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advice on front suspension options?

whiteknuckler

whiteknuckler

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I have a nice "driver" 1964 Plymouth Sport Fury. Stock 383, automatic, 3.23 rear, disc brakes all around, torque thrust wheels. Front end is mostly original and wore out. Looking for options to make even more of a pleasure to drive. I put a Hotchkis in my 69 Coronet and very happy with that, but I do not think they make one for 64 Plymouth. I am not looking for the cheapest thing out there, but also not looking to put $6-8 k into front end. Anybody have any advice for a winter project for me? Thanx, Jack.
 
Tubular upper control arms to get as much caster as you can. A good set of shocks , qa1 , Viking, bilstien. Boxed lower control arms for strength . Sway bar. And firm feel or steer and gear upgraded steering box. It’s really that simple :lol:, Firm Feel might be your only option being an early B body.

My 68 GTX is just that, I have it jacked up in the rear 70s style and probably too small of a front tire , I can still confidently take corners , it’s super stable in a straight line , and it doesn’t jar you around like a dump truck
 
Everything Cheapsunglasses said and add in some 1.03" PST torsion bars.
 
Go with Quality , Stock Replacements —- they were fine for the first 50 - 60 years of these vehicles….

I can supply you with all 17 items in Top Notch Quality for under $ 1000……

Craig….
 
The Hotchkis package will work from the 69 listing with the exception of the frame connectors and rear springs. The rear springs can be used however if you get the front spring hangers that are made by AR Engineering. They can be had through Mancini and Firm Feel. The front and rear length segments of the 64 compared to the 69 are different, but if you get those hangers, you're good to go.
1964-65 Plymouth B-body | AR Engineering
 
Replacing your wear items, bushings/joints/tie rods/arms along with better shocks/ new torsion bars/new springs/sway bars, makes a big difference. Brother Craig, post 5, can hook you up on quite a bit of US made, quality stuff. And he's more or less in your hood. Your purchases will get dictated by how much you want to spend and how far you want to go. Basic upgraded items won't put you into the poor house, especially if you DIY on as much as possible. As you've probably seen, there are many options to go with on front ends. But you're looking at $4G+ just there depending on who's you go with. Some are better than others. But...what about the rest of the car? Staying with oe based but upgraded components are your best monetary options.
 
I agree with everything already said, however I would also offer the following alternative which will definitely make the car handle better but not as good as the above suggestions.

- Rebuild the front end with a full kit like one from PST ($567)
- Have the steering box rebuilt to a Stage 3 from Firm Feel ($525)
- Get a quality set of shocks - all 4 ($550 from Firm Feel)
- Install a good front sway bar like a Hellwig ($467 from Jegs)

If you just did the above AND you have good tires the car will handle better than it ever has. Its not road race ready but could probably do ok on an Auto Cross (not competitively).

I go "all in" on all my cars complete with subframe connectors, torque boxes, and all the things mentioned above BUT unless you are really driving the car hard and/or tracking it I do not think you need all of the other stuff especially if this is just a cruiser/driver.
 
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^^^ The “ kits “ don’t have all 17 items either …. ^^^
( not even bringing up U.S.A. !!! )
 
QA1 and Proforged on my 64.

Proforge (1).png
 
I'm not sure what you're asking for in "pleasure to drive." Do you want a modern car feel? Do you want it tightened up but still soft? Is it a cruiser or do you want to compete in an autocross? How hard do you want to drive it?

It's incredible what a change in feel happens with just replacing all the worn out front end parts. I push my car hard and autocross it and that change alone made it feel like a completely different car. I myself added front and rear sway bars. Still on stock torsion bars and leafs. Stock steering box too. I'm very happy with my car's balance and cornering capabilities and still maintaining a very comfortable ride.

You can get crazy with bigger springs, torsion bars, stiff shocks, tubular upper arms, etc to get that modern feel if you want. But I'd guess you won't like driving it as much because it won't be nearly as comfortable.
 
Bilstien shocks, bigger torsion bars.

The bigger torsion bars actually did more in the front for ride/handling than the shocks.
I had installed the shocks first.

Bilstien in the rear made all the difference, already had Espo springs and a swaybar.
 
Per your details: "I have a nice "driver" and "Looking for options to make even more of a pleasure to drive." Ok, you don't need all the fancy, expensive stuff. Sure, they're great without question for their intended purpose. I think Rusty said it best :It's incredible what a change in feel happens with just replacing all the worn out front end parts.
 
mobileparts said:
Go with Quality , Stock Replacements —- they were fine for the first 50 - 60 years of these vehicles….

I can supply you with all 17 items in Top Notch Quality for under $ 1000……

Craig….
Click to expand...
'69 RR. I would like to go to OE disks for '69 for manual, not boosted, master. Can you add that to the suspension and DM me please? Thanks!
 
l
WileE said:
Per your details: "I have a nice "driver" and "Looking for options to make even more of a pleasure to drive." Ok, you don't need all the fancy, expensive stuff. Sure, they're great without question for their intended purpose. I think Rusty said it best :It's incredible what a change in feel happens with just replacing all the worn out front end parts.
Click to expand...
the reason I highly suggest tubular control arms, and really that and good shocks is what I would call the bare minimum for a great driver, is because the factory alignment specs are completely garbage.

You don’t really understand or feel until you can change those specs. I’m not an expert by any means, but based on my experience the biggest positive change is your caster. The caster if im not mistaken not only helps keep the car stable at speeds , but it also helps keep your camber where it needs to be through all motions, which helps steering. And the more camber you run, the more it improves.

IMO for what they are, they don’t handle bad from the factory. But you make this change, it will completely change your opinion on how these cars drive, and if you don’t take your car out much, it’ll make it more enjoyable and you’ll probably drive it more
 
If you decide to go with QA-1 I can help with a tubular K member for your 64. It has the early mounts and original motor location.

QA1 mod for 62-65 chassis.jpg
 
Cheapsunglasses said:
lthe reason I highly suggest tubular control arms, and really that and good shocks is what I would call the bare minimum for a great driver, is because the factory alignment specs are completely garbage.

You don’t really understand or feel until you can change those specs. I’m not an expert by any means, but based on my experience the biggest positive change is your caster. The caster if im not mistaken not only helps keep the car stable at speeds , but it also helps keep your camber where it needs to be through all motions, which helps steering. And the more camber you run, the more it improves.

IMO for what they are, they don’t handle bad from the factory. But you make this change, it will completely change your opinion on how these cars drive, and if you don’t take your car out much, it’ll make it more enjoyable and you’ll probably drive it more
Click to expand...
You're right. And I have tubular arms on one of my cars for those reasons. But I'm going off the OP points as I mentioned, as just a "driver" car and "more pleasurable". Returning the stock parts to new condition is all you need to achieve that result.
 
There are lots of instances where some dude buys a worn out Mopar and installs some BS coil over suspension setup....then blabs on and on how much better the car handles.
Yeah....If you drove a car with a worn out engine and then swapped in a rebuilt 440, you'd be bragging about how much faster it is.
My red Charger had the original suspension in it when I got it and it was the most stable and nice riding Mopar that I've ever driven. It wasn't a great car for cornering but it did handle well and ride nice. A solid car with stock bushings, stock shocks and torsion bars, but with radial tires and a good alignment can actually perform well.
 
You don't need tubular upper control arms to get a decent alignment. Just buy the Moog 7103 offset bushings.

stock suspension rebuild
rebuilt steering box
Add a front and rear sway bars
Bilstein shocks.
 
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