69 Z/28 Day II Project (Air Force Brat)

[chevyandpontiac]

Looks Fantastic.

[HawkX66]

Originally Posted by NorCam

I did measure the distance from the inner holes for the u-bolts to the outer holes for the j-bolt and each of the j-bolt holes is 1.150" further outward. That's why there are such angles on the front legs of the j-bolts as they really turn in a lot to meet the eye holes on the front stirrups. I also tried mounting up an older set of original stirrups and they were tighter to fit and harder to align with the bolts than the NOS set I have here, so the NOS ones were used and they actually fit like a glove.

The bars came out pretty awesome. I've never seen them with the extra set of holes to add the J-bars in addition to both the u-bolts. Nice to be able to run both for strength. Is that just a different part number/style from Lakewood?
These are Grady's and what I normally have seen.

[rszmjt]

I’m pretty sure the 2nd generation of Lakewood bars which were rectangular tubing had the extra holes for the J bolts, it makes way more sense if you think about it, because if you ever broke a j bolt it could lead to disaster.
Grady’s bars are the original square tube design.

FWIW, I bought my first set of Lakewood bars about 72/73 and they were rectangle style, with the J bolt option.

The U bolts as well as the J bolts give you way superior clamping on the housing spring perches.

Glad it worked out for Graeme.

[NorCam]

Hello Dave,

Grady's are the earlier square tube bars (Traction Action - Competition Bars) that came out in the 1968/1969 period and are quite hard to come by...not to mention costly. Although wider in tube design, they were also shorter in overall length. They could also be found with the wider (tapered) base plate and the outer J-bolt holes but were often altered with a narrowed base for both tire clearance and the shedding of excess weight by serious drag racers. The pair I had (shown below) were shaved on one side. This design was also available with or without the rear tails in the late 60s.





The style I have on this car is the second generation (Traction Action - Competition Bars) that started appearing in 1970 and beyond. They have rectangular tubes and are a bit longer than their predecessors measuring 33" overall from back to front. They also include the tapered 6" x 6" base plate with additional holes for the outer J-bolts. Most that I have seen from this period had the 6" tails and these were available with or without the rear straps to control the rebound. I think I have had 3 identical sets of these now and love this design although they are quite heavy.





I have restored both versions of the Lakewood Traction Action bars but prefer the longer rectangular design myself. In saying what I have come to learn about these bars, there are many people here who know a lot more about this stuff than I do since I was born in the mid-60s and was still wiping my nose when many people were racing while using these bars. That being said, I have studied this stuff well and I'm still learning about period-correct hardware whenever or wherever I can. As I understand it, there were many variations of the bars available over the years, and recall from using these in the early 80s that the later bars excluded the rear tail sections.

Also mentioned earlier in this thread, there was also the street master series which if I recall had a narrowed base plate and no provisions for the J-bar hardware. Most of the trac bar designs are very similar and many can be altered to fit different cars with the same direct purpose. Traction Action!

[NorCam]

Oh...and if I am off on any of this stuff, perhaps someone else can chime in and share some more knowledge as Mike has done above. I am no professor on this stuff. I simply enjoy it and the period looks that came from using it.

Mike, I looked at some old pictures of the black bars I got from you a few years ago and they were identical to the ones I am using on this car and restored above.

[HawkX66]

Very cool! I agree that it's a much better design for strength reasons. Makes a lot of sense. My 69 is unfinished day 2 that I drive alot. It's in primer still. I didn't come across any real Lakewood, so I cheated. I painted a set of CE2101 bars. They work and give the look at least...
Thanks for the explanation. I'm loving your build.

[NorCam]

Those look good and I'm sure they work just fine. One word of caution if I may. You may want to consider trimming the tips on the J-Bolts. Depending on the length hanging down, those forward-facing legs can easily hang up on anything that goes under the car including speed bumps or road debris. I'd trim the legs back a bit for sure. Not too short though.

Have a Merry Christmas Dave!

[HawkX66]

Originally Posted by NorCam

Those look good and I'm sure they work just fine. One word of caution if I may. You may want to consider trimming the tips on the J-Bolts. Depending on the length hanging down, those forward-facing legs can easily hang up on anything that goes under the car including speed bumps or road debris. I'd trim the legs back a bit for sure. Not too short though.

Have a Merry Christmas Dave!

Absolutely. That was when I had just put them on before I adjusted them. I do still need to trim the bolts, but they don't hang near as low.
I had ridiculous wheel hop before I installed them. It completely eliminated it.

Merry Christmas!

[NorCam]

During a few days off, I managed to pick up a new Nut-Sert tool and installed some 5/16" riv-nuts into the frame rails to better mount the Air Lift bags. Both sides are now installed and I can now move onto some other projects while awaiting the rear shocks to come in. Time to install some longer front wheel studs and finish up the front calipers.


This will be the ideal ride height for the back and should give me the look I am wanting.


The new tool received for Christmas.


Riv-nuts installed for additional strength. These are 5/16"


Top brackets are now secured to the frame rails on each side.


The passenger side is finished up.


And so is the driver's side. These look pretty cool under there.


And here is the offset mounting kit which moves the air valve to the inside of the springs.

[DW31S]

Graeme, there were long square bars, too. The set that were on the rear that was included in the package I sold to Mike were the longer style and had NOS hardware and shims. Not sure what he did with everything, but it was a killer set-up. I've been wondering about those air bags....you mentioned you might need/use air shocks to fine tune the ride height? My guess is that the air shocks would "trump" the bags if the body separation is due to higher pressure in the shocks than the bags. I remember you fabbing some different length shackles, and while I've never been a fan of longer than stock shackles, I think they would be more compatible with the bags if you intend to use the bags for traction devices. The only other option I can think of, where the bags could/would be used for preload would be re-arching or changing the rear leaf springs. If the bags are only along for the "cool factor", or if you plan to use THEM to adjust ride height, then my comments and thoughts are out the window! IIRC, the original intended use of the bags was for stability in situations as trailering or carrying heavy loads, but not for high level inflation for everyday use. I used them in an A-Body drag car back in the day and they worked like a champ, but we never inflated them for ride height, only to tune the launch. I seem to remember to left side was 7lbs., and the right was 14.
BTW, the car looks fantastic!!!