How Tell Front Torsion Bar Size
 

Is there any way to know what size torsion bar is installed in the car (SC)? This car has been altered by a P/O to include a lot of trick suspension stuff (well, trick in the '80's). The rear bar is stamped "27mm 1684," so it's definitely non-stock. Is there any way to tell the size on the fronts without disassembly? There are no markings on the back end of the bars, and of course the front end can't be seen without some work.

If it matters, the I.D. of the hole in the back of the adjusting casting/forging on the back is 28mm. My guess is that that (28mm) is 'way too big to indicate the size of the bar itself.

Need physical inspection........
 

Steam Driver,

Without pulling the front torsion bar/s out, there is no way you could determine the outside diameter of the TB. But there is a simple way to do it without compromising the indexed setting of the TB. So if you decide to check it, let us know and will walk you through the procedure.

Tony

My guess would be they changed front when doing back. Bet it's 22mm size bars. Is the car too soft for your liking?

Don't know if it's "too soft for my liking" or not, this is a sort of "barnfind" of mine that has become rather pricey (broken head studs). So I haven't driven it as yet. But I do know the P/O did a lot of autocrossing and the car has a lot of suspension alterations. I doubt "soft" is an issue, probably more like a gokart.

I'm not going to dig into the front bar thing any more for the moment, bigger fish to fry than that, like making it run. Maybe later on down the line. I'm pretty sure any front changes will match the back, considering.

I've been Down head stud route. If it's just that not too big a deal.

Steam,

What year is your car? Why it is not running? Give us something to work on.

Tony

A previous owner of my car had 22 and 27mm torsion bars installed. I thought the front was way too stiff but turns out the rear was way too soft. Currently running 22/31 and feels great now that it is corner balanced and aligned.

The car is an '82, not running because the engine is currently disassembled because of the head stud issues. I have never driven it, just pushed it around some!

Most likely it's a 21 or 22 mm. It's not super hard to remove one and measure it. It sounds like you have a little time to do so.

JR

Are front bars not stamped with a size at the end like the rear bars?

Rally guys run 19/27... I just installed 23/31 and while the bars do have an impact on the overall feel, the dampers play a HUGE role. Adjustable ones can make a big torsion bar car not feel too stiff.