ADVANTAGES OF MOPAR HANDLING

 

Note: Some mods illegal in ESP but all legal in CP. Consult the SCCA SOLO II RULES

If you don't care about rules, anything goes.

Brakes: 11.75" rotor off of later model B-body rotors. Spindle, caliper, master cylinder, and hardware (pre 73 A-bodies need 73-up A-arms) from junkyard 73'-up A-body and/or some parts can come of other applications. Read Mopar. Action. Tech #1 and High Performance Mopar summer/88. It should be easy finding in junkyards and all wearable parts can be bought new. To bolt on 12" on older Mustangs and G.M. F and A Bodies a Willwood kit must be purchased $$$. Cheap conversion with junkyard parts, under $ 150 in U-Pick-It junkyards, ability to put on huge rotors for extreme conditions, good availability of new parts.

Caster to 3 deg.: Offset upper A-arm bushing from Moog ( #7103 ) instead of stock
ones. Align offsets to increase caster and press in; M. Action 12/90. I met a guy in San Diego with a Chevelle that had to buy tubular A-arms to achieve this; the A- arm bushing shaft would hit the steering shaft when pulled in. Less than $30, you might need bushings anyway.

Lowering Car: Front can be lowered simply be turning the torsion bar adjuster. With very serious front end lowering, the frame will have to be notched in the bump stop plate area. Rear can be lowered about 1 ½" by flipping the front spring hanger to drop front eye, this increases anti-squat to help plant the rear; H.P. Mopar 9/90. No $$, No parts, No guessing on front coil cutting or purchasing.

Power Steering: Early Mustang add on type is a mess. Saginaw pump can be modified if felt necessary by many sources, this is the same pump most Late Model stock cars use. External reservoirs, internal modifications and pulleys could be attained through roundy-round sources. The power steering chuck can be rebuild to get rid of the Mopar slushy feeling, not to mention the 30 years of wear. Check the 96 M. Action article on RWD power steering. Firm Feel will do rebuilds with varying firmness for as low as $180, their advertisements are in Mopar Action Magazine. You could also try a junkyard steering box from a late model Dippy police car with the firm feel box. With this box a 73-up pitman is needed and pre 73 A-body K-Membered cars; an idler and center link will be needed. Vast improvement in feel of control, can get in junkyard for under $40, in 30 years of driving most cars will need a rebuilt box anyway.

Bump Steer: Relatively easy bump steer adjustments can be made when you have a pass through type idler arm. 67-72 A-bodies must use the 73-up A-body K-Member. These K-Members also have the sway bar away from possible wheel rub, and superior motor mounts. The bump steer procedure involves shimming washers and rattail filing a slot. Simple enough modification I think. See the M.P. Chassis Manual for detailed instructions. Of course this means you have to measure your bump steer curve. This will be the same procedure for any car. Check a recent 96 M. Action article and/or Fred Puhn's How to Make Your Car Handle for inexpensive measurement techniques (wood/hinge/bolt/tape measure). Bump steer kits for early Mustangs are around $225. While you're at it, welding gussets to steering box K-member bracket to reduce flex will give more precise steering. This is a big task to get out of a junk car and hopefully the engine is out with the motor mounts not torched . In a list of bang for your buck, gain, and sweat, this procedure is at the end, but if you're doing brakes and torsion bars you're halfway there. Many co-improvements, not very expensive, K-Member less than $50 in U-Pick-It junkyard.

Torsion Bars: Not really an advantage but, since their-release by Mopar Performance for $119
with a sufficient selection, this is not the big disadvantage it once was. Check out M.A. Tech #5 96' and M.P. Chassis Book.
Torsion Bars: $ 119

Conclusion: Don't rule out an older Mopar for autocrossing in a Street Prepared class. It also makes for a neat handling sleeper. Imagine the look you'd get from the guy on in a $50K Porsche on Sunset Blvd. or some Freeway on-ramp while you go whiz by him in your Dart! I believe a frugal person with some wits about him and a few trips to the junkyard could bolt together disk brakes, new front springs, offset bushings, rebuilt steering box, car lowering, for around $500 assuming it didn't start with disks. This would make a great starter package with tremendous improvements over stock. Mopar people that drive my car say that you wouldn't believe its a car from that era and that the steering is precise almost like a car with a rack and pinion. With the increased caster and rebuilt box makes the freeway Grand Prix something you can confidently drive with the same aggressiveness as the bozo next to you in a BMW!

Note: The above topics are not the only suspension improvements to make nor in any order of importance. My personal preference of order would be: brakes, offset bushings, polygraphite brake strut bushings, steering box, stock front sway bar (if car didn't have one), 15' rims with biggest tires, T-bars, manual master cylinder, adjustable proportioning valve, shocks, rear bar if needed to balance car, polys in rear, bump steer and K-Member if needed. These are my opinions, others might do it different ways for different reasons and circumstances. I have found information on a few other Mopar autocrossers that I will pass on to those interested.

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

Lower Control Arm Swap for Camber: Want to run more camber on your B or E body? Especially on the right if you have a circle track car. Just swap in an A-Body lower with corresponding sway bar arrangement. Guess what ? The A-Body lower is a half an inch longer. Sway bar locations are nearly identical (1/4"). Must use the E/B-body strut rod though. The A-Body is shorter. Also, this will move the control arm to strut rod hole out. I believe this will not be a problem and could pull your lower ball forward slightly. I think the suspension should handle it. When I got my Poly strut rod bushings they were a 1/4" inch thicker than the originals. I cut mine back so as not to lose positive caster. The shorter bushing the shorter the effective strut rod length. Pulling the lower ball joint forward (positive caster). Beware this longer lower arm will decrease the effective spring rate because of the longer arm. Beware I have not run this, nor know anyone who has. I have mocked this up on my Challenger K-Member and it seamed to work fine. Works sort of like having custom short upper control arm. Junkyard parts.