64 A body Handling question
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chryslerfat
Well-Known Member
A sway bar does wonders.
Sway bar on front, 14" wheels with new radial tires .
Front sway bar. Make sure the lower ball joints, Pitman arm, Idler arm, and bushings are good. Measure what torsion bars you have now, so you will have a baseline. I'd put shocks all the way around. And good tires, sticky handling tires. What size wheels? Get a good front end alignment from someone who knows what he is doing.
chryslerfat
Well-Known Member
One that will flip your car back over. lol look at your avatar pic. I prefer the stock one that came on the 65 and 66 cars.
chryslerfat
Well-Known Member
Post an add here in the wanted section and watch Ebay.
C130 Chief
Mechanical Genius
Addco makes a 1 1/8" bar for early A's that's reasonably priced. Firm Feel makes a really nice one as well. It costs more, but the brackets are much, much nicer.
After you do torsion bars and sway bars, weld gussets to your steering box mounts on the k-member, up grade your tie rods and ends to 11/16 units, they are "C" body units; if Mcquay-Norris is still in business, get one of their idler arms (roller bearing guts), less deflection. Buy an MP chassis book, alot of information.
We upgraded to 1.000" torsion bars with front and rear sway bars for our 71 Valiant.
Have you tried PST or Just Suspension to see what they have?
We tried to support PST for ours (since they support FABO), but they were out of stock for their 1.030" torsion bars and could not tell us when they would be back in stock, so we called Just Suspension and they had 1.000" bars in stock.
I'd start with the basics, know that all of the bushings are good (including those in the rear springs) or rebuild the suspension. I would NOT go with urethane bushings. They are NOT better than rubber, they are merely stiffer. Which sounds like a good idea for the use until you factor in their negatives. See the poll thread on them.
Next, put on a set of good shocks. I call KYB's the very bottom end of those, and anything else that you can get from most normal parts houses not even in the same category. Fox, Bilstein, likely QA1 (no experience with them), etc. are better than the KYB's.
You know how drag racing is all about the engine tune? Off Road & road racing is all about the suspension tune. I can not over-state how important good shocks are to good handling on any surface, they are at the core of the tune on the suspension. If the budget says one thing at a time I'd go with shocks first. Then the sway-bar. Then maybe step up the t-bar size if you feel that it's needed. I'm not in the "stiffer t-bars = better handling" camp. A compliant suspension will out-handle one that is too stiff even though the too stiff suspension has better front end geometry. If the tire can't track the road surface variations then you'll lose traction every time the tire unloads or even comes off the ground.
Next, put on a set of good shocks. I call KYB's the very bottom end of those, and anything else that you can get from most normal parts houses not even in the same category. Fox, Bilstein, likely QA1 (no experience with them), etc. are better than the KYB's.
You know how drag racing is all about the engine tune? Off Road & road racing is all about the suspension tune. I can not over-state how important good shocks are to good handling on any surface, they are at the core of the tune on the suspension. If the budget says one thing at a time I'd go with shocks first. Then the sway-bar. Then maybe step up the t-bar size if you feel that it's needed. I'm not in the "stiffer t-bars = better handling" camp. A compliant suspension will out-handle one that is too stiff even though the too stiff suspension has better front end geometry. If the tire can't track the road surface variations then you'll lose traction every time the tire unloads or even comes off the ground.
There our 2 schools of thought on springs. 1st School is stiff springs and modest sway bar sizes. The 2nd School is soft springs and bigger sway bars.
The soft springs are for rougher road conditions and the stiff springs are for smoother road conditions. I have done both before and all I can say is that "it depends" on local roads where you live and what selection of sizes you have available. For a Chevelle everything, for an A Barracuda not so much.
Addco bars are cheaper, but the brackets require some welding and work to fit better. Search for pictures and fixes before ordering. IMHO.
Shocks are tough for the front as far as fit and listed in catalogs. Rears are easy with more choices and pricing.
The soft springs are for rougher road conditions and the stiff springs are for smoother road conditions. I have done both before and all I can say is that "it depends" on local roads where you live and what selection of sizes you have available. For a Chevelle everything, for an A Barracuda not so much.
Addco bars are cheaper, but the brackets require some welding and work to fit better. Search for pictures and fixes before ordering. IMHO.
Shocks are tough for the front as far as fit and listed in catalogs. Rears are easy with more choices and pricing.
Subframe connectors helped my overall ride I believe. Not sure if it is my imagination or real science behind it but they did seem to help.
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