need more ground clearance

[leanburn]

 i'm trying to gain a little more ground clearance so my headers quit hitting. i'm considering a set of 1'' over espo springs to gain a little on the back and i'll turn up my torsion bars a little bit as well. what's the adverse affects of doing this? i assume more body roll and harsher ride?
 is there other options that won't affect my handling in a negative way?
 here's what i have
 74 barracuda, smallblock, tubular uppers, qa1 shocks, .96 torsion bars, stock front swaybar nothing in rear, xhd rearleafs, tti headers.
i'm currently running 15'' wheels 26'' tall on front and 28'' tall on rear, i plan on going with 17'' on front and 18'' but i dont think i can run much taller tires.
 car is primarily street car but  there is an autocross club starting up so i'll be gettin in on that.

[Chryco Psycho]

That will work , should not be a harsher ride if the rear spring rate is the same or less  & just arced more , put some larger F & R swaybars on , hollow are good for reducing weight , the larger 17/18" wheels will really help handling as it seems that almost 1/2 of the gain is in the tires & the sidewall deflection . You will need a wheel alignment or a level & tape measure to get the tires pointed in the same direction again

[leanburn]

 Will the sway bars actually lift the car or will they stiffen the suspension ?

[burdar]

How low is the front end now and when do the headers hit? The wheels and stance of a car make or break it for me. There is no way I would raise the car up if it had the stance I wanted. Your torsion bars are somewhat small by today's standards. You could try leaving the front end the same height but installing bigger bars. The suspension wouldn't have as much movement over bumps. That may help the header problem. Obviously a short tube header or manifolds is an option as well.

[dave73chally]

Sway bars don't provide any lift

[Chryco Psycho]

which headers do you have , most are a poorly designed & go under the steering center link , there are 3 that are above it & offer much better ground clearance

[leanburn]

I have tti's.
 if I lived in a normal town with normal streets I would have lots of clearance but streets here are pounded out.

[Chryco Psycho]

I f you go to Standens & buy a single full leaf approx. 60" long & new center bolts you  can trim off the front end of the leaf & add it to the spring pack against the main leaf & it will raise the rear approx. 1" , it will be cheaper than buying a new set of Espos

[miketyler]

I have the same problem with drivers tube on my 72' Cuda hanging too low. Shorties might help. Another possibility that seems widely accepted in the Ford crowd is adjustable motor mounts though I am unsure if anyone makes them for Mopar engines. 

[dodj]

If you are interested in getting involved in the local auto-x, don't raise the car. Your handling will suffer. Do the TTI headers go under the steering linkage?

[leanburn]

the tti's go over the top. I really don't want to raise the car but if that's what I have to do to get more clearance then so be it, if I get that serious about auto x then I'll get a car specifically for that purpose. same as drag racing, I run the track a few times a year but I don't go planning on being number one, just there to have fun. my car mostly sees street and hwy cruises.
 right now I have 2.5'' clearance between the passenger collector flange and ground, I would like to see another 3/4'' or so.

[burdar]

You must have that thing in the weeds. Got any pictures?  I will probably have that much clearance with my Dart sice I want it low. I might have to go with shorty headers if I'm not comfortable with that little of clearance. I will not change the stance.

[dave73chally]

This might be severely over simplifying it but couldn't he try fitting a 245/60/15 or 255/60/15 to gain the additional clearance on the front? I'm assuming that if he's reading 26" on the front right now, he's running a 235/60/15? 

[dfrazz]

right now I have 2.5'' clearance between the passenger collector flange and ground, I would like to see another 3/4'' or so.

2.5" clearance?  I would saying raising the car would be the first thing because that is awful low for a street driven car.  If it is anything like the roads in CO, you will need more than a couple of inches clearance.

[leanburn]

don't know what to say, i'm running the tallest tire in rear that i can fit, 26'' on front, if i go taller on front or crank up torsion bars i will have 0 rake wich i can do but hate the look thats why i would like to raise the whole car.
 correction; i don't want to raise the car, i just don't see any options.
 has anyone here measured their clearance? how much do you have?