Lakewood Traction bar , problems w/shocks

Well I have the new leafs in, painted rear installed, new brake lines bent up and bolted in. I went to install the new Monroe shocks in the rear and they won't line up with the welded tabs on the traction bars (21604) at the bottom. The shocks hit the rear before they get close to the mounting holes. This is true for both the left and right stagerd shocks. If I hold up the original bottom plates the tabs are further back and further foward and would work just fine. Any ideas how to correct the problem short of taking off the $175.00 traction bars and not using them. They were listed specificly for 8" rears including Mavericks. Someone else on this board must have these on their car. I thought I might be rolling by the end of this weekend but once again PROBLEMS! HELP !!!!!
Thanks in advance guys .... Bob

 

Have you considered useing the original shock mount plates and cutting the tabs off the bars??? Or do these bars allow the axle to float on the springs???

 

I looked at that tonite but It won't work. The square tubing is welded to the bottom of the traction bars replacement shock plate.

 

My bars had two tabs on each bar. I cut the unused one off and welded it to the other one to lenghthen it. It's been that way since 93 so that should work.

 

Thanks for the idea but I bought these because they were listed to fit a Maverick. If you have to modify them to that extent then they really don't fit our cars and should not be listed as such. @ $175.00 I expected better from Lakewood. I might as well bought their universal ones for less than half of what I paid. I will shoot off an email to Lakewood Monday but it looks like their coming off.

 

Yea. Looking at the pic I can see that the tabs are not right. Kinda cheap looking in design with the tabs like that. An email is in order I think, along with a full refund. Unless you were to decide to modify them.. I'd just go with the basic ones, that's what I have.

 

In my experience the cheap ones wont last but thats all in what youre doing. Good luck either way.

 

did you put in a stock 8" in or a 9"?
are yours like the ones in the pic in gene's post?

 

I searched the part # he gave and they are different.

 

I've got Lakewood traction bars on my 77. They fit and work fine with the 9" rear I swapped into the car. These were a set I ordered for a 67 Mustang. I ;ooled em up on Summit's site and they list different part numbers. 21604 for the Maverick, 21602 for a 67 Stang.

 

Those aren't Lakewood's bars. They look like the generic el-cheapo bars.

 

Lakewoods.. I bought them like 15-18 years ago. They were chrome plated but I recently had them blasted and powder coated.

 

Those are the universal bars then , not the direct fit one's he's talking about. He's got the ones that bolt on in place of the spring plates.

 

Yup.. And that's what he's complaining about.

 

I have an old set of Southside "Lift Bars" great product but they went out of business....I am not sure why....

I am not using them on my car this go around.....but I plan on keeping them in case I build a anther car down the road.....Maybe you could find a set on Ebay. I payed 125.00 for mine way back in 1994.

Not as nice as Cal tracs but close!!!