Question about SSM lift bars

[420nitro]

Originally posted by Simi Stang
If this is for a street car...I highly suggest you go with a different lower control arm. As mentioned before, there are NO BUSHINGS in these lift bars. They are very rigid. Yes, they help you hook up very well. But they completely rip your torque boxes apart. And no the factory torque boxes are anything but strong. They look like they were made out of metal as thick as a tin can...no joke. And when you go to weld on them, depending on the type of welder you use...the metal is so thin that you can burn right through it very easily. Just welding up the lower seams in the boxes will not cut it. Mine ripped all over the place from driving around on the street...going over speed bumps...in & out of driveways...and worse of all..launching at the track at 6,000rpms on slicks. When I repaired my torque boxes years ago...there were no battle boxes around. MM&FF had an article on how to rebuild your torque boxes though...using three brackets on each box to help strengthen them up. I went a step further and made a 4th bracket for each side...and welded everything in. I ran the lift bars for another couple of weeks with no problems. But got rid of them asap. I reinstalled the stock lower control arms. Then bought some Lakewood traction bars. I've actually turned my best 60ft. time with my Lakewoods. I think it was a 1.64.

If you do end up welding the torque boxes, make sure you have another person inside the car with the bottom of the back seat removed...with a wet towel handy. You don't want to start a fire inside your car!

That's right! But once you put on the battle boxes and not just weld up some metal plates there shouldn't be any problems. I have mine on since '95 and I 60' in the 1.4x's on motor and expect to see 1.30x's on spray with the new motor. The SSB's do have bushings by the way...thery are just solid bushings.