The back end of my car sits about 1" higher on the passenger's side than the driver's side (without anybody in the car). I don't see any adjustability in the shocks I have, so what are my options to fix this?

I only noticed this because I put new wheels on the car, with 205-50-15 tires, and while there is lots of clearance on the passenger's side (rear), there is almost none on the driver's side.

Being cheap and impatient, I'm looking for the easy fix. But I realize there might not be one.

Suggestions will be rewarded with pictures!

There's a couple of scenarios i can think of but you won't like any of them because none will be cheap, quick or easy.

Did you check the front ?
Because if one side front is low , the same side rear will be low.
If that's the case, adjust the torsion bar in the front .
That did it for me .

Fender clearance and ride height are two different issues.

From the factory the fenders most often are different. Front torson bars can make a difference as can sway bars. It's all a big mix. But first check the rear springs, they do sag. Springs are cheap and easy, you might start their. The shocks are also gas, they bleed down too.

If cost is an issue, swap the rear springs and shocks and see what happens.

Sir Andy, I have one thing to say to you...

Are you taking about my car, or my dates?

Thanks for the suggestions, I will give them a try tomorrow.

When I got mine, it had a 1.5" spacers placed on top of the rear springs (was made from some galvanized pipe couplers) I've removed them, but have not had the engine back in yet or any road use, but that's a cheap fix if one spring is weak.
CSOB solution.

Only a few things come immediately to mind:

Either one of your springs is worn out or broken.
OR
One of your rear suspension ears is broken (more common on pass side than on Driver's side). My driver's side was broken and needed to be replaced.

A messed up shock 'should not' make the car sit uneven unless it is actually binding.

Does the car move freely up & down when you push it down?

So, I tried adjusting the front ride height first. That did change the back ride height, but I had to make the front way off from side-to-side in order to make the back match from side-to-side.

Next, I swapped the shocks on the back. This did not change a thing.

I had a good look around the suspension mounting points, and I didn't see anything that looked suspect.

What does that leave? A twisted frame? A twisted trailing arm?

I was able to see that the right fender sits out further than the left fender, so that is contributing to the tire clearance issue too. I am thinking of just pulling out the left fender a bit, and ignoring the height issue for now.

More thoughts?

My sons car was sitting a little lower on the left side. I changed the springs and still had the issue. So I just added some spacers/washers on top of the rubber bushing on top of the shock/spring assy. This fixed the ride height. I assume a new pair of bushings would be the proper fix.

These will fix the problem….


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Great, thanks! I will be watching the mail.

Love it when you post porn!

Not as slick but after verifying nothing else was broken my coil overs really changed my cars ride height.Click to view attachment

Wow, those will un-twist a chassis? Or re-attach a broken trailing arm mount? Or straighten a bent trailing arm? I had no idea they were so magical...

--DD

If anybody is interested, here are the springs and shocks that are on the car.

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I'll get some pictures of the trailing arms and mounts later, but I didn't see anything obviously wrong.

Are the springs the same unsprung height?

Would a local alignment shop be capable of measuring the spring compression force?

Well, I didn't take the springs off the shocks. But I did swap them from left to right and nothing changed.

I am beginning to see what Sir Andy is saying (or not saying) -- if I have the front level, but the back is not, then there's something going on with the chassis as a whole. If I was able to raise up the back left, that would just force the front right down, and not really solve the underlying problem.

I guess it's also possible that it's just the fenders that are off, either from the factory, or from a previous repair.

You're going to want 4 of them and some flavor of rear springs. The adjustable perch setup can get a little spendy. You have to take what's going on with the alignment when you try to make the rear height equal by raising the front. An alignment and corner balance, as recommended, will drasticly improve the way your car handles. Oh, examine your tie rods and ends before you get that alignment.

Home made rear adjusters:Click to view attachment

To check for a twisted car remove the targa top and get in back and sight from the targa bar to the windshield frame. They should be parallel. We had a car that sat low 1-1/2 inch in the rear. It was twisted. Someone launched it and landed it on the drivers side long just in back of the drivers seat. Parts car. Start over.
Find out the problem before throwing adjustable coil overs on it.