I'm in the planning stages of rebuilding the suspension of my '66 Dart 270 Convertible. It's not going to be a street rod, just a cruiser. I think the biggest mod I'm going to do is a super six conversion. That is unless my good friends or wife decide to put me in for Overhaulin'.....

Which front-end kit would you choose? I'm leaning towards poly bushings and I like the kits from PST and ESPO. They both appear to have the same or similar parts included. The PST kit is a little more expensive, but not prohibatively. If it's worth it, I'll pay it.

Thanks in advance.

Marty

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'66 Dart 270 convertible, 225, stock

You will find a sharp division of opinion over whether poly bushings are a good idea or a poor one. You would be wise to do some careful research on here before deciding on the matter.

If I needed a front end kit right this instant, I would likely also be picking between those two vendors, but I would also price the parts via rockauto.com and via my local NAPA or CarQuest. All the major-brand parts for our cars these days aren't made as well as they used to be, unfortunately, so I'd exclude non-major brands, specifically ask and reject made-in-China parts, and hope for the best from that point forward.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

That would get you a serious sound system - and either a chrome valve cover or a Chevy crate 350.

For my car - a daily driver with updated street and road manners - I went with HD rubber, mostly MOOG ("Made in USA" on the boxes) from Rock Auto.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

Read all that I could find about rubber vs. poly. You're right LOTS of really strong opinions either way.

Now, I'm leaning more towards rubber. I'm not building a monster muscle car, just a peppy daily driver.

Next question is buying parts individually from NAPA or equivalent. Anyone have any idea on cost for this versus the kit? I'd assume there would be some savings, no idea how much. I'll also need to put together a parts list for this one. I've the PST catalog with their list, and I've got the shop manual. I've scanned through it and could probably get most of what I need from there. The guy at the local NAPA knows me now. I will try to chat with him about what to get. I've also got a long time mechanic who has worked on this car for me and previously my dad for about 25+ years now. I'll pick his brain too.

This is getting fun now.

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'66 Dart 270 convertible, 225, stock

My vote is for rubber over poly. used both in the past. The new rubber is mostly synthetic now. Pst kits come with sway bar parts even if you tell them you don't have a sway bar so you are buying more than needed.

Since you're shopping around, have a look at Firm Feel. Good customer service and you can buy individual parts as well as kits. Do you really need a whole new front end, as cool as it would be to have everything new if budget is in mind then maybe just replace what's needed. Oh and since we're taking sides, I go for rubber bushings as well.

http://www.firmfeel.com/suspen_a.htm

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We've only done one front-end rebuild and we went with ESPO http://www.springsnthings.com/ and were very pleased with their customer service. We needed an important part to complete the job (our fault) and they rushed it right out to us.

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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

I would go for rubber, and I would go for the entire rebuild rather than do some parts now and other parts later.

You get peace of mind knowing that everything is in good shape, plus you can have it aligned after doing the complete job, rather than having it aligned several times as you piece-meal it together.

Mine was PST, and I had a good experience with them.

-Mac

Just to balance opinion.

Poly bushings in rear leaf spring installations are an excellent upgrade.

In a performance application where virtually every thing is upgraded (sway bars, super shocks, wheels and tires maximised) poly bushings add stability and precision.

Poly bushings on the upper A arm..... installed properly...... allow for easy alignment and realignment. An alignment with poly upper bushings costs me $39....An alignment with rubber bushings will cost $39 + an upper arm bushing rebop.

I have had a poly lower bushing for years now. I check it obsessivly due to poly paranoia. Its fine every time.

No matter what bushings you use make sure you use the best hardware possible....and get it aligned everytime you change anything.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

The knock I've heard against poly is that they squeak. A greasable LCA pin is availalbe to help that component.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

You can add road noise to squeaking. By the time they squeak, they are binding, and they all squeak if they are not lubed, even the poly graphite ones. When freshly lubed they do free up the suspension and tighten things up a bit.

I have been round and round with this and have used them on quite a few cars. With street tires on a normal chassis, I really do not see a benefit. Sure it feels tighter, but in the real world the car does not corner any faster or hold a line better at high speed. Just a little more feedback from the road. It's nice when you are driving hard, but sucks all the rest of the time, especially when they need to be maintained, which is all the time. Binding poly bushings can really upset a car hitting uneven road at high speed.

There is just too much flex in a stock chassis, stock suspension and even most ultra high performance street tires for the bushings to be an issue. I would always look at some frame bracing before considering hard or solid bushings.

If you have a serious setup for handling or road racing ( a car with a full cage or extensive frame bracing) and are giving up comfort and really want to have one more thing to maintain, then maybe poly is ok for you. Do not be fooled by what looks like a lower price or easier installation.

I would look at moog parts from rockauto. That is where I ended up getting all our front end parts for the dart last year. Moog rubber bushings are usually among the stiffest rubber bushings.

Thanks for all the input. Still undecided on where to buy, but for my application, I'm going to go with OEM rubber over poly.

I got my rear shackles and u bolts from espo this week. Finally can get the new leaf springs in this weekend. Great service, super quick shipping (they're in NJ, I'm in northern VA - doesn't take long to get here). I can't remember her name, but the woman I spoke to probably knew more about my Dart's suspension than I do!

I'll get back to you all when I get closer to purchasing the suspension kit or parts.

Thanks again.

Marty

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'66 Dart 270 convertible, 225, stock