May make the car a little stiffer riding as well as a new rattle or two ?

 

I love my Caltracs!

 

if your just running on the street why not just get a good set of slapper bars/traction bars

 

Seemed like the Caltracs were better. I hear good/bad with slapper bars, and praises for the caltracs.

 

The CalTracs made my car much more controllable, but it is stiffer riding if you adjust them for best functionality.

Better ground clearance also...

 

If the bars aren't set right, then they're just for show. $368 for a sticker or two ? :sad:

So, yes, the ride will be a little stiffer. I don't think its any more stiffer the a new car with a sport suspension myself.

I can say they work too :yes:

 

Same shock position for 67.
I bought them for wicked spring wrap and they cured that with flying colors. I adjust them so the sleeve just contacts the spring when the car is on level ground and it works fine on the street.
They're kind of tricky to adjust, I had to cut a 1-1/8" offset open end wrench in half to clear the ground for the jam nuts. I check the adjustment periodically and, if the ground is not dead level one side always ends up tighter than the other so I only check them on the same side of the garage.
Powder coating doesn't hold up as well as I would've liked but, what powder coating ever does.

 

Thanks all!
I think I'll try them out soon.
:thumbsup:

 

Buy the wrenches too. As Bobby stated, they have to be adjusted with the weight of the car on the suspension on flat ground. You need angle headed 1-1/8” wrenches to adjust.

 

Put them on my 67 right before the Power Tour, no real complaints, had to stiffen them up because the freeways are junk and my tires rubbed on the big dips. Set them back to the 1/4 turn past contact (you'll understand when you get them) car rides fine and boy do they cure axle wrap...

 

Is anyone using them with the special mono-leaf springs too ?

:nerd:

 

Used them at the strip and on the street for years, love ‘em.
I always ran them 1/4 turn of preload and they worked great, but rode stiff.
I then read an article on setting them properly and the thought was no preload was better, actually adjust them to about the thickness of a dime from contact. I did this and they work as good, and ride is like factory. I forget where I read it, maybe on the bullet.
(Keep in mind when setting them you or weight equal to you should be in the driver seat).

There is really no equal to CalTracs, my car would hook in wet grass with them I think. Worth every penny of the cost.

As for the wrenches, I bought a cheap box/open wrench, cut it in half, then cut the box open (like a tubing wrench). Works great, and cheap. Whe I bought mine I don’t think Calvert had the wrenches. Plus they don’t need to be anything special.

 

Global West Del Alum bushings will do the same thing. Not as sexy though and a lot more work.

 

Actually no, but they work well together. You don’t use the front eye bushing from GW, Calvert provides one.

No joke, CalTracs made my car hook better on pavement (back when I did that sort of thing, lol).

 

About a year ago, I switched from CE traction bars to Caltracs. I also added the GW shackle kit with Delalum bushings to the back of the leaf springs (Caltracs come with aluminum bushings for the front spring eyes). My car seems to hook better on the street with the Caltracs (I have not been to the track yet). I also think the Caltacs look 100 times better than the old slapper bars. My ride with the Caltracs is not harsh at all – see set up below.

I read you can install a piece of heater hose over the Caltracs front perch pin that contacts your leaf spring to help reduce noise. I went a little different route…. I purchased some polyurethane leaf spring pads and cut one in half, and zip stripped each half of cut poly pad to the front of each leaf spring directly below were the Caltrac front pins would hit (I needed to drill holes in the poly pads for the zip strip to go through). I adjusted each Caltrac so the front pin would just touch the poly pad (no preload).
I feel that this combination gave me the quiet ride and cushion of a poly bushing (similar to the CE Slide-A-Links) with the strength of the Caltracs.

 

This is awesome, I ordered a set today. Looks like a fun n easy project.

 

Is it because our cars are fitted with sub frames that nobody uses the old style "Traction Masters"? I used them on my '57 Corvette, my 57 Bel-Air, and my '58 Pontiac back in the day. Better ones are made today that are adjustable at one end. If you have subframe connectors would they be any better or worse than CalTracs or Slide-A-Links?

 

I have the slide a links and love them. Stupid easy to adjust and don't even know they are there, as far as hooking up they made a huge difference over slapper bars.

