Car needs some suspension help

[BABYBLUECORONET]

Hey Guys, I just got my 66' Coronet 440 a few weeks ago and have since taken some short drives in it. This thing has a ton of body roll, made a U-turn at a light and thought this will have to be added to the list. I will have a lot of other things to do and budget is always an issue. What would be the best bang for the buck? Sway bars? Front Shocks (probably needed anyway). Replacing all the bushings? Whatever you recommend, since this is my first old Mopar maybe give me an idea of the job difficulty. I am fairly mechanically inclined, I've done brakes, oil, alternator, starters and coil overs but nothing inside an engine (yet). So I'm game, I have a lot of tools but I'm sure I don't have some specialty tools that I might need. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jerry Hall]

Body roll can be helped with sway bar, and shocks. If the suspension is in good shape otherwise, that's what I would do. Adding sway bar tabs will require some welding. It's a very good starting point.

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

Body roll can be helped with sway bar, and shocks. If the suspension is in good shape otherwise, that's what I would do. Adding sway bar tabs will require some welding. It's a very good starting point.

Thanks Jerry, I appreciate that. I'll have to get someone to weld the tabs, I don't have that skill in my toolbox. It is something I really want to learn.

 

[slimt]

I found with the roll issue was weak rear leaf springs. My old 55 had that in a big way. Scared the livin s”@t out of me a few times. The way it rolled felt like the front was going to venture off somewhere else. I put new rear springs in. And a set of coil overs in the back. It was a charm to drive after that. That was my experiance anyways.

 

[WileERobby]

The best bang for the buck is... **start with the basics** . Nothing should be changed or added UNTIL all the stock components are in good, not ok, GOOD condition. Bushings, ball joints, etc. Nothing should be done until those components are verified as good.

 

[HawkRod]

The best bang for the buck is... **start with the basics** . Nothing should be changed or added UNTIL all the stock components are in good, not ok, GOOD condition. Bushings, ball joints, etc. Nothing should be done until those components are verified as good.

Totally agree with this. Especially Lower control arm bushings are often completely shot, but upper and lower ball joints, upper control arm bushings, etc. vey often also need attention on these old cars.

There is no doubt that new cars have much better suspensions than our old Mopars, but if you have a suspension in good shape along with a respectable sway bar(s), the old B-bodies actually handle pretty decently.

Good Luck!

 

[Ron H]

Yep - when I added a sway bar to my '63 it made a big difference. These cars had police and taxi adds such as a sway bar regular rides didn't have...just bolt on. Found an OEM bar and installed. Was a first step with the later upgrades made.

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

I do plan to get the major bushings swapped out, I know they're usually an issue. Pretty sure I need some specialty tools for getting ball joints apart right? Anyone have a video handy? LOL. I can look later if not. I know I have a bunch of videos saved that I can reference.

 

[Ron H]

Compressor, air tools, impact sockets, fork separator, breaker bar...among tools you'll want to have.

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

Compressor, air tools, impact sockets, fork separator, breaker bar...among tools you'll want to have.

I have a compressor, air tools (1/2"), impact sockets and a breaker bar. I was talking more about the specialty tools like the fork separator. I think I actually have one of those... lol. I don't need any kind of weird press or anything? A welder might be out of reach right now but possibly in the future. I do have a small patch of rot in the trunk that will need to be addressed at some point.

 

[Jerry Hall]

I have an inexpensive Harbor Freight 10 ton press that works for me. The special ball joint socket was the only special tool I had to purchase, years ago.

 

[Ron H]

I have a compressor, air tools (1/2"), impact sockets and a breaker bar. I was talking more about the specialty tools like the fork separator. I think I actually have one of those... lol. I don't need any kind of weird press or anything? A welder might be out of reach right now but possibly in the future. I do have a small patch of rot in the trunk that will need to be addressed at some point.

A guess is your car might have had a sway bar option; not sure. Mine did and bar was simply bolt on with new bushings. I didn’t go with aftermarket larger bars just found a nice OEM one off a police car. Larger dia will give you yet more sturdiness some guys prefer. I had also bought new HD leafs for my car when I swapped out the rear and some have installed a rear bar kit that’s available. Handling improved nicely going with 15” wheels/radial tires after doing a front disk conversion and later a FFII box and realignment alterations. Car drives better than it did new.

