I couldnt find a clear answer anywhere so i figured i would ask. i was wondering if it is possible to completely delete the torque arm setup on a firebird. i had one guy in here tell me i could with a set of lakewood lift bars but ive had lots of other people tell me it cant be done. i was just looking for some more opinions on this subject as well as any pics of anyones rear end setup.

 

The lakewood bars won't allow you to delete the torque arm. Could you do it? Probably, but it won't be easy. More importantly why would you want to? The torque arm rear suspension is one of the things that makes the third gens great. It's a better system for handling and controlling wheelhop than say the triangulated four link setup used on the Fox body Mustangs. In fact there are companies that make aftermarket torque arm style suspension systems for the Fox body cars.

 

I stand corrected, and a real man admits when he is wrong. The Lakewood Lift Bars will allow you to delete the torque arm. On another thread I ran into Bart91406 and he runs those bars with no torque arm. They are basically a very short ladder bar. If you want more info about them I'd suggest sending him a PM. Didn't mean to mislead you.

 

They now make a torque arm conversion kit for second gens. Why would you want to remove it? It's part of the suspension that makes it as good as it is. Using the lift bars is actually a step backwards in performance.

Although the factory system isn't made for performance, components can be replaced for better aftermarket pieces.

 

im having a hard time finding trannies with the torque arm mounts on them. all the firebirds and camaros around here have no trannies left in them. its hard to come by a decent tranny around here and i was hoping that if i deleted it then it would broaden my horizons. i planned on putting in a mild 400sbc so i would probably have to upgrade from my 9 bolt rear end.

 

Pick the transmission you want then buy an aftermarket adjustable torque arm. It will come with the proper transmission crossmember for the tranny you choose to use and mounts the torque arm off the crossmember where it should have been originally from GM. The adjustable torque arm will allow you to change the diff pinion angle.

It's also possible to remove the tailshaft housing off your current tranny and put it onto another 700R4 from a different vehicle so you can still use the factory torque arm.

 

i dont have a current tranny

 

well then, do you know what trans you want to use? once you figure that out, pick up the proper crossmember mounted torque arm setup from UMI performance, or Spohn performance.

 

Exactly. The lift bars are good for drag racing only. For everything else they are worse than the stock system.

 

its going to be mainly a strip car i will drive it on the streets but not very far and if i do it will be to car shows or the track or maybe a quick trip around town.

 

How fast do you plan to run? How much power to you plan to make? Ladder bars are only good to about 500HP, then you will need to seriously consider a 4-link, or the stock setup with aftermarket parts, which can take some serious abuse too. Guys routinely run 9s with modified versions of the stock system. The Lakewood setup is a compromise, so I'm not really sure how much it can take. I know the geometry is not ideal due to the short length.

 

There are reports of guys pulling sixty foot times better than 1.3 seconds with the BMR arm, and it's what I used to break into the tens.

 

i figured about 450 tq tops maybe 400 hp at the flywheel

 

You should be fine with a ladder bar style suspension then. I'd stick with the stock style myself, but to each his own.