I see this frequently....A guy buys an old Mopar and says that he intends to swap in some aftermarket front suspension kit in it.
These guys rarely seem to have thought it through. They often think that if it is NEW, it must be better. Their old car is all over the road, the tires squeal when turning and since it needs to be rebuilt, why spend the money on restoring old technology?
Here is why:
When the car is rebuilt to mostly stock specs and aligned to modern standards, the ride and handling are amazing. Mopars had better geometry and durability than most other American cars of the same era. The Mopar torsion bar suspension is designed for these unibody cars to keep the weight low and toward the rear. Coil over kits move weight forward and up. Their manufacturers brag about weight savings but the comparison isn't apples to apples. They weigh a power steering equipped stock setup to a manual rack and pinion coil over setup. Of course their kit weighs less. Try comparing your stuff to a manual steering car and the weights are not that different. The coil over kits do have better exhaust clearance but so what? TTI and Doug's make headers to fit any chassis anyway. The coil over kits are not as durable. The suspension travel is less than stock. The turning radius is often wider than a stock torsion bar car. The coil over kits often cost upwards of $4,000. A stock rebuild can cost half of that and provide a great ride, durability and handling while saving a bunch of money.
If they were better, I'd be happy to endorse their use. I'm not married to everything that Mopar did. I support aftermarket brakes and transmissions in the classics because they do provide actual improvements over stock stuff.
I run larger torsion bars in my cars along with big sway bars and good shocks. I also went with the improved Borgeson steering box in my red car. The car drives and rides quite well.
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