Best $24 I've spend on my suspension - lowering blocks installed! Can it go lower?
Well I've gotten a lot of work done (by my standards) over the past three years on my Dart with the goal of trying to make it drive and handle a bit better.
After basically a full suspension overhaul (with performance oriented components), it wasn't until I installed the 1.5" lowering blocks that I actually felt a serious improvement to the quality of the driving experience.
So the stock torsion bars and rear leaf springs were pretty worn. When I installed the Hotchkis "lowering" springs, I shouldn't have been surprised to see the car sitting a tiny bit higher than it was with the 45 year old pieces. I snapped the first pic (below) last summer after getting the new wheels (but before the suspension swap)...but this is basically how the car sat even with the new components, until this weekend. Second pic (I tried to recreate the first one from memory and almost nailed it :D ) is after the blocks were installed. Immediately, the lower CG was obvious and it seemed to put the power down a bit better too. The car just feels better already.
I'm even more excited now to get the torque boxes and subframe connectors welded up so I can start pushing this thing through some corners and getting the most out of those awesome Radial T/As (har har).
2 questions:
1) Could I have gone with another 1/2" drop? They do offer 2" blocks... I don't care about the look but would there be handling benefit to going a bit lower anyway? The header collectors (Doug's) are getting pretty close to the ground in the front so I'm not sure if I'd be able to drop the front much more to match.
2) The bulge of the sidewall 255s (on 8" wide, 4.5" backspace wheels...not ideal, I know) now rubs slightly when I hit just the right kind of bump...so I'll need to roll the fender lips. Can you guys recommend a tool for doing this that's decent but on the cheaper side? It seems like they range from $40 to $200...and it's a tool that I will probably only use for this one job.
Well I've gotten a lot of work done (by my standards) over the past three years on my Dart with the goal of trying to make it drive and handle a bit better.
After basically a full suspension overhaul (with performance oriented components), it wasn't until I installed the 1.5" lowering blocks that I actually felt a serious improvement to the quality of the driving experience.
So the stock torsion bars and rear leaf springs were pretty worn. When I installed the Hotchkis "lowering" springs, I shouldn't have been surprised to see the car sitting a tiny bit higher than it was with the 45 year old pieces. I snapped the first pic (below) last summer after getting the new wheels (but before the suspension swap)...but this is basically how the car sat even with the new components, until this weekend. Second pic (I tried to recreate the first one from memory and almost nailed it :D ) is after the blocks were installed. Immediately, the lower CG was obvious and it seemed to put the power down a bit better too. The car just feels better already.
I'm even more excited now to get the torque boxes and subframe connectors welded up so I can start pushing this thing through some corners and getting the most out of those awesome Radial T/As (har har).
2 questions:
1) Could I have gone with another 1/2" drop? They do offer 2" blocks... I don't care about the look but would there be handling benefit to going a bit lower anyway? The header collectors (Doug's) are getting pretty close to the ground in the front so I'm not sure if I'd be able to drop the front much more to match.
2) The bulge of the sidewall 255s (on 8" wide, 4.5" backspace wheels...not ideal, I know) now rubs slightly when I hit just the right kind of bump...so I'll need to roll the fender lips. Can you guys recommend a tool for doing this that's decent but on the cheaper side? It seems like they range from $40 to $200...and it's a tool that I will probably only use for this one job.
