Suspension

[Bill]

I'm am soon getting ready to take my 73 Challenger off of the rotisserie I made and get it rolling again. I had to cut the rear leaf springs off to get the axle out so I am looking to replace with new springs. I think they were origional springs.
I am a novice :glasses12:. My goal is to make this car look nice, ride nice, sound nice and be solid only, and hopefully keeping within a reasonable budget. My question is
1)where is a good place to purchase some new leaf springs and
2) is there anything else I should think about upgrading from a standard suspension that would be crazy NOT to do while I am at this stage while trying to keep within a reasonable budget.
I am planing to fab up some frame rail connectors this weekend but not weld into place untill car is back on its wheels.
Thanks so much for your help!!!

 

[ramenth]

Take a look at our vendor here, PST. I've used their polygraphite kits several times and am very happy. They also sell leaf springs sets. Take a look at Firm Feel's online catalog and see what they have that will fit your budget that will make reasonable upgrades as to what you want.

Remember that the body and suspension is like building an engine. It's an assembly and the components need to match. Our cars like a couple degrees of negative camber for street driving. If you're sticking with the stock upper control arms then you can buy Moog's offset control arm bushings that will allow you that range of adjustment. Affordable. If you have the means, then you can look at tubular upper control arms.

Leaf springs need to match the purposes, too, as well as working with the power plant. Too stiff and the ass will want to come out from under you in hard cornering, too soft and the rear will wind too much on launch. Street driven somewhere in between will give you what you're looking for. Shocks go a long way, too.

The biggest question you need to ask are what are my purposes? Anything from wild to mild can be built and books can be written on how to achieve either using stock parts, costume tube pieces, a combination of both, etc. Give us some more information and we'll be able to help you set it up.

 

[Adrian Worman]

Ramenths answer is spot on........ Firm Feel race the products they make, the quality is excellent, so is the PST stuff, same for Hotchkis.
My advice would be don't get caught up tryin to buy all the products they produce....... in reality you can get fantastic results from just a few wise additions and adjustments

 

[Bill]

Great!
Okay. My goal now is to get it back "rolling". I will get the polygraphite kit. I still am looking for a suggestion on leaf springs? Any spacific suggestions would be great. Experiance is is best teacher and I have no expierance..... yet. I'm just looking have it ride nice and go around corners like a 1980's or 1990's car and not an early 1970's car. I can upgrade other things down the road but I do need to purchase some new springs.... I think... There is a local 1974 Challenger that a guy is selling for $4,000 or best off wants to trade for a snowmobile that i just happen to have that I was looking to sell for about the same price. Hopefully it's a "score"! Wish me luck. That car has a 1/2 rebuild 340, automatic and is an A/C car wich my current one is not. I like the old sales videos showing the handling of these old muscle cars going around corners with the guy telling you how well the car handles when by nowadays standards a mini van handles better.
Thanks for the input guys! Maybe we will meet up some day.
Bill (Vermont)

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Espo springs & things makes a good quality leaf , the car will handle best with the leaf spring as close to flat as possible but it may leave the rear sitting too low as far as the look you want . The Hotchkiss sway bars are hollow / light weight , Hotchkiss also has suspension kits to make a balanced improvement to both the front & rear suspension

 

[Bill]

I got one of the frame rail connectors finished yesterday.

 

[stripe74au]

Best things i ever did to my cars were:

Firm Feel steering box
Bilstein shocks
Hotchkis rear leaf springs
Firm Feel Upper control arms (but if your sticking with standard sized wheels I wouldn't worry about them)
Hotchkis sway bars, front and rear (though I am sure other manufacturers sway bars are just as good)

This seems to have worked pretty good on my some of my cars. I wouldnt like to go back to how they handled before.

 

[Moparparts]

I have a set of good used factory 340 leaf springs here and also a set from a 318 car with new poly bushings already installed PM me if you are interested

 

[Bill]

My car has the Rallye package and has stock sway bars. Do the after market sway bars make a big differenc vs. the ones that came on the car?

i ever did to my cars were:

Firm Feel steering box
Bilstein shocks
Hotchkis rear leaf springs
Firm Feel Upper control arms (but if your sticking with standard sized wheels I wouldn't worry about them)
Hotchkis sway bars, front and rear (though I am sure other manufacturers sway bars are just as good)

This seems to have worked pretty good on my some of my cars. I wouldnt like to go back to how they handled before.[/QUOTE]

 

[Bill]

I have a set of good used factory 340 leaf springs here and also a set from a 318 car with new poly bushings already installed PM me if you are interested

Thank you very much but I think I am going to go with an upgrade Hotchkis or equal.

 

[challenger6pak]

I might be able to help you some with this. I have been working on a Road Runner 440 4 speed lately. The 440 is a mild rebuild with a little lump to the idle. Originally when you would get on the car you would have to steer to the left to keep the car in one lane. When you hit the brakes it would tilt forward and then rock back to a stop. When you tried to turn it would just go straight and plow the front tires sideways. Hotchkiss parts were added. It helped. A 1 inch sway bar is on the front and urethane bushings are on the car. 1 inch torsion bars were added next and it got better. The real change came with understanding the suspension. All of these modern parts can't do their job with a stock car. A chassis stiffening kit was added. That made the largest difference of anything. The modern parts now could do their job. Since your car is where it is I would highly recommend a chassis stiffing kit first. Even stock parts will work better attached to a solid car. You could do the chassis now and then upgrade parts after the car is road worthy. Call Hotchkiss, XV, US Car Tool, or any other company. They will tell you the same thing. Back to the Road Runner. When you get on it now it just goes straight. It doesn't hop around, twist or anything. It just goes. It also just stops. No rocking around. It will actually do decent corning now with a 440 under the hood. Here are a couple of links to give you some ideas.

