1970 Dart front frame height, stock!

[It's all Dodge]

I was hoping somebody could tell me what the frame height is on a 1970 Dart 340, when adjusted in accordance to the factory service manual, with the factory 14 inch tires.

Or if somebody has the factory spec height, but has different wheels, or just tires, please state what size wheels and tires you have.

When I say front frame height, I am talking about the frame area just forward of the torsion bar crossmember. If somebody could measure that on a level surface with an empty car, I sure would appreciate it.

I'm really trying to figure out if the TTI headers will work with my combo.

I will also be using 2 inch drop spindles, but I will figure that into the equation.

I'm just building this car for autocrossing and playing around on the street. It's a 340 car, and it's pretty rough, but I'm going to go ahead and have fun with it!

 

[jack68gts]

not sure if this will help, but its the factory stock dimensions for a 68 dart, im guessing they might be the same

 

[It's all Dodge]

Well what I need is the height at x - 5, If somebody could find that with a Factory setup car

 

[jack68gts]

the 5 represents 5",,,

 

[It's all Dodge]

Thank you. Seems entirely low for a stock vehicle.

But ok.

 

[myduster360]

Manual doesnt go by "frame" height but by the "angle" of the lower control arm which is what is actually critical to properly setting up the suspension(roll center height). They don't give you angle but the difference in height between the torsion bar socket end of the LCA and the lower ball joint.

Here's the 71 spec. difference between A & B should be 1-7/8" +/- .125" if the LCA is at the designed angle

This frame reference pic will get you there too and also shows the Rear suspension height. The "O line" is measured from the centerline of the Wheel hub so it will automatically adjust with wheel/tire diameter.

 

[72bluNblu]

If you're autoX'ing you won't want to be anywhere near the factory specs for ride height. And running drop spindles is a waste of time and suspension geometry, you can get just as low with the appropriate sized larger torsion bars, which you'll also want if you're autoX'ing.

The factory spec's a 1-7/8" difference between the socket and the end of the LCA. The best suspension geometry for handling occurs when that number is pretty close to 0, meaning, the LCA is parallel to the ground. At that point bump steer is at it's minimum, camber gain with travel is about as good as it gets, and you'll be pretty close to as low as you'll want to go for street driving with headers. On my Duster my LCA's are pretty much parallel to the ground, and I don't have any issues with my Doug's headers dragging on the ground. In fact, I intend to lower the car further (another 1/4" hopefully) when I switch to the QA1 tubular LCA's, as they'll buy me a little more suspension travel. TTI long tubes are a little lower to the ground than the Doug's, but only a 1/2" or so. Best ground clearance would be with the TTI shorty's, since the head pipes can be tucked up against the car and there's no flange to hang out further and drag.

My car sits with the flanges 4" off the ground (passenger side). The frame there is 6" off the ground, and it's pretty much the same at the crossmember as the car is fairly close to level. I run 25.6" tall front tires, with ~25" from the ground to the top of the wheel opening at the middle of the wheel. My LCA spec using the factory measurement is 0. Very little factory about the car's suspension, it has 1.12" torsion bars, Hotchkis shocks, Hellwig sway bars, boxed LCA's, tubular UCA's, poly bushings, adjustable strut rods, Dr. Diff's 13" brakes, and 275/35/18's up front and 295/35/18's out back. I've lowered the car another 1/8" since these pictures, and swapped out the bumpstop in the last picture for a shorter one (.375" tall). Frame to LCA is now 1 3/8", with 1" of travel from the top of the bumpstop to the frame. I rarely bottom out the suspension with the 1.12" torsion bars, and I haven't dragged the headers yet. Based on my experience with my Challenger you can clear most obstacles you encounter on the street as long as you keep the flanges at or above 3.75" off the deck. I ran my Challenger with about 3.5" from the flanges to the ground and it got annoying after awhile, having to crawl it over speed bumps at a 45* angle to keep from dragging. I raised it up a 1/4" and everything was great.

Here's all the factory info in a single shot. It also includes the abysmal factory alignment specs, which are for bias ply's only and should never be used with radials. "V and L" is for the A-body cars