Ride height roulette

[Breeang]

I've just rebuilt and re-assembled the suspension (front and back) on my '77 S-car. I have now entered the weird and wonderful world of ride height adjustment. What were the standard US settings? every reference I have managed to find gives different numbers. I would welcome some input about settings for a not to be tracked 'weekend stroll about car'.

[Tidybuoy]

Usually, the rear is set to factory specs first and then the front is adjusted so that the front end is 1" lower.

The rear is measured as follows: The center of the rear torsion bar to the ground is measured. The center of the wheel to the ground is measured. The difference between these two measurements is then calculated. For Euro height, the difference should be 16mm, and for USA height the difference should be 37mm. (to make this measurement a little easier, you can measure ground to bottom of torsion bar tube and add 1/2 inch),

Many guys will measure from the ground to the center of the fenderwell and set the height to about 24-25 inches. This works but fenders can be slightly different from side to side so this method is not the most accurate.

For my '74, I adjusted the rear driver side to 24.5" from the ground to the center of the fenderwell. Once I did this, I measured the torsion bar to the ground and then set the passenger side to the exact same distance. When I did this, I could tell that my fenders were not exactly identical because I had slightly more space on one side vs the other - but both torsion bar to wheel center ratio was identical.

Lastly, for the front, if the rear is 24" fender to ground, the front wil be set at 25" fender to ground. This will give you a 1" rake. The front is a longer measurement because the fenderwell sits higher to accomodate wheel turning.

My car set at Euro height:

[Jerome74911S]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

Usually, the rear is set to factory specs first and then the front is adjusted so that the front end is 1" lower.

The rear is measured as follows: The center of the rear torsion bar to the ground is measured. The center of the wheel to the ground is measured. The difference between these two measurements is then calculated. For Euro height, the difference should be 16mm, and for USA height the difference should be 37mm. (to make this measurement a little easier, you can measure ground to bottom of torsion bar tube and add 1/2 inch),

Many guys will measure from the ground to the center of the fenderwell and set the height to about 24-25 inches. This works but fenders can be slightly different from side to side so this method is not the most accurate.

For my '74, I adjusted the rear driver side to 24.5" from the ground to the center of the fenderwell. Once I did this, I measured the torsion bar to the ground and then set the passenger side to the exact same distance. When I did this, I could tell that my fenders were not exactly identical because I had slightly more space on one side vs the other - but both torsion bar to wheel center ratio was identical.

Lastly, for the front, if the rear is 24" fender to ground, the front wil be set at 25" fender to ground. This will give you a 1" rake. The front is a longer measurement because the fenderwell sits higher to accomodate wheel turning.

Very nice description. Thanks.

[Tidybuoy]

One more thing....I have Sway-Away adjustable rear swing arms so making adjustments is very easy. I'm not sure how difficult this process will for stock swing arms.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Breeang

I've just rebuilt and re-assembled the suspension (front and back) on my '77 S-car. I have now entered the weird and wonderful world of ride height adjustment. What were the standard US settings? every reference I have managed to find gives different numbers. I would welcome some input about settings for a not to be tracked 'weekend stroll about car'.

A search would be very informative
rideheight

there are many more

[Breeang]

Excellent advice guys.Thankyou