Need help with a RideTech Question

[Motown 454]

I have an older Ride Tech Airbar, rear set up on my 69 Camaro. When it was installed the lower links were shortened or lengthened, I don't know how much. Now it's a two man job to try to get the shock on they don't sit on the shock mount straight.
Does any one know the length of the lower arm when you use these welded on brackets?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/09/IMG_1125_zps2z0wrahn-1.jpg (http://s172.photobucket.com/user/Hardcore454/media/Drive%20train/IMG_1125_zps2z0wrahn.jpg.html)

Here's the way the shocks fit.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/09/IMG_1126_zpsk2odspmq-1.jpg (http://s172.photobucket.com/user/Hardcore454/media/IMG_1126_zpsk2odspmq.jpg.html)


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/09/IMG_1127_zpse8kgdkgh-1.jpg (http://s172.photobucket.com/user/Hardcore454/media/IMG_1127_zpse8kgdkgh.jpg.html)

I took a quick measurent and got 22-1/2"

Any help would be appreciated.

[marolf101x]

I believe our lower bars are 24.75" center-to-center on the fixed versions. We do offer adjustable units as well.

As the rear swings in an arc on the control arms, and the cradle remains stationary in the chassis, the upper and lower bolts will be out of alignment from each other. . . there's nothing that can be done about that it's just geometry.

As your lower arms are shorter my guess is that the lower brackets were welded to the frame at a bit of an angle, thereby making this miss-alignment even worse. If you have the car sitting on the wheels and tires at ride height and look at the car from the side the back of the lower bracket should be perpendicular to the ground.

One thing that might help is a set of coil overs that use bearings instead of poly bushings. The bearings allow for much more miss-alignment and articulation.

[Motown 454]

One thing that might help is a set of coil overs that use bearings instead of poly bushings. The bearings allow for much more miss-alignment and articulation.

Britt, I have a set with the bearing ends. Will it be safe to use them with the angle in the picture?

[marolf101x]

Well, it's difficult to tell the angle in the picture as the shot was not taken from the side with the wheel off at ride height (which is what we really need to see).
Are you using the Varishocks shown in the images? If so you may have issues with the poly end failing prematurely. We used to use bushings like those, but we switched over to teflon lined bearings quite a few years ago for many reasons. . .poly bushing wear being one of them. . .and have had great success with virtually no noticeable increase in NVH.

Here's how to check it:
1-install the coil overs with just the shock. . .no spring
2-move the suspension through it's full travel (shock fully compressed to shock fully extended)
3a-if the shock bearing binds at either extreme, you'll need to change something or the shock will fail (which is not a good thing as it's holding up the car!)
3b-if the shock bearing does not bind you can go on to the next step
***This is also a good time to make sure everything else clears. There is another thread I just saw where the rear end fill cap hits the cradle before the shocks bottom out and causes poor ride quality. Had this been checked, discovered, and fixed earlier the ride quality issues would not have appeared.***
4-now put the springs back on and make sure the spring clears the rear end axle tube. Typically if the lower mount is rolled to fit a shorter bar the lower shock mount moves closer to the axle, which pulls the coil over closer to the axle.
5a-if anything hits anything you'll need to make a change
5b-if everything clears you are ok