http://www.xvmotorsports.com/products/category/index.cfm?cid=105&lvl=1

https://store.uscartool.com/Chassis-Stiffening_c_7.html

 

[stripe74au]

Sway bar

My car has the Rallye package and has stock sway bars. Do the after market sway bars make a big differenc vs. the ones that came on the car?

i ever did to my cars were:

Firm Feel steering box
Bilstein shocks
Hotchkis rear leaf springs
Firm Feel Upper control arms (but if your sticking with standard sized wheels I wouldn't worry about them)
Hotchkis sway bars, front and rear (though I am sure other manufacturers sway bars are just as good)

This seems to have worked pretty good on my some of my cars. I wouldnt like to go back to how they handled before.

[/QUOTE]

My Challenger didn't have sway bars when I got it. But there was a marked difference after they were installed. As to how much better they are than factory I cannot comment, but looking at the diameter of them you would have to say they would be better. I put the Hotchkis rear springs in my Charger, sits a lot nicer and handles so much better now.

 

[Brads70]

Don't forget the torque boxes!

 

[Bill]

I just sandblasted my rear axle housing and diff. I have the rallye package and it looks to be a locking 3.55. Remember I'm a novice, I made a a couple of little wooden stands to set the axle up on and when I spun the axle one full rev the drive turned a little over 3-1/2 times.
My question is: Can I use anyting other than a 3.55 rear end with the locking rear diff? My goal for this car is, sound nice, ride nice and look nice and I am more concerned about maximizing gas milage rather than how fast I can do the 1/4 mile. Can I get the rear end regeared to acheive a more efficient ratio. My concern is the locking rear. I have a 4 speed tranny. Will I smoke clutches with more of a "touring" gear ratio? Any input would be great. I'm working on getting my car back to being a "roller" and want to get these things done now instead of later.
Thanks for your help!
Bill

 

[Bill]

Ohhh maaannn... I'm learning soooo much.. Thanks sooo much Mr. 6pak.

 

[Bill]

Would it be a good idea get the car off of the rotisserie and back on the suspension before I weld torque boxes in place? I was told to wait untill the car is back on it's wheels before I weld in the frame rail connectors.
Thanks Brad! I did not know what torque boxes were untill I just looked them up for sale on ebay. They look like a gret idea. I bet I can fab some nice ones up for cheap $$.
FUN STUFFF!!

 

[moparleo]

gear ratio caculator

:icon_thumright:Here is an application chart that is very useful to determine what affect the rear gear ratios, overdrives,tire diameters, etc..have on performance. Play with it and have fun. Very educational. A very usefull tool for all members.:3gears:

:computer:http://www.bgsoflex.com/rpmmph.html:icon_thumright:

 

[71solo2challenger]

I just sandblasted my rear axle housing and diff. I have the rallye package and it looks to be a locking 3.55. Remember I'm a novice, I made a a couple of little wooden stands to set the axle up on and when I spun the axle one full rev the drive turned a little over 3-1/2 times.
My question is: Can I use anyting other than a 3.55 rear end with the locking rear diff? My goal for this car is, sound nice, ride nice and look nice and I am more concerned about maximizing gas milage rather than how fast I can do the 1/4 mile. Can I get the rear end regeared to acheive a more efficient ratio. My concern is the locking rear. I have a 4 speed tranny. Will I smoke clutches with more of a "touring" gear ratio? Any input would be great. I'm working on getting my car back to being a "roller" and want to get these things done now instead of later.
Thanks for your help!
Bill

Sure-grips wear when you go around corners. Basically when one wheel spins faster than the other. If you ever have a flat, make sure the wheels on your rear or you potentially face burning them out!

So, that being said you can put a numerically lower gear and not effect the sure-grip in any way. Another idea is to find an overdrive 833 from a Van or Truck and you'll have a ~.70 "fourth" gear. You'll have essentially a 2.5 rear gear then. You won't stay in the 3.09 first gear long at all, though.

 

[Cazbah362]

Bill - First on you will need to identify which rear-end carrier you have, a 741, 742 or a 489. My assumption is if the car is stock you have a 741 (There are differnt years for each, so I may be wrong, I have a 741 in my 70 Challenger). Read up on these, there are always debates on which is stronger, better etc but who cares at this point they are all very good and durable. Only issue when changing gears is 741's are harder to find gears for. With that said, 3:55's are a really good street gear and pretty desirable amongst many Mopar fans. You could go the route of the OD transmission, but my recommendation is to get it down, drive it and see what you like better. To me it sounds like 6Pack has some good suggestions and was working knowledge with that Beeper.

I used the Hotchkis system on my 68 GTX, was happy with it but it was expensive. Stock and up will get the job done, there are a lot of options and there is a pretty strong group here for awnswers.

And if you do have a 741 and want to trade, I have 2:73's, get great gas mileage!

 

[moparleo]

Casbah362 is correct, the 3.55 is the best compromise for off the line performance and high-way economy. The big Dana 60 normally comes with a 3.54 ratio. Here is more info than you need , have fun :

http://www.moparfins.com/repairs/8-3-4_Rebuilding/Information_on_Mopar_Rears.htm