I want this Dart to be as safe as possible. I have drums on all four wheels but the brakes feel good. I am confident in my stopping power. The handling leaves something to be desired, especially at highway speed with highway yahoo drivers.

What modification would improve handling the most?

Wheels:
I have stock wheels with average rubber. I feel like I'm driving on ice skates. How much would wider wheels and good rubber improve handling?

Leaf Springs: My leaf springs are old and shot. The car doesn't sag too much in the back, but ride height is definitely below stock and they need to be replaced. The only question is when. I can only spend so much at a time.

Sway bar:
Having never driven a Dart with a sway bar installed I have no idea how it affects handling. But it sounds really good

Any other suggestions are welcome. Just bought KYB Gas Adjust shocks all around which should also improve ride a bit. Thanks for the input.

M

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God took you away, then brought you back to me.

Trade it in on a new Volvo.

Just kidding!

For safety, don't forget your seatbelts. How old are yours?

One thing to avoid is locking yourself in too early. Tires, wheels, bolt pattern, rear ends, and brake options are all tied together. I'd hate to have spent a lot of money on nice small bolt pattern wheels that would have to be replaced to get the brakes I want later.

Tires are literally where the rubber meets the road. Good place to start.

Rethink brakes. Good drums are OK. Good disks are better.

What are your suspension bushings like? New? Absent? Unknown? Good bushings let the suspension work correctly.

I did mine pretty much all at once. New rubber bushings, heavier "340" torsion bars, disk brake / bolt pattern swap, KYB's, wider rims and tires. It took a while to save the money and accumulate the pieces, but I was able to drive the car during those stages. The ride is firmer and less cushy than it was. I like it.

A better steering box is next in the handling upgrade plan, followed by a front sway bar.

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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

You can spend big money on suspension and brakes. I did and I bought just about everything used. 1.04" torsion bars, QA1 Stocker Star adjustable shocks, Duster parts car that donated disc brakes and 4.5" bolt pattern rear end. Then I went with 11.75" rotors and Wilwood calipers. Still have 10x2.5" rear drums, but I'm seriously considering rear discs from a late 1990s Jeep.

If you're bucks down the best thing you can do is wider wheels and tires, a front sway bar and decent shocks. Higher rate torsion bars are highly recommended. Even the largest factory installed V8 torsion bars are soft by modern standards.

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Joshua

Don't count on it. KYBs are STIFFER than stock, but I don't necesssarily consider that an improvement. In MY opinion, you need stiffer SPRINGS (5 or 6 leaf springs out back) and thicker torsion bars, along with GOOD shocks (QA-1s, which are quite pricey). I have KYBs on my Swinger, and all they did was make the ride a lot harsher. However, Ive ridden in a Valiant with 1"+ torsion bars, 17" rims, and QA-1s, and it handled INCREDIBLY, and still had a decent ride that didn't punish your spine.

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vm

Was that Clair's Valiant?

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Joshua

My two cent testimonial:

I spent all last spring getting my Dart on the road that I purchased in February 08'. I replaced all of the front end bushings and four shocks in the spring, and had a front end alignment only to find that I had a -6 deg. & -3 deg. caster problem. Needles to say, my car was a great wallowing hog that did a curtsy on every right turn, and the rear end felt like it was connected to the front by a set of 4" butt hinges off of an old door. Oddly, left turns were not too bad in comparison. in September I discovered that the left torsion bar was 0.85" and the right was 0.92", the reason right turns were so loose!

I bit the "Bullitt", purchased 0.94" (cop bars) from 'Firm Feel', frame connectors, front anti sway bar, six leaf rear springs and bushings from 'ESPO Springs and Things', problem solver eccentric upper control arm bushings, and installed all that stuff over a weekend. Holy Crap, I couldn't believe it was the same car. It is tight, doesn't keel over in turns or wallow in dips, and goes where you point it. My caster is now 0.0 degrees & -1 degree, and still needs help.

The last suspension project left to eat cash is a set of tubular upper control arms that have up to +10 degree caster adjustment. These babies will fix the caster problem. I have not replaced the power steering gear, it leaks, but is not too loose. I just installed a "Power Steering Control Valve Seal Kit' from Rock Auto for $2.65. Hopefully that gear won't be leaking much now.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I found the biggest improvement was with front and rear anti-roll bars.

Get the poly bushings for the bars too.

Then new tires on 14" rims from the stock 13".

You want at least a 195/70.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Since your relatively close to Kansas---
I have a local guy trying to sell a 74 dart with disks -- that would start you on your upgrade garage road-- whole car is priced below $400. Lawrence

Can someone enlighten me on the "problem solver" upper eccentric" I have 15"X7" wheels up front but the tires are only 205-70's because any bigger rub the wheel wells in front while steering and in the rear while moving.
I have to replace the rear axle today or Fris and will be adding another leaf to the sets in the rear from the donor rear end was wondering if which leaf to use. I also have a set of V8 torsion bars and wonder if these would help. It is a 65 Dart so I doubt there will be much available from donor cars regarding sway bars but if anyone knows if the 68 Dart sway bars work I'd like to know. I think the K frame is fairly different.
Thanks
Howard

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65 4-door Dart
70 Chrysler 300
2004 Cummins Ram 3500
1968 Dart GT Convertible-project
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