Oxnard Montalvo

My car's drivetrain setup is a strong 289 A-code that was built by somebody somewhere out near Chicago. I have no idea what was done to it, but It has a girdle and windage tray, screw in valve studs, double valve springs,a 4100, a Shelby distributor and tri-ys. It idles smoothly down to 700 rpms. It's a nice high-revving little motor but it's no stump-puller. The transmission is a Toploader and the rear end is a 3.00 trac-loc riding on Global West leaf springs with poly bushings and heavy duty shackles. For tires I have 215-60-15 Yokohama ES 100s.

I get wheel-hop when I "lite-em-up" and I really shouldn't." Everything is tight. Could it be too tight? The motor mounts, transmission brace, spring mounts are all sound.
The Global West springs are supposed to stop this and eliminate the need for traction bars but they don't, not on my setup anyway. I suspect that I get hop because the motor puts out enough torque to spin the tires but not enough to really get them loose, and combining that with sticky tires and a highway rear end is what causes the bouncing.

I want to keep it simple and use only parts available in '66, so I figure adding Shelby style Traction Master traction bars might cure the hop. This brings me to the point of the post. I see that most if not all of the suppliers have longer U-Bolts for the springs and I'm wondering as to the strength of these bolts. I'd like to avoid buying import crap, those are important bolts. Are the suppliers bolts Chinese and do they all get them from the same place? Is there a source for American made bolts? I'd appreciate any input on the bars, the bolts, or why the car hops. Thanks.