 

Great info in this thread. Thank you. I'm curious about what the Caltracs do for handling? I like what I've read about them, but most posts revolve around drag racing and launching... fun, but I'm looking to make the car handle better without going to a 4-link.

Anyone have feedback on handling with Caltracs?

Thanks!

Edit: Found some threads on this topic but would still like some feedback

 

Older thread, but I think heavier front sway bar, add a rear sway bar, and maybe some stiffer springs would be all that's needed for an entry level handling package.

Could be done in stages too.

CalTrac's are geared towards drag racing.

 

Thanks. I have a big Hellwig sway bar in the front that made a huge difference. 18” wheels and sticky tires, and Bilstein shocks, too. The issue I’m trying to address now is axle wrap and general leaf-spring sloppiness.
I also have a rear sway bar I have installed yet. I’ve read mixed reviews on those

 

I disagree that Caltracs are for drag cars. There are thousands of people who put them on their street cars and are happy with them. I have a 67 that had horrible wheel hop from axle wrap. I installed Hotchkis drop leafs, body bushings, shocks and Caltracs. It's like a new car - tight and zero wheel hop because of the Caltracs.

 

Caltracs were designed for drag racing. Does that mean they won't work good on the street? No. I've been running them on the street for almost 20 years and I love them. My car is just an 8 second street car.

 

Lots of people run them on the street, and I have still got wheel hop with multi-leafs and CalTracs on TNT nites at the strip (guessing street cars with street tires dragging water out of the burnout box)
There are plenty of "traction bar" designs out there...but I would lose the mono's first.

 

I would address the clapped out mono leaf noodles first. Hotchkis 1.5" drop leafs will likely put the rear ride height very close to where it sits now with old monos... this will also address any potential. existing issues within the old rear spring mounting areas as well.
The Hotchkis springs will easily handle a mold 350 and once you get the 383ci installed you can add Cal-tracs if needed.

 

So I ran multileaf springs with Caltracs and stock mono springs. My car came with mutileaf and I added the Caltracs and it didn't help a bunch. A friend had a set of stock mono springs so I went with those and the Caltracs. It was better than the multileaf. I went to the Caltrac split mono and it was much better. The multileaf did not work very well at all on my car. The stock mono worked better and the split mono worked best. This was when my car ran low 10's in the 1/4.

 

Well... the truth in the matter is that if your a cruiser and want the car to simply handle better in the curves but retain a decent ride, I'm not 100% sure that Cal-Tracs, Slide-A-Links, or Slapper Bars are going to help actual on the road cornering much. All three were primarily designed for hard acceleration from a standstill... IOW, Drag Racing. That being said, I do remember that Shelby used the old-fashioned non-adjustable Traction Masters on his road course setup and testing them at Willow Springs. Apparently they helped but of course in a road racing environment who gives a crap about noise or more stiffness LOL. Right now, a lot of drag racers swear by Cal-Tracs and have the time slips to prove it. I don't know if they'd provide any handling benefit for just spirited driving on the street. Perhaps in an autocross environment there might be some benefit but wouldn't there be other methods to improve cornering?

 

Hotchkis
"Our springs utilize a 3/4 length overload spring reducing axle wrap "

You could try them first and see.

And make sure you use decent shocks. NOT KYB Gas A just.

 

Hotchkis
"Our springs utilize a 3/4 length overload spring reducing axle wrap "

You could try them first and see.

And make sure you use decent shocks. NOT KYB Gas A just.

Agree 1000% about the shocks.

 

I forgot I started this thread.
I can update
They worked out great! I had a mild 350 sbc at first making maybe 340hp through a built TH350 and 3.55 gears. Took care of the wheel hop when it was a totally stock setup. Thing is, running street tires, it either hooked and had traction, or just blew them off and was a nice smoky burnout. Had to practice to find just how hard to hit it.
Now, With a BBC 496, the tires just go up in smoke. Too much torque on too small of a tire.
Kinda a good or fun problem to have.
Would I buy them again? Yup you bet.
And FWIW, I have a big Addco sway bar in the front. Love that thing too. Really made a difference compared to the thinner stock one.
good shocks also matter as mentioned above.

 

@SteveG3 a good source for suspension mods for handling is the Pozzi Racing website, check it out. A ton of good info and worded easy to understand. Knowing how it works can help you decide which way to go with parts purchases.

FIRST GEN SUSPENSION