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Front Suspension what to use?

64plymouth

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I have a 64 Plymouth Strip/Street car. I rebuilt front end 20 years ago with stock replacement ball joints and bushings. The torsion bars are original 318 bars. My problem is car is very inconsistent. With my old 440 car on typical day could vary from 11os to 11.20s 60ft 1.52-1.58. Car always ran good, MPH was always close. I think it is suspension problems, so I put new SS springs with solid bushings on back plan on Dbl adjust shocks all the way around. But for front not sure what to do. I haven't really looked at front yet just trying to get ideas. Would you use rubber replacement parts. What advantages to tubular control arms and are they worth it? The car has gone from a mid 12 sec car to 11os. Now I have a new 505 and hoping for 10.50s. I don't get to make many runs a year so the faster I could figure this out the better. The car only sees 100 street miles a year.
 
I have a 64 Plymouth Strip/Street car. I rebuilt front end 20 years ago with stock replacement ball joints and bushings. The torsion bars are original 318 bars. My problem is car is very inconsistent. With my old 440 car on typical day could vary from 11os to 11.20s 60ft 1.52-1.58. Car always ran good, MPH was always close. I think it is suspension problems, so I put new SS springs with solid bushings on back plan on Dbl adjust shocks all the way around. But for front not sure what to do. I haven't really looked at front yet just trying to get ideas. Would you use rubber replacement parts. What advantages to tubular control arms and are they worth it? The car has gone from a mid 12 sec car to 11os. Now I have a new 505 and hoping for 10.50s. I don't get to make many runs a year so the faster I could figure this out the better. The car only sees 100 street miles a year.
Are you just looking at the arms or are you wanting to completely redo your front suspension?
 
Are you just looking at the arms or are you wanting to completely redo your front suspension?
Not really sure. I guess I should wait till I can look at it. Not sure if anything is wore out or not. Just trying to plan ahead.
 
Not really sure. I guess I should wait till I can look at it. Not sure if anything is wore out or not. Just trying to plan ahead.
Just curious. I know I saved about 90 lbs switching to a Gerst Tubular Coil over kit. But not sure if you wanted to ditch torsion bars or not. But my dart is PT car, not a straight strip car.
 
Check out QA1, pretty much a bolt in deal
(you can still retain the Torsion bars too, if need/want to be)

tubular LCA's
appr. 19#'s for a pair, with bushings & pin installed
QA1 Mopar B-E Body lower control arms 52308 $449.95.jpg


dynamic adj. alum. strut rods,
appr. 5#'s for a pair, heim joint connection front
QA1 Mopar Dynamic Adj. Strut Bars 62-72 B, E Body $219.95.jpg


(or optional add the tubular k-member, is appr. 36#'s, if you want to go that far)
QA1 Mopar B-E body K-member 52315.jpg


for UCA's I like the SPC dbl adj.
(over the non-adj. QA1's, they do make adj. ones too, I still prefer the SPC's)
appr. 14#'s a pair, with ball-joints & poly bushings & hardware installed
you can do adj.'s, while on the car too
MRE SPC Fully adjustable Upper Control arms $240 each.jpg


appr. 38#'s for the tubular stuff, UCA's, LCA's, Strut rods

& for all the above is appr. 74#'s, including the tubular K-member
with all QA1 parts, that way you could compare weights to the org. parts


very reasonably priced, for racecar/street car MoPar parts
lighter weight, than stock
easy to install & more adjustable

especially if it doesn't see many street miles
a freed up & lighter front suspension, will help the car 60' better
that's really where you can improve the cars performance
every pound you take of the front
is like adding it to the rear in weight transfer

now whether it's worth it,
I think it is, if you want to get the best out of your car
unless you have really good fab skills, to make your own
it's a great opt.

for all the above 'retail' is about $1,600+
for just the UCA's, LCA's & Dyn. Adj. Strut rods, it's about $500+ less
so for about $1100
add your shocks (or get new)
add your Org. spindles & brakes (or get new),
a couple new lower ball-joints, new wheel bearings etc.
& you're good to go
 
