Anyone use John's Performance torque arm and/or panhard bar?

[Badd Azz TTA]

the chromemoly spherical rod end

That's the one I am running,You will be fine as long as you run the stock motor mounts and a rubber transmission mount.

 

[mark b]

HMMMM..... I just ordered the Poly Mounts a few weeks ago...
Is this a problem in the making?

 

[turbov6joe]

Tell ya what, I recently fought my OE mounts for hours trying to get them to line up while dropping the motor back in! The damn things were so mushy they would flex all over the place when the block came down on top of the them. Finally after hours my buddy and his 5' pry bar got them to line up... I won't pull that motor again for a while!!
I'm going to install my JP torque arm and panhard bar this week...damn those things are beefy The only this John needs to do on his web site is state that the Energy Suspensions tranny mount is needed for the install...that will save the wait from Summit.

 

[syclone01]

spohn torque arm...fitment problems

I just installed the spohn torque arm and LCA's on my car. The quality was good, but the torque arm hit the driveshaft loop. I tried loosening the trans mount to the frame and prying it over towards the passenger side, but it wouldn't clear still. I loosened up the trans mount when doing that also. I ended up having to take the car to a muff shop and have the cut and reweld the driveshaft loop, more to the pass side. The pass side doesn't have anything over there for it to interfere with. This of course cost me time and money. Also, you will have to go buy a trans mount for a 65 chevelle, you can get it at any autoparts store for about $7.00. It has to have the two threaded holes in the mount for two bolts to come up from the bottom of the new trans crossmember that comes in the spohn kit. THey supply the bolts, but on there website they say it's a true bolt in for the tta, well it wasn't in my case and you do have to buy the mount. I also had to redrill out the holes for the two bolts to go up through the new crossmember, because the two mounting holes in the new 65 chevelle trans mount didn't quite line up with the holes drilled in the new crossmember...of course, nothing is a "true bolt on" I believe I have yet to find much of anything that is. All in all, the quality is nice, but when you find out that it's not a true bolt on for the tta after the parts stores have closed and you have to wait till the next day to get your correct trans mount. Then I had an interference problem with the loop....it was very aggravating to say the least. I'll see how it all works out when I get to the track.
damon carter
ps, the johns performance torque arm is the spohn unit.

 

[Razor]

1.588 60 foot on all 100 percent bone stock suspension including shocks and brake pads..

Someday.......

 

[turbov6joe]

Finally got that SOB installed this past week, and boy was it a BITCH doing it myself! The instruction left many things to desired and could have given a few tips to make the job easier. After having to drop the tranny mount 4 times I finally got the torque arm installed and the pinnion angle set. The easiest part was setting the angle...damn I hope this thing makes a difference in my car's 60' times!

 

[turbov6joe]

First off I want to appologize to you all for doubting anything you said about the install, vibrations or whatever! After finally getting that thing lined up and installed, I got the motor back in and running. Well, the vibration in the cab of the car about scared the **** out of me the first time I brought the RPM's up above idle! I actually thought I had the converter on wrong, so I loosened all 3 bolts and re-positioned the thing to make sure it was on there straight. Then I fired the motor back up to find that the VIBRATION was still there I went ahead and used the polly tranny mount as instructed, but that thing is comming out ASAP! I cannot live that that much vibration...kinda feels like my old Harley. I also have an issue with the torque arm hitting the DS loop...pretty bad I must add. I spoke with John this evening about it, and he claims to have never had any complaints of this in the past. I know one thing, I will need to address this ASAP as the hitting is pretty severe! John asked me to take digital pics of this problem and send them to him, which I did this evening. I'll be waiting to hear back from him with a response. I'll also have to have the DS loop extension cut and re-welded to clear, don't think I won't be billing someone for this extra expense. I hope however, that John being the nice guy that he is, will offer to pick up the bill, then he can bill the manufacturer for his expense since their the one's that f'ed it up to begin with! Overall the install experience was less than a "good time", I just hope it all pays off the first time to the track??? What was the correct part# for the rubber tranny mount that fits this set-up?

 

[Grumpy]

Joe some guys opinions differ from others obviously...I am old an hate driveline vibrations... We use our cars a lot...Not a 1000 miles a summer..good luck with your project..

 

[syclone01]

same problems here...

did you read my post...? I had the same problems ...loop hitting the torque arm, and not just barely either.....go to the store and tell them you want a trans mount for a 65 chevelle....that one will work. He told me that he hadn't had a problem with it either in the past.....
damon

 

[turbov6joe]

Syclone01,
I read your post and went to the parts store to inquire about that 65 mount. The one they handed me wasn't even close to what I needed. What motor was this correct mount behind? Did this mount totally eliminate your vibrations?? I drove the car today for about 70 miles and have NO fillings left in my teeth...not acceptable! It felt as if the TC was not on the tranny/flexplate correctly... I'm thinking about also putting another layer of rubber between the tranny crossover mount and the body, maybe that might help a fuzz??? I'll let you know what John says about my pics when he replies...keep watching this post for updates. Will you privately email me a phone number so I can ask you some specific questions and talk about this?

 

[turbov6joe]

For some further info in reference to the panhard bar John sells take this for what it's worth. Have a buddy or an extra hand around to help shift the body back over when you drop the OE bar! I was alone for this project as well, and to put it lightly, it was a matter of under the car...out from under pushing on the body...back under the car...back on the side pushing...bla bla bla. Finally after dropping the DS bolt and starting with the PS, I got that SOB to line up, but not deviod of mucho cussing and throwing wrenches
Anyhow, the car seems to really track straight through the courners now, so I'm happy at this point. Boy that OE panhard bar and torque arm were cheaply made, it blows my mind that it handled as well as it did with that crap on board! As of tonight no response from John, I'm super curious to hear what he has to say...Cheers!

 

[turbov6joe]

Thanks to syclone01 I finally got the driveline vibration down to a bearable minimum. All it took was the 65 Chevelle rubber tranny mount he told me about. I still have a problem with the DS loop touching the torque arm, doesn't look as though that can be fixed short of cutting it and re-welding, or a blow torch and bending it. After a sharing a few emails with John S., and his enquiring with spohn on what to do, it seems that there is no good reason as to why it hits??? They suggested loosing all bolts/nuts and trying to shift it towards the D/S of the car....not happening, it's over as far as it will go Anyhow, I need to jack with it some more and see what kind of fix I can come up with. Good thing though, after replacing the tranny mount, the torque arm is not rubbing the DS loop as bad as before...at least the car is drivable now. Best I can tell the wheel hop is gone, and the car really seems to track straight under WOT conditions. Thanks to all who shared their experiences/help!

 

[mark b]

Not sure if others had this experience, but when I ordered mine from John 2 weeks ago, he told me specifically to use the 65 Chevelle one and not the poly mount.

 

[Hi-psi]

I got mine directly from Steve Spohn. I purchased mine about a year and a half to two years ago. Got it with front and read integrated driveshaft loops. Used a stock TTA tranny mount, and it came with a little spacer block to line everything up right. No hitting on the loops either. Dunno if he changed the design or stopped sending the spacer block or what, but no issues here.