i have a great solution that works every time. just turn the radio up and up and up and up...

zedpapa

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1970 dodge dart w/225 /6 bored .040" over, holley 390cfm w/vac. sec., compcams 252s, clifford shorty headers w/2.5" exhaust w/flowmaster, f-body 11" front discs, aluminum A-833OD, 8 1/4 w/3.21 SG
soon to have 5 gears!!!

Posted: Wed May 31, 2006 11:04 pm Post subject:

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i have a great solution that works every time. just turn the radio up and up and up and up...

problem with that is I still have the stock AM radio and speaker. reception aint that good, station choices are slim. and that old paper wofer is ready to go bye bye

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64' Valiant Signet 5.9, 64' Dart 170 moredoor 3.7, 67' A100 3.7, 00' Dakota SLT 4.7

I've used several brands of urethane bushings including the polygraphite. I have used graphite filled, silicone and redline synthetic greases. The sleeves and bolts/shafts they were installed on were all polished. They all work fine at first but after awhile always started squeaking(alot) and had enough friction to affect the handling. Even when they were freshly lubed and not squeaking they transfered alot of road noise into the car. From my experience, they are not worth using. Moog rubber bushings are usually firmer than what came stock and are all that is needed on a street car. There is a alot of flex in the body and frame that should be dealt with first. Good tires, shocks and stiffer springs and more positive castor and negative camber are needed first too. If you really want more and don't care about road noise then there are some delrin and nylon bushing sets out there that are greasable via a zerk fitting. These really out perform the urethane and keep the suspension free and in alignment. Since they are machined and not poured in a mold they do cost more.

Since I plan on driving this thing as much as possible I decided to go with rubber bushings. Fresh bushings, sway bars, and possibly new springs would make it handle better then it ever did and I would have peace of mind knowing that it wasn't going to squeek

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64' Valiant Signet 5.9, 64' Dart 170 moredoor 3.7, 67' A100 3.7, 00' Dakota SLT 4.7

Where are these found? I am interested in learning more. That addresses one of the issues I have with the cheesy polyurethane inserts, which is lubrication. There is still the off-axis issue that I have with hard bushings in an upper control arm setup like on an A-body.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Dennis, Global west makes the upper "Del-Alum" Bushings. They are really nice. The last I checked they only had them for the upper control arms. I have only used this type of solid bushing on a GM car, and they have a solid upper shaft. I would call and ask about the off axis issue with the mopars. I will have to check and get back to you about the lowers. If I remember right firm feel has them and maybe AR engineering or Mancini racing. They also have adjustable strut rods and you may need them with the nylon lower bushings. I think they set the lower arm back a tiny bit. Of course that does not help the positive caster that we are looking for. I have not used the lowers but the shafts, bushings and strut rods I have seen are all well made pieces and address the alignment issues. The lowers are most important anyway. You could go solid on the bottom and use stock upper arms with the offset moog upper bushings.

Ok
Ill settle this debate. I have used moog offset rubber as well as polygraphite UCA bushings. I also have used tubuler upper control arms with heim joints from www.bigblock.dart.com.
The moog pieces are a very good. No question about for a very small investment you get the adjustment you need as well as less flex.
Polygraphite didnt work so well for me. Wore prematurely at the extreme alignment angles I use and cost way more.
The tubular uppers with heim joints are so good the inventor must be guaranteed a seat at the right hand of god directly next to John Moses Browning.
They are expensive but there is no flex no popping or squeaking with almost infinite adjustment.

So that settles it. They are all good but it seems you should choose what is best for your application.
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Smoking kills
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Headshop

Those last two are the most helpful and enlightening posts I have seen on this issue in a long, long time. Thanks very much.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!

Ah...ahahahah....ahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!

Naw, ya won't. This is one of those Debates That Will Never Die.

But your info is terrific, thanks for posting it.

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

Something I forgot.
When I installed the entire polygraphite kit the sleeves in the strutrod bushings were longer that those I took out. I installed it that way and they had a bad effect on my adjustment for caster. I pulled the sleeves out and shortened them and I now had enough adjustment again.

It has been a couple years so I cant remember the exact amount I shortened them or how much adjustment I gained. Sorry.
The strut rod bushings are still in good shape as well as the lowewr control arm bushings so I believe it was primarily the harsh angles of the UCA that caused them to wear. Every car will be different due to the flimsy nature of the UCA. They routinely flex and bend. I have watched them bend a little as I install bushings. I believe this is why guys like sandy can have no problems and proper adjustment i have big problems. I once took 4 UCA's and laid them together and compared to each other the ball joint was ina slightly different position on all of them.
This is where the tubular uppers shine.
The upper control arms can be reinforced though with a little welding. Look at a dirt car running factory arms and you will see what I mean.
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IPAD GUIDES
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Marijuana vaporizers

I put pollycarbonate busings in and it was way beter than the missing 63 rubber, and hte metal banging on the metal so noise is relative. (so read, one extreme to the next!) now I can feel every vibration, its great, but some of the rattles are gone. (i know this was no help at all, but I could not resist adding nothing to an already full post.) bushings are like coffee or bear: you have to try them all to see which ones you like and its no good taking advice from someone who has completely different drving habits and requirements than you, and most people are not realistic about thier driving habits. I didnt really need polygraphite bushings, and less so now I am married with children, but hey, i was single and I had time and some cash to burn and I only wanted to do busings once because its a pain in the neck. at the end of the day, we are still dragging our 60's iron kicking and screaming into the mid 70's or 80's if we are lucky. enjoy!

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63 valient 4 speed over drive, holly 390, dutra duals, power steering, ac, hydraulic roof, KH 4 piston disks, kyb gas adjust all round, sway bars front and rear, 8 3/4 rear axcel and the ugliest green you ever saw

Say what?
Absolutely correct. For me I drive like it is the last lap of daytona. So i will have different requirements than others for sure.
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Lamborghini marco polo
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Honda Shadow 600 specifications

I meant carbon impregnated polyuerathane, not that hard perspex stuff. sorry for the material science confusion!

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63 valient 4 speed over drive, holly 390, dutra duals, power steering, ac, hydraulic roof, KH 4 piston disks, kyb gas adjust all round, sway bars front and rear, 8 3/4 rear axcel and the ugliest green you ever saw

I don't like coffee, but I've never even tried a bear before... How do I know when I've found a good one?

VM

well, its a bit like the underlying theme of zen and the art of motorcycle maintainance about the arguments of quality, but suffice to say, you will know! sometimes you have to know what bad is to find what good is. a case in point: My brother just got a yamaha R1 and I had a zrx1100, but it was my '69 honda 350 twin that tought me what bad was so I could apreciate the nice zrx1100 and htat hayabusa I borrowed (actually ridng a harley around hawaii made me really apreicate the engineering of my kawasaki in a bad bad way, and I think I may have suffered that workmans desease on the harley, vibration white schphinkter). My brother went right to R1 and will probably never know what a loose swing arm feels like, and will never be able to control a funky old over powered muscle bike, or even a flat tyre on his R1. If you have somehting and you find something better, you will know. for me polygraphits was a massive imporvement because metal on metal was so bad. you ahve to try them all or at leaste the two extremes you dont want. think goldie lox and three to twenty bears and a butload of poridge.

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63 valient 4 speed over drive, holly 390, dutra duals, power steering, ac, hydraulic roof, KH 4 piston disks, kyb gas adjust all round, sway bars front and rear, 8 3/4 rear axcel and the ugliest green you ever saw