How should my duster handle
I get all that, but we're not talking about cars that are fighting for pole position at Indy. The average 55 year old Mopar does very little but cruise around town and the occasional highway trip. Few people need their A Body to drive (and have the miserable ride) like a 2023 Corvette. This all goes back to a simple fact - the cars, as set up by Mopar back then, are very good performers. Yes, tires have improved, but not much else. 95% of all the aftermarket 'improvements' are emotional, not factual. That's fine, as it's part of the fun of cars, but that's all it is.
It's like when you see women buying $95/ounce jars of beetle root face cream infused with carrot peel because they are absolutely positive it will make people think they are 30 years old instead of 45 years old. Pure emotion.
Lol. The fact that the tires have improved changes everything! The OP used the SKOSH chart correctly, you can't use the factory alignment numbers if you run radial tires. And I'm not even talking modern performance tires, I mean just plain old boring radials of any kind. They literally react differently to the road and steering inputs than the bias ply tires these cars were originally designed for.
If you do put modern performance tires on your car, everything changes. You have more traction, which means more force on the suspension. That means improving the wheel rates, upgrading the shocks to handle the higher wheel rates, etc, etc.
The simple facts are, if you upgrade your tires, you should also upgrade your suspension to be able to handle the forces those new tires can exert on your car. It's just physics, there are literally equations for it.
I certainly don't care what someone does to their car...but I do think too many people seek to modify their car to the point where it no longer even represents what a classic Mopar is. The big, thin steering wheels of the 60's, and the properly assisted steering, is part of the character of the cars. I remember when the modern fat, small diameter wheels were introduced and wondering why anyone would want that. It screams 1987 Chevy Cavalier to me.
Make the car steer like a modern car. Add low profile tires like modern car. Add a super stereo system like a modern car. Put in modern seats and dash. Swap out the engine and trans for a modern car's. After a while....this is your 1970 Duster:
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Clearly you're not someone that has actually improved the handling performance of an older car, Mopar or otherwise. You can increase performance by adding modern tires, updating and upgrading suspension components etc, but they're still nothing like driving a modern car. Which you would know if you'd ridden in one. Clearly your opinion is based only on aesthetics. Which is fine, if you want to run pinky finger power steering and 14" rims with big ol floppy tires on them as you cruise to DQ, have at it! Not for everybody though, I actually like to
drive my car.
As someone who owns a '70 Duster with fat torsion bars, front and rear sway bars, wide modern tires on 18" wheels, firm-feel PS box, fairly aggressive alignment with plenty of caster and camber... It does NOT feel like a modern car. It handles and performs like one, but still feels like a classic Mopar. It's hard to describe in words so all I'll say is, don't knock it until you try it.
Being able to feel the feedback in the steering wheel as the front tires begin to slip in a hard turn is awesome. Also being able to feel the feedback in the brake pedal and easily modulate the braking force with manual front discs is fantastic. Can't get manual brakes in any modern car. BTW my steering wheel is smaller than stock but still thin, I also hate the fat poofy wheels on modern cars.
The "experience" of driving a classic Mopar *to me* is more about the direct feel of the engine and chassis transmitting everything to your hands, feet and butt so you KNOW exactly what the car is doing at all times. Modern cars have too much NVH mitigation built in for that to work as well, everything is numb whether the steering is firm or not, unless maybe you're driving a Miata.
Much more to this than meets the eye.
Well said!
In my 1972 Chrysler you are able to turn the steering wheel with your pinkie while at a dead stop and it is great.
See, that's the problem with over boosted steering. You think it's no big deal to just turn the wheels when your'e at a dead stop. Unfortunately, turning the wheels when you're at a dead stop is terrible for tire and steering component wear, there's a ton of force on the components because there's no rolling wheel or dynamics reduce it. The forces on all the steering components below the steering box are the same whether you've got some over boosted power steering box or completely manual steering. There's a reason why it's so hard to turn the wheel when you're at a dead stop with manual steering, and you should at least understand why that is, even if you prefer power steering. There's entire generations of people that will make steering corrections at a standstill, which is terrible for the steering components and tires.
I'd say he's one pothole or groove away from the ditch.
Let them drive our Idaho roads and get the FEEL of the road. lol
Lol. The funny part about this is that the forces from that pothole or groove are the same on all the steering components below the steering box either way. The only difference is the effort it takes at the wheel. But if you're moving at speed, the effort isn't hard anyway. My 16:1 manual steering box is the same exact ratio as a factory power steering box, the same number of turns on the steering wheel for the same movement. I run 275/35/18's up front with +6.5° of caster and turning the car at speed is amazing, and you know what the tires are actually doing all the time.
And as
@autoxcuda pointed out, the factory steering pump isn't fast enough to keep up with really fast steering movements. So really, the car with factory power steering is more likely to end up in the ditch.
Idaho roads are great too, not sure what you're whining about. Lots of other places with far worse road conditions.
