Alright im sorry i have to ask an extremely noob question here. What is the difference between the ladder bars that you have on your car and traction bars? I have traction bars on my Camaro, they are the type that bolt on with the u bolts and have a rubber cone on the front end. It looks like your ladder bars are bolted front and rear. Can you please let me know the difference and the pros and cons for each? When i install my new rear end im sure my traction bars will no longer fit and assume i need to add something for the 650ft/lbs. Your work looks great, im subscribed love to see the progress.

 

Only real difference is that ladder bars connect in front to the frame, which gives a lot more solid front mount. Both types have a solid rear mount if your's are the type that bolt to the U bolts. The type that simply clamp the springs on eithe side of the rear spring plate are the least desireable, as they are the least effective in stopping wheel hop.
The type you have allow a certain amount of pinion travel and spring wrap, and once the rubber snubber contacts the spring it limits that and begins to work. They also somewhat limit rearend travel vertically, as the snubber hits and restricts the vertical travel when a bump is hit. The ladder bar type, or any type that is solid on front and rear completely stops pinion movement in an arc, but allows up and down movement for suspension travel.
I chose the Lakewoods because they were the strongest, and most solid traction bar I found, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who wants a simple bolt on system. They needed lots of fab work to bolt on, and also a bit of welding before I'm completely done. After all that I think they'll be a better system than anything else, but that's a lot of extra work to get there.

 

They don't look thicker, but might be slight differences not visible at a glance.

 

Thanks for the info

 

It wouldn't take much to be stiffer.

 

Yes, and from talking to the guys at Oregon Spring they can make stiffer or softer springs that are the same thickness, just by changing the temper. So I guess it's not easy to just look at them and know.

 

OK, so I finally got the Camaro out for a test drive after cinching down the upper swaybar mounts. Did a once over on every bolt, then checked tire pressure and shock pressure.
Tooled around the neighborhood, and then went for a drive on the freeway. It handles like a new car! It's firm, but not as firm as it was before. I found one little thing that I'l have to watch when coming in my sloped driveway today. The spoiler will scrape if I hit the driveway too quickly, so I have to be more careful coming in.
Wondered about the front bracket for the traction bars scraping, but it clears easily, and I'm glad I used the upper holes and cut the excess off.
As you can see there's plenty of clearance, even with the curve of the driveway slope:



From looking at older pictures before the new coils, I think the frontend sits the same height (or close) but a little more travel. The choice of smallblock coils for an AC car was a good decision, as I like the feel and ride height with my big block car.


I used lots of suspension grease assembling the bushings, so hopefully that will eliminate the suspension squeaks I've heard of with polyurethane bushings!

 

Looks good. Well I'm going back out the garage so i can get this thing on the road. I'm getting so jealous of you guys driving your toys. I don't see me driving for two more summers.

 

I bet you can move that date up now that you've got a nice garage, if you get a propane space heater to keep it warmed this winter!
You're not that far off, and I can sure understand your feeling! Two summers ago when I was rebuilding mine and watching all my friends go to cruises, and driving theirs, it was tough. I didn't even want to go look at cars at shows, 'cause it just made me feel worse about not having a driver.
Winter I can handle, but summer without a driving car is pure torture!

 

I have a 30,000 BTU propane heater at one end and a 30,000BTU radiant kerosene heater in the work shop area. It gets to around 70* when the real temps dip to 5* I'm not saying the floor is that warm though, lol. That memory foam I got is for a queen bed. Its PERFECT insulation.