1970 Gran Coupe suspension ??

[Luis]

i have a 1970 gran coupe barracuda I am completely new to mopars. Purchased this car. When I was purchasing it the guy didn't know a whole lot about the car either. He was the original owner and said it came with factory highway patrol suspension. But I can't find anything on the code for that and fender tag doesn't say that. How do I know what type of suspension it has? It came with many factory order options as the owner of the dealer had ordered it for the wife but she did not want it because it did not have power windows so instead he sold it on the floor to his buddy (the original one owner) and got his wife a purple one with power windows. So I bought this off the original owner. the engine with the highest available on the gran coupe. The 383 4 barrel. Was wondering if anyone here would know what suspension this would come with? Or how to find out or differentiate which it is.

 

[Cudakiller70]

I'm kinda new to Mopars also, I think everything optioned is on the fender tag, located under hood, drivers side.
Not sure about a highway patrol barracuda (usually 4 door back then) just googled it and found this it's about dodge cars FWIW LOL.
Chrysler Torsion Bar Car Suspensions, 1957-1989: Torsion-Aire, Torsion-Quiet

Retired police officer Curtis Redgap wrote;
I have to shake my head when I read that the current group of automotive rags panning the torsion bar equipped MoPar cars as “not being able to turn at high speeds.” Nothing, and I mean nothing, could be further from the truth! They were, in fact, the very cars that would, could and did handle routine high speeds, especially in fleet police service. Try then to imagine how much more poorly the GM and Ford products handled! I was there, and believe me, I will attest to the MoPar cars being the single best units. That is one of the biggest reasons that Dodge held the California Highway Patrol “E” class enforcement unit of choice for so many years, as well as being adopted by the Michigan State Police.

 

[Luis]

I'm kinda new to Mopars also, I think everything optioned is on the fender tag, located under hood, drivers side.
Not sure about a highway patrol barracuda (usually 4 door back then) just googled it and found this it's about dodge cars FWIW LOL.
Chrysler Torsion Bar Car Suspensions, 1957-1989: Torsion-Aire, Torsion-Quiet

Retired police officer Curtis Redgap wrote;
I have to shake my head when I read that the current group of automotive rags panning the torsion bar equipped MoPar cars as “not being able to turn at high speeds.” Nothing, and I mean nothing, could be further from the truth! They were, in fact, the very cars that would, could and did handle routine high speeds, especially in fleet police service. Try then to imagine how much more poorly the GM and Ford products handled! I was there, and believe me, I will attest to the MoPar cars being the single best units. That is one of the biggest reasons that Dodge held the California Highway Patrol “E” class enforcement unit of choice for so many years, as well as being adopted by the Michigan State Police.

The fender tag doesn't have any code saying anything about suspension. Unfortunately I have a Los Angeles built car because at the time in 1970 the Los Angeles plant had a paperless policy. So it is rare for it to have came with a build sheet. I've checkeber everywhere except for the under dash, and top of gas tank. But if it were even in those places the rats probably got to it first

 

[Adam]

Try to clean out the torsion bar socket by the trans cross member; look in the socket with a light, on the end of the bars for numbers.. that will tell you what torsion bars are in there.
Perhaps somebody on this forum has a list, or link, to torsion bar numbers..

 

[DetMatt1]

Does it have front and rear sway Bars? Look for a small metal tag attached under one of the nuts on the differential, it will have the gear ratio stamped on it. Does it have disc brakes up front.
Enough teasing here already, post up some pictures and let's see some of these details!

 

[340challconvert]

These are the torsion bar numbers and ID colors installed based on the engine and suspensions:
Bar number Body Year Eng Diameter Paint stripe
774-775 B 62-72 225 0.86 Orange
E 70-74 198/225/318

776-777 B 62-69 273/318/361/383 0.88 Green
B 70-72 318/383-2/400-2
E 70-71 318/383-2

778-779 B 62-69 383-4 H.D. 0.90 Aluminum
BE 70-71 340/383-4
B 72 340/400-4/440
E 72-74 340/360

780-781 B 66-71 440/426 0.92 Brown
E 70-71 440/426

If your car has a 383 engine, you should have the 76-77 w a 2 barrel car and the 78-79 with the 4 barrel carb. If you are lucky, clean off the bars to see if any color markings are still present, otherwise look for those numbers.

 

[quapman]

Look on the underside of the bottom spring leaves as well. There are part numbers that may shed some light.

 

[Adam]

I believe they stopped using the metal ratio tag in 68-69; for 70 and up they used paint stripes on the bottom of the carrier. See attached pic. Two blue and one white indicate a 3.23 ratio. There is a reference chart somewhere on the internet but I cant seem to find it this morning...

 

[challenger6pak]

The 383 4 BBL GC had the heavy duty suspension standard.

 

[moparleo]

The Highway Patrol in California used the Dodge Polara's on the interstates in the 60's. 440 Magnum powered. Heavy duty everything. Electrical charging system. HD cooling system. HD suspension and brakes. High speed rated tires. They also added weight to the Interceptors models and needed the longer wheel base of the "C" bodies for high speed stability.
The E bodied Mopars were never a standard model in Law Enforcement.

 

[roy282]

I own a 70 gran coupe N code car and it has the brown torsion bars 780/781

 

[340challconvert]

I own a 70 gran coupe N code car and it has the brown torsion bars 780/781 View attachment 33108 View attachment 33109

Cool- Someone had the insight to upgrade to the "extra HD" suspension.