My Version Spreader Bar

Got busy this weekend. Got the crack in the RR qtr patched, fixed the ground planr for the antenna and mounted the mufflers permanantly/
All that got me to the point of making the Spreader Bar. I think I have looked at every single version there is out there and took ideas from all of them. The big problem as I saw it with them is the ability to adjust the castor and camber with the thing mounted. All the designs required removing the mount brackets in order to get to the shims OR made it very hard to get to the nuts for the control arm shaft.
So, here is what I did:
Here is the complete assembly
1" DOM Tubing 18" long with 5/8" inserts and ends.
Brackets are 2"x1/4" angle iron 8" long

Nut welded to the bottom


Nothing magic there
Here is my contribution

I Slotted the holes for the shaft mount
and mounted it between the shims and the shaft

Ignore my cheesy ass home depot bolt, I'll find a pretty one later.




Thoughts?

I'm making mine today

Yours looks pretty good

I know what you mean about doing an alignment with a spreader bar in place. A friend of mine owns an alignment shop and he hates Vettes with spreader bars. I did this to keep him from going off on me:

Interesting, I like that

He must be really lazy

If i am not racing my car do i really need a spreader bar :idea: and if i did install one what kind of benefits am i looking for out of this installation :beer:

I can give you my other brackets if you want them. I'm redoing mine

You'll just need the bar and heims

kwplot34 said:

If i am not racing my car do i really need a spreader bar :idea: and if i did install one what kind of benefits am i looking for out of this installation :beer:

Click to expand...

When cornering hard, the shock towers tend to flex. Also, the front crossmember tends to sag with time. The bar beef's it up significantly.

GM crossmembers have an annoying tendency to sag over time, causing the wheels to be in at the top (Caster??). Anyway, a spreader bar will keep that from happening. And as I see it, when you push the car really hard the frame will flex and cause odd things to happen with suspension geometry. A spreader bar will help take the flex out of the suspension. When I had the alignment done on mine after the new bushings, I was more than a little surprised that it didn't need to have more than 1/16 shims added. :amused: and only a couple of them at that.

I figured with the BB setting on there for 38 years it would be sagging big
time.

Why are you changing the bracket's? if you want to get rid of them i will take them off your hands :thumbs: will they fit my 78?

TimAT said:

GM crossmembers have an annoying tendency to sag over time, causing the wheels to be in at the top (Caster??). Anyway, a spreader bar will keep that from happening. And as I see it, when you push the car really hard the frame will flex and cause odd things to happen with suspension geometry. A spreader bar will help take the flex out of the suspension. When I had the alignment done on mine after the new bushings, I was more than a little surprised that it didn't need to have more than 1/16 shims added. :amused: and only a couple of them at that.

I figured with the BB setting on there for 38 years it would be sagging big
time.

Click to expand...

I have not checked my caster yet but i need too,the top of my tires are out probably due to the 550lb springs i put in and lowered the ft of the car an 1",does that sound plauseable :suspicious:

Just changing it out to angle iron to get those few thousands of play out of it

It not necessary at all, Just figured It was important with my spring that are probably close to 900#

kwplot34 said:

I have not checked my caster yet but i need too,the top of my tires are out probably due to the 550lb springs i put in and lowered the ft of the car an 1",does that sound plauseable :suspicious:

Click to expand...

They would actually come in some

I doubt it changed much over an 1". Maybe a degree at most

Back in the day we used 55/57 Chevy frames for circle track race car builds I would push out the top arm mounts with a porto power move it maybe a 1" to 1 1/2" before the frame had the cage installed then these were 15 yr old cars and the frame would sage that much Im doing the same thing to my C3 frame Im building for my 1960 Kellison roadster body