Sure hope this doesn't appear 3 times, this is my 3rd try. I'm new to this forum, and have spent the past several pleasant hours reading these pages, got some good ideas. I have a 1962 Valiant V200 4dr, 170cidSL6, automatic, no power options. I'm in the process of restoring it to daily driver status. Needs engine repairs, bad rod bearing, compression between 2 cylinders bad, needs input & output seals in tranny, brake rebuild, plan to install tandem MC, body needs help mnor rust, paint, and needs upholstering, but this question is about the front suspension. I plan to install a Polygraphite frontend kit, and was wondering if this would degrade the original ride quality. I was after a tighter more sporty handling. Thanks for the help, John S [/list]

as long as you retain original type springs you should be ok. the front end will feel a bit tighter and more responsive, but more than acceptable for daily driver use. my v-8 swinger has full poly, front and rear sway bars, kyb shocks, s/s leaf springs and the torsion bars are the next size up from the big block bars and it rides fair on all but the roughest roads. i think the tyres help a lot. i'm running 235 60-14s on a set of rallyes. if i had some low profile 40 series tyre on a 17" wheel then i would need a new dentist!
don't worry about using the poly bushings on a stock rebuild. just be sure to use some silicone wherever you can to reduce any chance of squeaks that will drive you crazy later!

-james

_________________

On A-bodies, I have found that polyurethane bushings do not make the ride any harsher. And there were a lot fewer rattles from the front end - although this may be partly because some of the 200,000 mile bushings had almost no rubber left.

A lot of handling gurus will tell you not to use polyurethane bushings because they will stick to both the control arm and the mount, binding it up and causing a horrible ride. The guys at OPM Motorsports absolutely refuse to use them on their road-race Hondas, for example. I think the reason Mopars don't have this problem is that thier bushings use metal shells, inside and out. So the movement is metal on metal rather than metal on polyurethane.

_________________
"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

I'm afraid there is no way the movement would be metal on metal as those shells are pressed in. The rubber bushings just twist, and the poly ones slide. I haven't used poly, but I know the rubber ones work great if you rebuild the front end correctly. If you decide to use rubber, make sure to get MOOG parts, especially the improved type strut rod bushings, and the "problem solver" UCA bushings if you want to run a lot of caster and camber.

Sorry I can't help with an opinion on poly ride or handling quality though. The biggest complaints I've heard is that the poly ones let water in and allow rusting of the shells, and that they squeak. Seems like a toss up to me...

Happy building,

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks for all the input guys, think I'll stay with rubber bushings. Thanks again.
John

You're right, Lou - I re-checked Herb Adams' book where he mentioned the bushings, and most of them do have double shells on other brands. So Mopar bushings aren't particularly different from other brand's bushing designs. Still, I personally have not encountered any of the problems that are usually compained about with polyurethane bushings in my Dart, and they've been in there for about two years (although it hasn't seen road duty the whole time it has used them).

_________________
"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

yeah, i'm with the mad scientist on this one. i've run poly bushings on a few of my cars and have had no problems. in fact, the poly LCA bushings are a whole helluva lot easier to install than the stock bushings since you usually need to cut out the old bearing shells and press the new ones in. liberal amounts of silicone grease will take care of any normal exposure to moisture.
the moog problem solver UCA bushings are really nice as far as the caster/camber boost goes and i think the performance gain from the resulting alignment makes them superior to the poly type bushings, although the poly material will last much longer than their rubber counterparts.
on that note, i can't say enough about poly strut rod bushings. because the poly is virtually oil/heat resistant, strut rods are the ideal application. the front end of the k-member catches most of the grime and oil from the motor and lot of the heat from the radiator making life hell for those poor little donuts.

-james

_________________