Any body else have the problem of your headers hitting the ground? my headers seem to hit when i go up or down slight inclins, speed bumps, and even the filling caps in the gas station parking lots. and if i hammer the gas and turn left my steering gets stuck on the header. I dont think the ride stance is to low, but maybe it is?

would tighting my torsion bars fix it?
any ideas would be great
THANKS: GOOSE

 

nice car! are they the correct headers? maybe spring/shocks wore? tighting torsion bars could work.it will raise the stance a bit

 

they are correct headers i bought them new, shocks could be wore, i dont have springs just torsion bars. i like the low look but i may have to raise it?

 

Talk to me Goose (sorry, coundn't resist) -

If you're sure they are the right headers for that body, and the motor is on the right mounts, then odds are it's a combination of torsion bars being too low and possibly wheels/tires that are too short.

Just curious, small block? Only reason I'm asking, is because IIRC, I may have had a similar problem when I was running a sm blk in my 3rd gen charger, and yes, it was the torsion bar set too low (I like the look then too) but that was 30 something years ago ...so my memory ain't the greatest.

Archer

 

oh true the didnt use springs in them years.. 75 they started that didnt they? how much room is between the tranny and trans hump? maybe theres enough room to raise the engine slightly sound silly but it cold keep u from raising the front end

 

Wow that looks like trouble waiting to happen, it just me or does it look very low in the wheel well on pic 3, nice look but not at the cost of ripping the headders off on a pot hole

 

its a small block

 

there is no room between the trans and floor, i know cause i just put a new trans mount in. plus if i raised the engine my steering would hit even more.

 

small block holy crap, suspension is worn and she sagging, possable wrong headders for that car (they do get packaged wrong sometimes) or the guy that made them up was smoking crack on his lunch break, something is very wrong with only what looks like 4" of ground clearance

 

P.S. - Super nice looking car Goose!!!

 

thats why im thinking its the torsion bars, cause if i raised them it would give more ground clearance and make the steering clear the headers to. but iv never messed with torsion bars before so i wanted to get some input.

 

thanks iv been putting alot of hours in it this year.

 

From just the one full pic I see that, be proud its beautiful.

 

Goose -

Torsion bars aren't that tricky to play with.

First, (assuming the front end is already level) mark the bolt for each bar and tighten both sides the same number of turns.

Yes, you'll need a way to safely get under the car and probably a good sized breaker bar ...

Archer

 

Dont think I could turn them with a 20' bar lol been awhile

 

You got quite a bit of room there...

My headers are LOW, and i scrape them on the ground if its a steep incline. I just have to go slow and sideways into driveways and parking lot entrances.

Not sure as to why yours are hitting the ground, but i dont think they should..

 

what make are your headders blue 68 gts? just curious

 

Shocks, torsion bars, bushings, etc. could all (or some) be worn out causing the front end to be lower than it should be.

Who did you order the headers from Goose? Are you 100% that they sent you the right ones?

 

Supposedly Herb McCandless' personal headers, not sure on that fact/ but pro parts make them.

2" tubes, 3" collector, underchassis type headers. The collectors come off and the tubes seperate.

 

2" tubes? That is pretty large.

 

wow that is big tubes!!

 

i got the headers from summit racing, i dont think there wrong cause there was only a few to choose from with power steering. but maybe...

 

how many turns?

 

dose any body know if the bolts that adjust the torsion bars [circled in red] should be equal in lenth where the stick out of the a-arms. my driver side is down about a inch more then the passanger side.

 

Goose -

How many turns - as many as it takes (just make sure the car retains a positive rake, meaning the rear is pitched up relative to the front).

In a perfect world, the bolts should be turned out the same number of turns. In the real world, not even close. In a perfect world the frame is perfectly straight, the bars have identical tension, etc, etc ... not gonna happen. That's why I said, if the car looks even, just start turning the bolts the same amount on each, a couple of revolutions at a time and see what happens.

Also, do you know the outside diameter of the front tires?

Archer

 

THANKS for all the info! the tires are P235/60R14 i could measure it with a tape measure if needed.

 

Goose -

IITC, those are 25" diameter tires and that might be part of your problem. A 27 - 28" diameter tire both front and rear might be a better way to go. (Fills the wheel well a little better too.) I'm using 70's in front and 60's in back, on 15" rims.

Also, (caveat, this is old school stuff, so the thinking might have changes)m but running 60's in the front wasn't a good idea in the past. (One dealer refused to sell me 60's for the front in the 80's. He said the spindles wouldn't be happy.)

AND .. The last picture looks ok as far as header height, but, yeah you might want a little more height in front, and while it's hard to tell from that pic, the rake might be a little steeper. Depending on how fast your drive, you really don't want a lot of air under the car.

Archer

 

Really nice car! It sounds like you have all the advice you need. Let us know what you decide to do and if it works or not.

 

my headers hit the ground to. Ive only got 4 in. from the ground.

the sucky thing is i wanted to lower the front a little and raise the back, but not sure how that is going to happen.

 

This seems to be a common prob with headers again wonder whats up with the development department of these makers are they all on crack or what?