Frame connector opinion

[moparedtn]

It's definitely on my to do list on the GTX now that she's a "real car" again.
Although the car has new metal everywhere rot used to be, she does flex a lot.

This is no doubt more noticeable to me because we also have the wife's '12 Charger R/T,which has an amazingly stiff unibody of its' own - so much so that it lifts diagonally opposite wheels off the ground teeter-totter style if I just straddle it over the drainage ditch on the side of our road the wrong way.

When I jack up a corner of the GTX in the garage, just that corner is off the floor until I REALLY get serious about jacking height; with the Charger, you don't as much jack up a corner as you jack up a side.
Impressive.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

DO IT. Once you do you will probably never have another mopar that you don’t install them on. It was the single most important thing that helped the ride and handling of my car (68 b body sport satellite). I installed global west tubular connectors that are made to weld each end. Don’t buy the bolt in kind unless you weld each end or they will come loose over time. I have several friends running the US Cartool connectors that weld along the contours of the floor pan which look like they came from the factory once installed.

Let’s put it its way - my buddy on here Dennis H romped on his mildly rebuilt 440 with 5 speed keisler pushing just 500 hp without the connectors and told me his windshield popped out from the unibody twist. Once he installed US Cartool connectors no problem. The thing I like is you will have less squeaks and rattles and the car feels noticeably more solid while driving but not at all stiff. Go for it!

 

[Kern Dog]

Right, and I agree with that part of it...but is the stiffening of the unipretzel a good idea with a higher-torque engine in any case, or are they really only for helping traction, I guess is more my question..

THink of it this way:
With a stiffer platform in the manner of frame connectors and torque boxes, the torsion bars and springs become more effective because the chassis flexes less and is one less "spring" in the system.
For me, it was a more for handling. The addition of the reinforcements made the car feel more solid. It just soaks up the dips and bumps instead of shaking the car around. Several years ago, XV racing did extensive testing of Mopar uni-body cars on a special chassis jig to determine what improvements were needed. They developed several products to address the need. Too bad they over-extended themselves and had to scale back their operations. I am a fan of maximizing a stock based setup.

 

[beanhead]

Let’s put it its way - my buddy on here Dennis H romped on his mildly rebuilt 440 with 5 speed keisler pushing just 500 hp without the connectors and told me his windshield popped out from the unibody twist.

Well, that's because he has a Dodge and everyone knows Plymouths are superior! Haha I'm kidding of course Dennis' car looks awesome! I love it just from the pictures I've seen. Yeah, the bolt-ons were never a thought for me. I can get steel cheap and do the metal burnin' myself so you all have reinforced my decision to get this done once the weather gets, well less perfect for cruising..(looks like you're a CA guy you know there's no 'winter storage' here!)

 

[watermelon]

i did hotchkis subframe connector on my 66. helped a lot. did hotchkis front/rear sways too. this car rides nice n flat now.



watermelon

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Well, that's because he has a Dodge and everyone knows Plymouths are superior! Haha I'm kidding of course Dennis' car looks awesome! I love it just from the pictures I've seen. Yeah, the bolt-ons were never a thought for me. I can get steel cheap and do the metal burnin' myself so you all have reinforced my decision to get this done once the weather gets, well less perfect for cruising..(looks like you're a CA guy you know there's no 'winter storage' here!)

You got it! Dennis and kern and coronet darter and Darius all of us in northern CA. Blessed with many months of fair driving conditions. Dennis let me have a half hour of seat time in his yellow beauty a few years ago and after driving 5 other classic Mopars both Plymouth and dodge I have to honestly say that Dennis’ car drives and rides better than any I have been in. Maybe because he drives it so much. Something very special about that car. Just like it’s owner

 

[moparedtn]

Something occurs to me here:
When Chrysler engineers designed these things, was there a certain amount of "flex" actually designed/desired in the chassis
to begin with - or did they get to a certain level of strength/stiffness and call it good, getting the rest of what they wanted out
of the suspension?
Obviously, bean counters and design esthetics come into play as well - but how much, if any, chassis flex was originally designed
into these cars of ours to begin with?
You know where I'm going with this...
If these cars' unibodies were designed to flex a certain amount (with accompanying suspension design based on that flex),
are we somehow screwing with things by stiffening them up with frame connectors?

 

[Kern Dog]

No.
They were great for their time and the tires that were available. Loose feeling power steering was in style then too. Over time, things change, what we like may change as well. We are just bringing these cars up to contemporary standards by getting the chassis as solid as we can as compared to a newer car.

 

[multimopes]

Although I am pretty sure I am wrong, I thought I read somewhere long ago that the separation between the front and rear frame rails was intentional, part of a "crush zone" for head on collisions. Although I might be a victim of a deranged memory or pre-senility! LOL

 

[beanhead]

No.
They were great for their time and the tires that were available. Loose feeling power steering was in style then too. Over time, things change, what we like may change as well. We are just bringing these cars up to contemporary standards by getting the chassis as solid as we can as compared to a newer car.

I would say too that no factory ride made the torque that many of us are now, and that body and frame steel is 50 years old by now...I'd think it will fatigue and weaken some. My car spent most of it's life with a stock 318 so luckily no stress cracking through the years. The impact zone discussion is interesting...

 

[moparedtn]

I may actually be subconsciously channeling something I read from years ago, maybe from an interview with one of
the Chrysler engineers of the day or something, I dunno - just seems like I remembered something along those lines
as it being intentional.
Of course, even if it wasn't they'd probably say it was, so there's that.

I know the thought process nowadays is to make the chassis as ungiving and stiff as possible and for the suspension to
do all the work of absorbing the road and such; no doubt it's also done as part of the N-V-H engineering as well.
I keep harping on this late-model Charger but man, not a creak out of that thing even with the stiffer suspension and
pushing 70k miles on it. Explains the 5 star crash rating too I suppose.

 

[hunt2elk]

I put connectors in all my cars. If you don't have them, just lift your car on a hoist and watch what happens to the top of the door/quarter gap as the weight of the car comes off the wheels.

 

[1967coronet440]

I just posted a set of tubular connectors from global west suspension for sale. They’re the tubular style, but since my car will see more track time than street I’m going to go with the USCT ones.

 

[LemonWedge]

Just plain makes it a better car, no matter the HP or intended use. Rigidity was poor on these big B-bodies.

 

[65 3 times]

Great thread. It goes without saying that when these are installed it is imperative that the car be supported straight. IMHO It is worth the $'s to seek out an "old guy" with a frame rack to set the car up and weld in. These guys work with this stuff daily and most are excellent welders. After they are in they will help you realign the door gaps and adjust the torsion bars. Also while there they can adjust the alignment based on what your going to use the car for. That also make a huge difference in a track car at 130 mph. Dave

 

[oldbee]

Did mine back in the day with a single-post with 4 swing arms. Never a problem since, no cracked welds && I was not even close to being an expert welder! IMHO the best thing to do to a uni-body.

 

[zyzzyx]

 

[biomedtechguy]

View attachment 660490 View attachment 660490 View attachment 660492

USCT frame ties

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have installed them on many cars over the years. Several were my buddies street cars. Yes, they do make a difference even for a mild street driven car. It does not need to be a full out drag car to benefit from them.

 

[conv67bdere]

Installed them myself on my 67 Belvedere convertible in my garage
- - make sure all 4 tires are on the ground and level
- - do your adjustments to the connectors
- - jack them up into place
- - then check doors for proper opening
- - tack them in place every 6"
- - check the doors again - no jack
- - weld them in

My convertible needs all the help it can get - huge difference with these installed