[vinny]

good morning everybody ..i did my research yesterday on traction bars for thew cougar and the best ones acording to old posts are traction masters and calttracs. the problem is i dont want to have to worry about welding mine are there any decenty ones out there that dont have to be welded may,be screwed or snapped on would be better. or do they all have to be welded. mine is street driven only and it is fast for me and yes i do have wheel hop another problem with the traction masters is they are asking questions about the shock plate which i am not sure i dont know if mine are the flat bottom type or the raised bottom type have no comparison . also another problem i have is i saw in a old post that the weight of the car has to be on the wheels when tractions bars are installed and welded . how the heck am i suppose to accomplish this ...there wont be enough room to get under if it is sitting on the ground .....is this really necessary and what happens if the weight of the wheels is not on the car when installed? just seems like it is being made more complicated to install than it has to be. thanks for any responses in advance

 

[towcat]

The first thing I would do is get rid of the Cougar shock plates and all of that rubber stuff, and buy a set of Mustang shock plates ( that are narrower) and then get the Traction bars that have a plate welded to them that will bolt to the Mustang shock plate. This is a complete bolt on system That has an adjustable rubber bumper on the end that goes against the frame.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Traction+bars&_sacat=See-All-Categories

 

[1969XR7Vert]

Cal-Tracs do not require welding and eliminate the rubber isolators that Carlton is talking about. The only thing I needed to do to install them on my car was to grind crescents into the sides of the cast spring perch wedges so the U-bolts could fit closely together as required by the mustang style shock mounting plates (which are part of the Cal-Tracs). Here's a picture of mine:

 

[vinny]

ok so it looks like cal-tracs are the way to go ..but sill how are they suppose to be installed with the weight on the wheels ...what is all that about and where is the best place to get them from that will send me the correct ones the first time also mine is for street only so how do i no what the best way to set them is thanks also just another note what is your opinion on lakewood traction bars

 

[vinny]

Cal-Tracs do not require welding and eliminate the rubber isolators that Carlton is talking about. The only thing I needed to do to install them on my car was to grind crescents into the sides of the cast spring perch wedges so the U-bolts could fit closely together as required by the mustang style shock mounting plates (which are part of the Cal-Tracs). Here's a picture of mine:

looks easy to mount down bottom but how are they mounted up on the top end kinda hard to see thanks

 

[vinny]

also i have a new set of leaf springs from espo on there right now so i guess i would have there shock plate

 

[1969XR7Vert]

Springs do not come with shock plates Vinny. About front end, the front bushings are removed from the leaf springs and replaced by aluminum sleeves with a steel bushings in the middle. The bushing locates the bellcranks of the Cal-Trac's. Simple as that.

 

[vinny]

only problem with caltracs is that other board members say they require so much trial and error adjustment to make them work correct... not plug and play friendly at all

 

[1969XR7Vert]

What board members? I have them and have had no issue and have driven the car over 1500 miles this year. Mike, 1970fastcat built his own and has had no issues that I have heard (Mike, feel free to comment). CJ750 has a set on his car too, have not heard of any problems from him either. Granted I have not spent time dragging the car yet, but I don't think getting them setup properly is going to be a big problem. On the street, I have had no ill effects thus far and I di no real setup at all except to make sure the upper rear bushings contact the top of the spring with the car on the ground.

 

[1970fastcat]

I built my own version of the Caltracs and they work great. Caltracs are the best around for stock suspension. You can still get wheel hop with the Shelby style weld on bars. The adjusting process is likely for guys using them to race with, for the street you just put a little bit of preload on them and call it a day. They help tremendously with off the line traction, but if you are already rolling past about 10 or 15 they don't do much (that is if your car can break them loose at that speed). If you are up to building your own, I have a set of drawings that I made when I built mine that you can have, if you like. They can be built for less than 150 bucks.

 

[vinny]

I built my own version of the Caltracs and they work great. Caltracs are the best around for stock suspension. You can still get wheel hop with the Shelby style weld on bars. The adjusting process is likely for guys using them to race with, for the street you just put a little bit of preload on them and call it a day. They help tremendously with off the line traction, but if you are already rolling past about 10 or 15 they don't do much (that is if your car can break them loose at that speed). If you are up to building your own, I have a set of drawings that I made when I built mine that you can have, if you like. They can be built for less than 150 bucks.

thanks fastcat but i will just try to get my own if i run into any problems installing i wil check with you and 1967xr7vert only one last problem though is it really necessary to install them with the full weight of the car on the wheels and what happens if i have the car raised up upon installation