Last edited:
I have a 64 Plymouth Strip/Street car. I rebuilt front end 20 years ago with stock replacement ball joints and bushings. The torsion bars are original 318 bars. My problem is car is very inconsistent. With my old 440 car on typical day could vary from 11os to 11.20s 60ft 1.52-1.58. Car always ran good, MPH was always close. I think it is suspension problems, so I put new SS springs with solid bushings on back plan on Dbl adjust shocks all the way around. But for front not sure what to do. I haven't really looked at front yet just trying to get ideas. Would you use rubber replacement parts. What advantages to tubular control arms and are they worth it? The car has gone from a mid 12 sec car to 11os. Now I have a new 505 and hoping for 10.50s. I don't get to make many runs a year so the faster I could figure this out the better. The car only sees 100 street miles a year.

My 64 runs 10.30's, over the last 5 years I have went from dvorak leaf springs with stock long shocks to caltrac mono leafs and 9 way adj, rancho's no change in ET but have some adjustablity for bad tracks. Stock front shocks to calvert shocks, again no change. Went to QA1 tublar upper control arms from stock, no ET improvement. I am just saying if it's not spinning the tires none of these upgrades are going to produce miracles. I have seen inconsistant ET's caused by throttle not opening all the way, converter problems, shift points, brakes dragging. Take a close look at everything hopefully you will find an easy fix.

12068476_1019572638105555_740309623049467653_o.jpg
 
My 64 runs 10.30's, over the last 5 years I have went from dvorak leaf springs with stock long shocks to caltrac mono leafs and 9 way adj, rancho's no change in ET but have some adjustablity for bad tracks. Stock front shocks to calvert shocks, again no change. Went to QA1 tublar upper control arms from stock, no ET improvement. I am just saying if it's not spinning the tires none of these upgrades are going to produce miracles. I have seen inconsistant ET's caused by throttle not opening all the way, converter problems, shift points, brakes dragging. Take a close look at everything hopefully you will find an easy fix.

View attachment 759927
Thanks for all replies. I guess I should have titled this post how to make a car consistent. I have checked carbs linkage, I have playback tach also shift points are the same. I have ran radial slicks in the past and they were faster but inconsistent I have gone back to bias slicks. I will look car over and replace any suspect parts. I will see if new springs and shocks help.
 
Check out QA1, pretty much a bolt in deal
(you can still retain the Torsion bars too, if need/want to be)

tubular LCA's
appr. 19#'s for a pair, with bushings & pin installed
View attachment 759878

dynamic adj. alum. strut rods,
appr. 5#'s for a pair, heim joint connection front
View attachment 759880

(or optional add the tubular k-member, is appr. 36#'s, if you want to go that far)
View attachment 759879

for UCA's I like the SPC dbl adj.
(over the non-adj. QA1's, they do make adj. ones too, I still prefer the SPC's)
appr. 14#'s a pair, with ball-joints & poly bushings & hardware installed
you can do adj.'s, while on the car too
View attachment 759881

appr. 38#'s for the tubular stuff, UCA's, LCA's, Strut rods

& for all the above is appr. 74#'s, including the tubular K-member
with all QA1 parts, that way you could compare weights to the org. parts


very reasonably priced, for racecar/street car MoPar parts
lighter weight, than stock
easy to install & more adjustable

especially if it doesn't see many street miles
a freed up & lighter front suspension, will help the car 60' better
that's really where you can improve the cars performance
every pound you take of the front
is like adding it to the rear in weight transfer

now whether it's worth it,
I think it is, if you want to get the best out of your car
unless you have really good fab skills, to make your own
it's a great opt.

for all the above 'retail' is about $1,600+
for just the UCA's, LCA's & Dyn. Adj. Strut rods, it's about $500+ less
so for about $1100
add your shocks (or get new)
add your Org. spindles & brakes (or get new),
a couple new lower ball-joints, new wheel bearings etc.
& you're good to go
Thanks for info I like idea of the adjustability.
 
