Rear end bottoming or topping out

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This isn't too likely, but it happened to me, so who knows?

My rear disc brakes were installed in such a way that the return spring for the e-brake interfered with the frame members on either side of the engine compartment as the suspension worked up and down. There was only about an inch of suspension travel before bump, bump.

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Did you clearance the frame or rotate the calipers to the rear by 90 degrees?

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We ('we' in the editorial sense) clearanced the frame.

Tony then made up a small brace and welded that back in place so no strength would be lost. It was the cowboy thing to do.

Of course, about a year later, we (again, in the editorial sense) ended up raising the rear ride height quite a bit when I tired of leaving small pieces of my sump scattered on picturesque rural roads throughout Amador county. That, by itself, would have solved the clearance problem, but these cars are all about acquiring knowledge slowly, in stages, and in the most expensive way possible.

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@Sacto Mitch posted:

... these cars are all about acquiring knowledge slowly, in stages, and in the most expensive way possible.

So they are, Mister Mitch. So they are.

Thanks Mitch. Even though I swapped the left and right calipers so the ebrake spring is on the bottom, sure enough you were right. The caliper body on passenger side is hitting the frame rail even though there is 2 1/4"clearance without passengers . Funny thing is the rubber bumpers are almost touching the bump stop on the upper shock mounts. Didn't think they would compress that much to allow the caliper to hit. Also no wonder the rear suspension is harsh the shocks are doing nothing on compression.

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Seth, glad I was able to help.

Let us know how things work out. Other folks here will know much more about setting up your suspension than I and, hopefully, will chime in.

My car has swing axles, where there are reasons not to raise the rear too much, as the camber suffers. But IRS is a whole nuther thing.

Well This is my first attempt at keeping the the rear brake calipers from hitting the engine frame rails without raising the rear end. 26mm torsion bars. 4mm thicker than stock. I am sure it will give it a rough ride but the car was already sitting on the rubber bump stops so how much worse can it be! I am about to find out. Cutting or removing the bump stops would not have worked because even with them installed the rear still compressed enough to hit the caliper body.  If the new torsion bars don't limit the travel enough then back to square one. I did order compression adjustable Konis but they are on back order and these arrived first.

I had to cut a hole in the body to get the old one out but fortunately when my dad and I put the car together back in 2000 he decided to fill the fake torsion bar hole ring and move the body molding back to center it between the tires. That gave me enough space to get the bar out and still have the molding cover the hole. Just have to use a fender washer behind the body for the last screw to keep it tight.

@sethsaccocio

^ Brilliant!

You move fast, @sethsaccocio - it was 4 days ago we were corresponding regarding my torsion bars.

Get these installed, along with a 3/4 sway bar (front and rear) and those Konis, and your entire ride/handling equation will be transformed. This is my exact setup, and I love it.

@sethsaccocio posted:

Well This is my first attempt at keeping the the rear brake calipers from hitting the engine frame rails without raising the rear end.

Is it the caliper itself hitting the frame, or the brake line connection? I ask, because I had to put banjo fittings on my rear brake lines to get them to clear. I forget where I got them, but I could find the (10 year old) receipt if pressed.

I think I got banjo fittings from airkewled.