 

[vinny]

What board members? I have them and have had no issue and have driven the car over 1500 miles this year. Mike, 1970fastcat built his own and has had no issues that I have heard (Mike, feel free to comment). CJ750 has a set on his car too, have not heard of any problems from him either. Granted I have not spent time dragging the car yet, but I don't think getting them setup properly is going to be a big problem. On the street, I have had no ill effects thus far and I di no real setup at all except to make sure the upper rear bushings contact the top of the spring with the car on the ground.

sorry 1969xr7vert i was just looking through comments made in old posts about them but i will take your word on it can you please tell me where i can purchase a set that will send me all the corecct parts the first time thanks.... also is there anything i need to know when purchasing them that i need to tell them and any additional parts i need to buy thank you so much for your help. ps can i contact you if i have any problems with installation.......................... are the instructions very clear on how to install these

 

[1969XR7Vert]

thanks fastcat but i will just try to get my own if i run into any problems installing i wil check with you and 1967xr7vert only one last problem though is it really necessary to install them with the full weight of the car on the wheels and what happens if i have the car raised up upon installation

Nope, no need to install them with car weight on, just adjust the links with the weight on the wheels and then tighten the nuts to lock the links in place.

Where to buy is www.calvertracing.com.

Sure, you can contact me any time if you have a problem.

Regards,

Bob

 

[towcat]

These are cheaper easier and work just as good, I'm just saying.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lakewood-Street-and-Strip-Traction-Bars-21607-/390360380352?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item5ae34ab3c0

 

[a70eliminator]

Vinny, a floor jack on the center section will raise the rear of the car and the springs will remain loaded just as if it were sitting on the ground, support it with a couple stands under the housing to be safe.

 

[1969XR7Vert]

These are cheaper easier and work just as good, I'm just saying.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lakewood-Street-and-Strip-Traction-Bars-21607-/390360380352?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item5ae34ab3c0

I don't know if they are "just as good" (in fact I'm pretty sure they are not), but to each their own Carlton. Also, those aren't for Ford, but I am sure there are ones available that are. HOWEVER, even the "right" ones will be made for Mustang and too short for the rubber bumpers to reach the spring eyes. Make any reasonable amount of horsepower and say hello to a bent spring (ask me how I know).

I have a set of the fancier/heavier Lakewoods that have the J-bolts (in addition to the U-bolts) which I extended to the correct length after I bent a spring drag racing. I outta sell them puppies...

 

[doctordesoto]

if you remove the rubber blocks , there is a good chance the pinion angle will not be correct---check it with the rear axle loaded----i'd run it abot 1 deg down to the trans---allows for the cal tracks to come up and make it zero
doctordesoto

 

[bosselim69]

This might not apply to a Cougar with this setup. But, I had that setup on an old Bob tail Bronco a long time ago and never got it adjusted to work properly. Had a built 351w top loader 4spd setup nine inch rear with 31" tires. Everytime you banged a gear you were headed towards on of the ditches, and I adjusted it ever way possible and couldn't make it work. Ended up removing it, but got a lot of wheel hop as it had a Detroit locker. Ended up blowing the Detroit locker all over the pavement. The Bronco has a real short wheel base and I had a glass tub so it was very light weight. I'm sure that was working against me ever getting the trac bars to work properly.

 

[towcat]

I don't know if they are "just as good" (in fact I'm pretty sure they are not), but to each their own Carlton. Also, those aren't for Ford, but I am sure there are ones available that are. HOWEVER, even the "right" ones will be made for Mustang and too short for the rubber bumpers to reach the spring eyes. Make any reasonable amount of horsepower and say hello to a bent spring (ask me how I know).

I have a set of the fancier/heavier Lakewoods that have the J-bolts (in addition to the U-bolts) which I extended to the correct length after I bent a spring drag racing. I outta sell them puppies...

you are right about the length, but in the late 70's I was running a 69 Mach1 with a 427 tunnelport, quarter mile in the low 11s, and that is all I had for traction bars.

 

[1969XR7Vert]

you are right about the length, but in the late 70's I was running a 69 Mach1 with a 427 tunnelport, quarter mile in the low 11s, and that is all I had for traction bars.

I folded up heavy sheet metal, welded together and made my own rectangular tubing to extend the bars to the right length. Worked great but I decided that for my build I was going with the latest and greatest, which I determined Cal-Tracs to be, for leaf springs. So far no regrets, but haven't gotten to the track just yet. Will report back when I do!