Need ideas for building the Demon....

J

Jamies440

Divorced Bird
Hey all,

Looks like me and a Buddy are going to be building A-Bodies at the same time. He is building a '75 Duster and I'm going to be building my '71 Demon. We pretty much want the same thing, corner carvers, but cars we can drive daily. I'm not sure of his plans as of yet but I've got a few ideas.

To start with, the car is going to be B5 Blue, no questions asked, my minds made up there. I know I want a Magnum engine, not sure if I want a 318 or maybe a V6 Mag. Know for sure I want an OD trans, already have an A-500 out of an '88 Van, but if I use the 3.9 I may kick it up a notch and use a Dakota 5 speed.

For suspension I want to use .990 bars, a Cop steering box, '73-'76 K-member and power disk brakes (have a complete '73 swinger for the K and brakes), and use the 11.75 rotors. Also I have a complete frontend off a '75 Swinger slant 6 that has the factory sway bar with it and matching lower arms. Will have to use 15" wheels so either 15x7 rallyes will get used or 15x7 Steelies and redline doggies. May do up both.

Interior, I'm not sure if I want to go old school with factory buckets and gauge cluster or use newer seats and a digital cluster. I do know its gonna be floor shift either way. If I go old school its going to be white, new school black. Its goijng to get Air either way, have some different ideas on how to add it.

So, would you go new or old school on the interior and would you use the 318 Magnum (with FI BTW) or the 3.9 Magnum? I can get either. Heres the kicker, it has to get at least 22-25mpg on the highway, cause I want to drive it daily. I think it would be way cool to use the V6 because no one really builds a car with one in it.
 
318, with OD, 3:91 gear. I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT use the heavy torsion bars. Can you say "rock"? Go with a super poly-graphite bushing set and front and rear sways. you will be impressed, no doubt.
 
I agree with XL on the T-bars... stick with 340 or 383 units. Anything else is just punishment, especially since you'll achieve quite-nice handling with even stock 318 bars and front/rear sways. No poly on the strut rods, either, unless you enjoy changing lower control-arm bushings. I don't.

You'd have to fabricate mounts for the Magnum 6, as it doesn't have the LA-style block lugs. Schumacher might have something; if not, break out the welder.

Dakota 5-speed? Light fuse, get away. It's junk. Move on. Truth be known, I have no use for the weak-ass A500 either. Personally, for a nice (but still enjoyable) driver, I'd go A833OD backed up by 3.23 gears or 3.55s since I'm a man, or an A518 with a 3.73 or 3.91 screw if I was building it for a woman other than dustergal (though even she has a pansymatic). The deep 3.09 first gear in the OD four-speed negates the need to go deeper than 3.55 out back whereas the awfulmatic has only a 2.45:1 first.

Actually, the optimal all-around gear I've found for the A833OD is the 3.36 ratio used around 1960, but I'm the only guy you know with a set (NOS, no less) and it's not for sale. :D

Cop steering box? Change the reaction spring in any PS box and you have one. There's nothing else special about them.



On the interior, I'd say go with Ooh, look a clapped-out '75 Coronet 318!

*runs away to find out price and get trailer*

:D
 
lol...pansymatic. I usually hear it as a girlymatic but either will work I suppose. :D

For the record I've found 3.91's are much more fun than 3.23's. We did a gear swap over the summer and WHEEEEEEEE! :dance:
 
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