Torsion bar front end. Am I stuck?

[clubracergt1]

My truck is a 2003 Edge 2wd, and my intentions are to turn it into a street truck. I know I probably should have bought a different truck, but I love the look of the Edge. The issue I am running into is the torsion bar front suspension. Looking on DJM's site, I found a kit for a 4/5 drop listed under my application. I have sent their tech people an email regarding if this is possible, or not; but I am impatient and wanted to check with you guys.

I would, eventually, like to set up the suspension to handle, so I am not afraid to go with coil-overs if needed. As for the rear, I am planning to change the axle over to an Explorer piece as this seems to be the easiest way to get disc brakes out back. I understand that this would also move the axle to the top of the springs (without moving the perches); but I am okay with this since I want to lower the truck. I also have a spring shop near the house, so getting my hands on a set of custom rear leaf springs would be a non-issue.

On a bit of a side note, I also intend to swap a V8 into the truck at some point. This has me thinking that a coil-over front end setup might be the way to go, since I can tailor the spring rates to deal with the weight better.

I guess I am just asking if anyone has ditched the torsion bars, and how it was done.

Any help and direction in this is greatly appreciated. Project STRanger thanks you too.

 

[stmitch]

Unless it's a brand new product that DJM just started selling, the DJM 4/5 kit only works with control arm front suspensions.

You're right that the torsion bar trucks make it a bit easier to do a coilover swap, but I've only seen one or two guys do coilovers on a lowered truck for handling, but it is pretty common on lifted torsion bar trucks, and the premise is the same. You'll need to buy or fab brackets and pick an appropriate size coilover with a spring rate that you think will work.

If you google ranger coilover swap you should find quite a few build threads, etc to review. Just imagine a shorter coilover, and you'll get the idea.