 

[Nevada dan]

I'll bet 90% is rear leafs

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

A guess is your car might have had a sway bar option; not sure. Mine did and bar was simply bolt on with new bushings. I didn’t go with aftermarket larger bars just found a nice OEM one off a police car. Larger dia will give you yet more sturdiness some guys prefer. I had also bought new HD leafs for my car when I swapped out the rear and some have installed a rear bar kit that’s available. Handling improved nicely going with 15” wheels/radial tires after doing a front disk conversion and later a FFII box and realignment alterations. Car drives better than it did new.

Disk brakes up front are definitely on the list (as well as the dual reservoir MC added). No sway bar on it right now, I did look. I really need to get this car off the ground and crawl around under there. Thanks for all the responses everyone. Lord knows what I would be doing without input from people that have experience in these things.

 

[Dave6T4]

Most '66 Chargers had front sway bars, and these will bolt right in. '67's are different. There has been posts of guys parting out Chargers here.

 

[ckessel]

You sound like a good candidate for a complete suspension redo front to back. T-bars, springs, shocks, joints, bushings. Add in some sway bars. Replace the steering linkage components. Do your disc brake add on. You can go further still with structural up grades. Frame connectors, torque boxes etc. I highly recommend you purchase the book AndyF did on our cars for information.AR Engineering | High tech parts for your muscle car moparhttp://arengineering.com. As far as your labor skills and equipment supply goes, might be a time for some trade out with friends or other skilled person to help you out. Skills for skills trade.

 

[Rockland71GTX]

Check your torsion bar diameter too. If a 440 was swapped in place of a /6 or small block it may still have the t-bar for that. Here are the replacement bars available from firm feel, go with the hd/police for starters.

1 inch is the biggest I would go without corresponding increases at the rear of the car. Try to keep things 'even' front to back. Too stiff at the front and the car will plow. Too stiff at the rear and the back will try to swing around. You want to maintain balance.

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

Check your torsion bar diameter too. If a 440 was swapped in place of a /6 or small block it may still have the t-bar for that. Here are the replacement bars available from firm feel, go with the hd/police for starters. View attachment 1172901
1 inch is the biggest I would go without corresponding increases at the rear of the car. Try to keep things 'even' front to back. Too stiff at the front and the car will plow. Too stiff at the rear and the back will try to swing around. You want to maintain balance.

Yes, this car is a 440 swap, car originally had a 361 from the factory. I'm currently scheduled to have my car into the shop on 02 Nov to have an evaluation done by a classic car specialty shop. They're going to go over it, verify the reported equipment on it and hopefully be able to give me some answers on the car, how it drives and reasonable expectations. This car is something I want to enjoy with my family, not make into a show winner/trailer queen so my biggest concern is safety/drivability/performance in that order.

 

[BABYBLUECORONET]

You sound like a good candidate for a complete suspension redo front to back. T-bars, springs, shocks, joints, bushings. Add in some sway bars. Replace the steering linkage components. Do your disc brake add on. You can go further still with structural up grades. Frame connectors, torque boxes etc. I highly recommend you purchase the book AndyF did on our cars for information.AR Engineering | High tech parts for your muscle car moparhttp://arengineering.com. As far as your labor skills and equipment supply goes, might be a time for some trade out with friends or other skilled person to help you out. Skills for skills trade.

I've got some money for repairs/upgrades (disk brakes). I certainly need to start doing some suspension work. I know I can do upper and lower ball joints myself, it's a little intimidating when you see the 50+ piece bushing sets online... how the hell do you even start that project? LOL. It's going to be an adventure that's for sure. Anyone here in Northern VA?

 

[1STMP]

"how the hell do you even start that project? "
The first step is to adhere to your expectations.
Rebuilds/restorations are loaded with setbacks
and U-turns. The trick is to never loose sight
of the goal.
My current build has taken 26 years to get to
the point where it is currently.
When tasked with eating an elephant, it's one
bite at a time. Just don't start with the assh*le
'cause the rest is gonna taste like sh×t.