My 63 Sport Fury is a street car that sees the track once or twice a year. I run basically all stock suspension as I use 3400 lb SS springs in the rear with the longer extending non-adjustable shocks. Up front all suspension is stock other then the 90/10 three way adjustable Comp shocks. I like all the fancy parts and they can save some weight but I am on a tight budget and stay with what I have and it works good for me. Car is very consisdent as it ran 10.76 three passes in a row a few years back. Best runs are 10.70's with a 1.50 best 60 and I drive it to the track. I feel all the more modern suspension is good but you can still have a nice working car with mostly stock suspension for a 10 second or slower car. Good luck with yours. Ron

412924390.jpg
 
I run the 9.25 index with stock front suspension. The K frame is trimmed for pan access and weight. Poly lower and strut rod bushings. Stock rubber offsets in the uppers. It does have heim joints in place of the outer tie rods for bump steer. Though stock it was pretty close already. Double adjustable Afcos which have been valved 50% tighter. Car repeatability is deadly (trust me NSS guys car is deadly as well). If you have stock rear springs I'd add Assasin bar or Cal Track before S/S springs. The key is no bind and shocks with enough adjustment to control your setup. When slowed to 9.25 itll run 1.30 60ft. At full throttle it'll run 1.25 .
Doug
 
Last edited:
I run the 9.25 index with stock front suspension. The K frame is trimmed for pan access and weight. Poly lower and strut rod bushings. Stock rubber offsets in the uppers. It does have heim joints in place of the outer tie rods for bump steer. Though stock it was pretty close already. Double adjustable Afcos which have been valved 50% tighter. Car repeatability is deadly (trust me NSS guys car is deadly as well). If you have stock rear springs I'd add Assasin bar or Cal Track before S/S springs. The key is no bind and shocks with enough adjustment to control your setup. When slowed to 9.25 itll run 1.30 60ft. At full throttle it'll run 1.25 .
Doug
Thanks for reply. I have new SS springs already, if I can't make those work I will go with ladder bars.
 
My old 10.60 car was consistent as death from week to week using the old stock front end. The only thing different in the whole suspension was the rear and it had ladder bars and coil overs. When you look at the stock front end, it really isn't a bad design contrary to what many think however, it can cause problems if the bushings etc are worn out. Thing is, if the front end is in good shape, there should be no reason for it to mess with consistency....
 
Thanks for reply. I have new SS springs already, if I can't make those work I will go with ladder bars.
They will work, there are just better options. But you own them so use them. Decent shocks and you'll be fine. We've been able to get Rancho 9 ways to work on 10.50 cars. But there are also better shock options available. Most of the problems we see is the shock rebound is to loose.
Doug
 
They will work, there are just better options. But you own them so use them. Decent shocks and you'll be fine. We've been able to get Rancho 9 ways to work on 10.50 cars. But there are also better shock options available. Most of the problems we see is the shock rebound is to loose.
Doug
I want good DBL Adj shocks thinking Viking or QA1. I have never bought any before and don't want to buy from Summit or some place like that. Is there a place I an get them and talk to someone that knows what they are talking about?
 
Most people who have purchased Viking are pretty happy. I would contact the manufacture themselves. My car runs 20 year old Konis on the rear, revalved Afco on the front. Our Turbo car runs revalved Afcos from Menscer. It all depends on how much power you have. No need for super high dollar shocks on a 10 second car.
Doug
 
Most people who have purchased Viking are pretty happy. I would contact the manufacture themselves. My car runs 20 year old Konis on the rear, revalved Afco on the front. Our Turbo car runs revalved Afcos from Menscer. It all depends on how much power you have. No need for super high dollar shocks on a 10 second car.
Doug
Thanks Doug I will give them a call.
 
Most people who have purchased Viking are pretty happy. I would contact the manufacture themselves. My car runs 20 year old Konis on the rear, revalved Afco on the front. Our Turbo car runs revalved Afcos from Menscer. It all depends on how much power you have. No need for super high dollar shocks on a 10 second car.
Doug
In the early 80's, high dollar drag drag shocks were way high but the cheaper coil overs seemed to work decently well.....at least it did on my junk. Now a days with the multi multi settings, I think many get lost in it all.
 
My bet is that the SS springs are the problem. My car was terribly inconsistent with them. I swapped to Cal-tracs and the car is super consistent with them! I have the Calvert 9 way shocks set on 9.

It was a very visible change as the car now leaves level and flat instead of hiking the left front like a dog lifts its leg to piss.
 
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