Let's tear down!!!

Those Dr.diff adapters are pretty slick...wonder if they would work on the 69-72 C-body spindles, so you could run the 73 and later rotors...Hmmmm.

And those bent rear springs are supposed to be bent up like that....not flat....;) :D
 
I looked up the bearings, and they are the same from my Charger and your Wagon, so they may work. :hmmm:

IF you're not in a rush I have another set in my mess, I mean garage, somewhere. As soon as I get the motor in the Charger I'm going to get everything out and should be able to locate them. :shifty:

I ordered a second set because I couldn't find the first set I bought, I didn't worry about looking for them then as I had 2 pairs of A body spindles, but one set went on Jass' '71 and Stretchy made me an offer I couldn't refuse :D

The leaf spring, especially on the left looks like the car was supported on it. I have heard that the new Direct Connection springs aren't that good. So I'll be looking around for some USA made springs, might pull the trigger on some T-bars while I'm at it, and just get it all done.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it, anybody got an aftermarket front sway bar lying around they need to move? B and E bodies are the same, I believe.
 
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There are a lot of local spring shops nationwide that could copy the XHDs for you, as that's a factory-spec spring. I have not heard much about the MP springs, but then again I really only ever concerned myself with the Super Stock springs. However, since both the factory XHD and the Super Stock springs are of biased design, if you want to burn corners you're probably better off having two springs from the same side of the car. Otherwise it will handle differently in left turns than in right ones.

On the swaybar, though I have nothing to offer as far as parts, in my experience the aftermarket units such as Addco will not work with factory end-link tabs on the control arms. They usually come with a pair of their own tabs that actually mount with a bolt in a different location. It's not a huge deal since you can knock the old brackets off the LCA easily enough, but if you get one make sure you get all the parts with it. I believe the brackets are actually retained with the lower shock bolts, and the ones that came with the Addco bars that I've seen were very stout compared to the factory LCA brackets spot-welded to the arms. The Addco parts were plated, forged steel compared to the stamped sheetmetal used by the factory.
 
The aftermarket 1.125" bar from firm feel I installed on the wagon was one of the best upgrades I have done so far.
 
The S/S springs are Hencho en Mexico too, and the quality suffers greatly for it.
I'll look around and ask questions on who is using what.

I didn't realize the aftermarket sway bars were like that. I'll pull the stock control arms with the tabs off and sell them and order Firm Feel's reinforcement kits for the spare set. Jass what do you think about the greaseable nylon lower control arm bushings and shafts FF sells? I don't care about a firm riding car, it will be a nice change in an old Mopar. :D
 
Well, find out what's happening before you pull the control arms. Others may use the stock location points. Where the springs are concerned, that's why I mentioned having them locally made. I went to check on my SS springs, but I forgot I sold them. :doh: They were made about 8 years ago, though, so I'm not sure about country of manufacture.

I have no experience with nylon suspension bushings, but generally speaking when it's nylon wearing on steel, it's rock hard. You'll also likely need to grease it at every oil change. However, "firm riding" and "hey, family, put on your kidney belts, we're taking the Charger for a ride" are two very-different things. Using balls-to-the-wall everything is not going to make for an enjoyable car; it'll just knock your freakin' teeth out when you cross railroad tracks. Poly is plenty stiff (do not use it on the strut-rod bushings, use rubber there) without being annoying. Hemi torsion bars are more than enough, as are XHD springs (or lighter-weight SS springs, same on both sides). Beyond that, you're just entering the ludicrous zone. A lot of thought has to go into balancing front and rear suspension rates. You don't want gross understeer, but as much fun as it may sound, you don't want a tail-happy car either.
 
I would only run poly bushings on the sway bars..end links and frame bushing. All others I would go stock rubber.

I have done the poly bushings in other points before and found that the poly transfers a lot of road vibration and noise. After that I went back to all rubber other then the sway bar set-ups.
 
I didn't mind the poly in my '72 Charger SE one bit, except for having to change the LCA bushings in short order because I used poly strut-rod bushings. I changed the LCA bushings out for new poly and replaced the strut-rod bushings with rubber, and I really liked it that way. It handled really well, too, even with stock torsion bars and springs. Then again, with 71 planning on running ultra-low-profile rubber, he may not be so fond of that setup since the tires absorb a lot less shock and road noise. That makes a lot more difference than one might think.
 
How stable will sway bar brackets that use only the lower shock bolt going to be? I would assume that they would need to be welded in addition to the bolt. I will order the poly bushings instead of the nylon. I appreciate the input TC!

I'm thinking Eaton or Espo for leaf springs, should I run the right (7 leaf) or left (6 leaf) R/T spring on both sides. I can really care less about drag racing, I want stability on the highway at above posted legal limits :shifty: Before I torque them I'm going to check the stance and possibly add a 1" lowering block.

I am looking at these http://www.ebay.com/itm/181145051774?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 instead of the leaf spring relocation kit that I already bought... :doh:

For now, and probably until I get to the point that I can afford new, light weight alloy wheels and corresponding tires I'll be running 245/60/15's and 295/50/15's on 15X7 and 15X9.5 Magnum/Super Coupe wheels with '71 Rallye centers.
 
If you can afford the Bilsteins go with them...one of the best shocks out there. But I have KYB's in the wagon and find they work just fine.

Not sure what your making reference too..."only use the lower shock bolt"??? The Firm Feel bar I got required me to drill a big hole in my lower control arms, then bolt on a big braket. I have not had any problems with this set-up. And I've put the Ol' Girl through it's paces a few times.
 
Jass said that ones he saw used the lower shock bolt. There were no instructions that I saw on FF's site, so I assumed that those used the lower shock bolt to attach the bracket. I might go ahead and weld it in addition to the bolt, since I'm going to weld on the reinforcement plates anyway.
 
The last time I had an aftermarket swaybar in my hands was 15 years ago, and it's not the kind of thing I look for at car shows. I had ordered an Addco in for, er, evaluation, when I worked at Year One that just happened to be for my '72 Charger. The sway-bar end-link brackets were retained by the lower shock bolts, and a new set of those bolts was included with the bar.

Bilstein and KYB monotube shocks are of identical quality and construction design. In fact, they share the international patent. The real difference is in the price; KYBs are made in Japan so they're less expensive. However, having had one of each cut open in my hands, I could find no reason to spend extra on Bilstein over the KYB Gas-A-Just.
 
That looks like the Addco setup, except for the location of the end-link bracket, at least on the '71 B-body bar.
 
KYB and Bilsteins are prety much the same thing other than the price. As long as you are buying the KYB Gas-A-Just your getting the same shock as the Bilstein. They share the patent. I have KYB on all of my stuff. Love them in all cases.
 
theres a few different billys tho...so i KNOW they arnt all the same as kyb

personaly gimmy a billy or a koni any day...and i dont mean the "stock" replacement billys but atleast 1 uprate..dont get me wrong ive installed and ran the kybs and like em plenty..but when it comes to carving...thats when they have drawbacks
 
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