LCA's w/ladder bars

[rtm]

hey guys,
no one has been willing to answer this question (as of yet).
Can I keep my lower control arms, and still run ladder bars?
LCA's do not affect pitch rotation of rear axle.
Seems to me that LCA's would be fine (ladder bars act as very long upper control arms?)
I'm not an expert by any means,
I'm very humbly asking for opinions.
thanx in advance for your time & input.
RTM
(rick the mason)

[cjbiagi]

It's been done on other coil spring cars but there is going to be some binding of the rear suspension. The reason is the way the ladder bars mount they are basically another lower control arm. because they are longer than the original arms they are going to swing in a slightly different arc as the suspension moves. Same holds true for a torque arm, that' why it has either a soft bushing or as on F bodies it has the ability to slide front to rear. Is the binding enough to worry about? Maybe not, especially if you keep the rubber lower control arm bushings. The other thing with ladder bars is they are best suited for drag cars since they are also going to bind a bit when the car leans in a corner. As the body rolls it is actually trying to twist the arms slightly. If everything is rigid it's more pronounced. With rubber bushings there is enough "give" to keep things from bending. What is your intended use of the car? Have you considered using some of the Spohn suspension pieces to help strengthen the stock suspension?

[rtm]

stock suspension is not an option.
rear is a narrowed 12 bolt that came with a parts car
LCA's are aftermarket w/solid mounts (aluminum bushings).
trans is non h-body turbo 350
car will see limited street/strip use
with only LCA's attached to rear, I can rotate the entire axle housing far beyond the amount that the u-joints would allow.
after installing ladder bars, this rotation would (seemingly) be almost non-existant.
again, I'm no expert.
am I somehow creating different CG's?

[Fasterthansome]

Put a torque arm or upper control arms in it.

[cjbiagi]

Hmmm, not sure on this. I don't know if ladder bars can replace the upper arms on a original 4 link car (as a lot of GM cars use) I believe they are usually used in addition to upper arms. You also need a way to stabilize the rear side to side (like a panhard bar or Watts link) Generally the angle of the upper bars accomplish the lateral control. Are you still running a panhard bar? I really think you either need a torque arm or upper arms to accomplish a solid rearend.

[rtm]

ladder bar crossmember is already installed,
planned on using a "wishbone" style track locator.
just didn't know if the LCA's would be a problem.
I suppose I could try to run it with them, and lose them later on if they create a problem.
I realize that a ladder bar setup is less than ideal for the street,
but I've already come this far with the setup.

[speedphreake]

If the ladder bars are already in, use them. Remove the lower control arms, no need for them and they will just cause a bind and headaches. Ladder bar and wishbone is all you will need. If you insist in keeping both, the ladder bar front mount will need to slide, like a torque arm to avoid the binding.

[chevyart]

ladder bars will make your suspension too rigid for the street. i would never consider them for a street car. alot of guys on this forum are very successful with the stock 4 link, upgraded to aftermarket control arms, welded and braced attachment points for the links, and good shocks, and maybe even air bags. a setup like that with a good strong motor and small slicks would probably put you in yhe tens at the drag strip, and that is dam good. i would stay away from the ladder bers. UNNECESSARY . just my opinion chevy art

[rtm]

O.K. lets say I want to build a different street/ strip setup for my rear suspension.
1) car is a monza (no upper control arm mounts)
2)how do I mount a torque arm/panhard bar to non -stock components?
3)can I use any of the numerous f-body aftermarket items available?
4)how bad will my ladder bar setup really be on the street?

i'm already @ the 3 year mark with this car, and have never driven it.
trying not to get discouraged, but i have limited time/funds

[10secvega]

A couple of options for you is to install ladder bars,the car will ride fine on the street.You will want to remove the LCA you have.We have 2 Monzas set up this way and they work great on the street or the track.

Number 2 would be install a torque arm,you can weld tabs on your rearend and make a mount off your trans crossmember to locate the front.You can view pics here on how i built my torque arm.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=26190

[10secvega]

This is my Brothers Monza with a ladder bar set up underneath it,it's gona a 10.03 on a 27x11.5 ET Street.It is STREET car and rides just as good as factory suspension.Also note how the diagonal mount is so you don't have to run a panhard bar.

[rtm]

10secvega
thanx 4 pics,
i'm gonna stick w/what i got
thanx again