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end link length.


beater72

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I just installed.my sway bar. Big block car 1 1/8 diameter front sway bar. I went to the local Napa and picked up new end links. My convert is that car is sitting way too high in the front. 2 yrs ago I installed new big block springs in the front and it has sat for 2 yrs with the weight of the big block on it. They said these are the end links for this car but for one the the car sits way too high and two the link assembly almost hits the upper ball joint. ..so roughly how long is everyone's end links? How long is the middle spacer on everyone's link assembly?

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Sway bar links will not control the height of the car, there are different lenghts someone will check I cant now. Do you have all the front end parts back on there now? also were the control arms tightened up with the weight down on suspention? There are a few variables that can come into play.

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:dt

 

Kris, your static front end height is not related to your sway bar link length.  The sway bar only affects the suspension when one side tries to go higher or lower than the other side as in cornering or driving on very uneven surfaces, otherwise, it's just along for the ride.

 

I have included two thumbnail photos below of the links I installed with the 1 1/8" sway bar on my '70 SS when I rebuilt that front end a couple summers ago.  I'm not there to measure them but you can get a pretty good idea of how they sit in relation to the upper ball joint and other suspension parts from the front and rear views provided.  The links I installed on the 1" sway bar of my '70 402 appear to be very similar (third and fourth photos).

 

post-567-0-03237500-1483204021_thumb.jpgpost-567-0-71993800-1483204051_thumb.jpgpost-567-0-74077200-1483204282_thumb.jpgpost-567-0-07194500-1483205167_thumb.jpg

 

Without a lift, the only way I could get close to normal weight and height on the front suspension while I torqued the lower control arm bolts in place on the frame was to put the front wheels of the car up on ramps (see photos below)  Even so, it was a challenge to tighten those bolts while laying on my back and trying to read my torque wrench.  But, if you don't do that, your front suspension will be improperly pre-loaded and biased to sit too high.  I suspect driving it that way will also severely stress and possibly damage your new lower control arm bushings because the rubber bushing centers weren't designed for that much torsion.

 

post-567-0-11361400-1483204531_thumb.jpgpost-567-0-04200600-1483204561_thumb.jpgpost-567-0-73465600-1483204589_thumb.jpg

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Whats the ROUGH ride height from floor to wheel well or centercap to wheel well. I understand mine will vary, but looking for a rough figure to shoot for...I dont have the fenders or hood on just yet, but plan on doing that today...i hope that without hood and fenders, it shouldnt make that much difference..i hope! I do have the rad support and grill on the car...should be heavy enough! that grill weighs a ton on its own!

I will see how it goes and post what happens later. Again, many thanks

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Kris, I would wait until the fenders and hood are on to torque the lower control arm bolts.  In the meantime, why don't you just loosen them and see if the front end drops any at all?

 

I checked the height of my '70 402 from the ground up to the wheel well trim is 25" but I am running 255x60-15s on the front with a 1" spring spacer, so that may be a bit higher than you want.

 

Step9999.jpg

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Would I need to have someone stand on the bumper while I'm torquing the lower bolts to add more weight to help? No trim on wheel well opening and bolts loose I'm about 29 1/2 to the floor....maybe replace the coil springs with different ones?

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As we have been discussing in some detail on other threads, there were many different front coil springs used by GM when they built our Montes.  If your Monte still has the factory original springs (and it may not), they were selected based on the vehicle weight as it left the factory, including all of the options that were ordered with the car.  If you have a Build Sheet for your Monte, the code in Box 13 can be looked up on the table Sam has posted several times so you can get the specs and go from there.  If your Monte's springs have been replaced, however, it is hard to tell what you have in there.  

 

If I were you, I would wait until you car is completely assembled to deal with the front end height.  You could install a shorter and/or lower deflection rate spring only to discover that your front end sits too low or bottoms out under some driving conditions.  By the time you get your fenders and hood on and install a battery and radiator fluid, you will know how much weight you have to handle with your spring selection.  If the front end is still too high, you can either modify you current spring height or install a shorter aftermarket spring with a similar deflection rate.

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