Quote:
Originally Posted by spctomlin
HA! I'm fiercely independent so trust me when I say it pains me to be in a position where I have to ask for so much help. Being severely deficient of free time makes me wonder if I should even be messing with this stuff. Hey, at forty-four I'm needing to stay a little irresponsible so I don't, you know, grow old.
Back to being responsible.
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The car looks good! Little altitude challenged but good.
If you don't ask you don't learn. Asking focused questions around here get's you a free education and saves a lot of time and money. Learning the search feature can produce surprising results too!
My car handles surprisingly well considering it has few aftermarket parts. I think it shouldn't handle as well as it does, though I've never had it on the track to push the setup past the limit, and I refuse to explore the limit on the street though I've flirted with it more than once but you don't know exactly until you've taken it beyond the limit. As is I believe it would do alright on the track.........it certainly wouldn't set lap records, but wouldn't be scary or embarrassing either.
I've had it 25 years and maintained a frugal budget. It has stock control arms and bushings with old HO Performance front coil springs with Koni's up front, stock 5/8" bar, Global West rear leafs -2" which were labeled "Special" when I bought them and are now referred to as L-2's. The front spring rate is pretty stiff as is the rear which keeps the roll rate down. The rear spring is the standard eye configuration with poly bushings.
As CurtiSS mentioned the stiffer rear spring made it loose in the rear especially with older smaller 245 tires. Going to 200TW 275's pretty much eliminated worrying out losing the rear unexpectedly on the street. Though I miss dirt tracking a few favorite freeway approaches.
Ideally what I'd like to improve without altering the current stance........add approximately 1" more travel front and rear while maintaining similar roll characteristics.
To do this up front I need to verify the front spring OAL and rate and probably change spindles. I have a Hotchkis tubular bar and springs sitting on the shelf that may find their way on the car after it's torn apart and measured. I'm also leaning towards GW's upper A-arms shafts and Del-A-Lum upper and lower bushings.
The rear springs have a spacer that's about 1", I'm considering the GW Cat-5 -2" w/ reverse eye spring kit may work well and minimize or eliminate the blocks. GW's spherical bearing should improve (smoothen) the feel as well as limit lateral movement during cornering.
The Koni shocks are good but I think a modern adjustable shock like RideTech's HQ may deliver a smoother ride with more range of adjustment.
That's the basic simple man's plan but it needs to be disassembled and thoroughly measured to know what will work.
Hope that gives you a little food for thought.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
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