floor up.. and actually have the crossmemer in the car!! Money at this point is extremely tight. Now if i mock them up with the link touching the floorpan That gives me about 5.5 inches of clearence. But since its hitting the floor already, I can't put a crossmember there...
Do you guys mount the Xmemer to the rocker panels...??
Actually my buddy suggested I just put some thick plate in the floor pans from the inside and weld/bolt them down and mount the bars that way..... dont know if that would be safe....
I really want to launch this baby...
Another observation...... my 89 lesabre has 2 torque arms like our cars EXCEPT!!! THEY ARE WELDED TO THE AXLE!!!... to my extreme surprise!! Thing rides like a dream... Could this be a posibility?? just welding the torque arms to the axle.
This car is a beater that i'm slowly learning with.... I don't mind hacking it.
If the rear end is short enough, it doesn't seem that hard... what am I missing??? Find the centerline of both rear ends, match all bracketry based on centerline and weld.... Right?? I just dont have enought money to purchase the torque arm mount.... and I have a nice pair of ladders sitting around collecting dirt/oil.....
Thank you,
Rob
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
From: Buffalo, N.Y
Car: 1983 Z28
Engine: 350 CID
Transmission: TH-350
Here is a pic of the ladder bar. I want to mount these even if the cougar rear end doesn't fit. I'm open to any ideas..
I will mock them up tomarrow and post some pics of what it actually looks like bolted to the rear end ...and ground clearance..
Thank you again,
Rob
I will mock them up tomarrow and post some pics of what it actually looks like bolted to the rear end ...and ground clearance..
Thank you again,
Rob
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