1969 Race Dart w/ 426 Hemi- garaged for 45+ years

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I was having a hard time with my 440 challenger hooking up off ofthe line. I put ladder bars on it with the super stock springs that I had on it and the 60ft times went from 1.68 down to 1.30 with a 10 inch slick.
 
73 dart said:
I was having a hard time with my 440 challenger hooking up off ofthe line. I put ladder bars on it with the super stock springs that I had on it and the 60ft times went from 1.68 down to 1.30 with a 10 inch slick.
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for Pro-Stock
early 70's...state of the art was ladder bars and leaf springs.
for a short period (71-72) there was the leaf-link. leaf spring on the bottom (to locate and hold the car up) with 4-bar link on the top.
by 74....it was all 4-links

that's how I remember it.
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the suspension pictured is the 1975 Direct Connection Duster Butch Leal raced in NHRA modified production (M/P). The rules required OEM front and rear suspension (leaf springs) and allowed traction / ladder bars.
 
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HemiDenny said:
the suspension pictured is the 1975 Direct Connection Duster Butch Leal raced in NHRA modified production (M/P). The rules required OEM front and rear suspension (leaf springs) and allowed traction / ladder bars.
Click to expand...

Beautiful car!

That is a sneaky way to do a link suspension! Just use the "stock" springs instead of coil overs.

In a three link or four bar the gain you get over the ladder bar style shown is the ability to change the location of instant center. The instant center is the imaginary point that the axle pivots around. Easiest to understand in a ladder bar or truck arm because it is the actual pivot point where the front of the ladder bar mounts. In a four link you adjust the upper and lower arms to move that pivot point forward for less bite, rearward for more bite. The Pro Gas / Super Gas car I used to help out on 30+ years ago we would paint shoe polish on the wheelie bars and adjust the "bite" until we were barely using them or not putting enough pressure on the wheels to clean off the polish. The idea was to get all the weight on the rear tires but not waste energy picking the front of the car up more than necessary. Also a good idea to get left right dialed in for it to launch straight since the front wheels were not really capable of steering the car!
 
mosleyme said:
Beautiful car!

That is a sneaky way to do a link suspension! Just use the "stock" springs instead of coil overs.

In a three link or four bar the gain you get over the ladder bar style shown is the ability to change the location of instant center. The instant center is the imaginary point that the axle pivots around. Easiest to understand in a ladder bar or truck arm because it is the actual pivot point where the front of the ladder bar mounts. In a four link you adjust the upper and lower arms to move that pivot point forward for less bite, rearward for more bite. The Pro Gas / Super Gas car I used to help out on 30+ years ago we would paint shoe polish on the wheelie bars and adjust the "bite" until we were barely using them or not putting enough pressure on the wheels to clean off the polish. The idea was to get all the weight on the rear tires but not waste energy picking the front of the car up more than necessary. Also a good idea to get left right dialed in for it to launch straight since the front wheels were not really capable of steering the car!
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I concur.....

the 20 year old chart I made to design and plot instant center for my street Hemi Duster....and the actual suspension.

I'm trying to keep up......
sorry for the hi-jack.
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HemiDenny said:
for Pro-Stock
early 70's...state of the art was ladder bars and leaf springs.
for a short period (71-72) there was the leaf-link. leaf spring on the bottom (to locate and hold the car up) with 4-bar link on the top.
by 74....it was all 4-links

that's how I remember it.
View attachment 1716136692.

the suspension pictured is the 1975 Direct Connection Duster Butch Leal raced in NHRA modified production (M/P). The rules required OEM front and rear suspension (leaf springs) and allowed traction / ladder bars.
Click to expand...
the leaf link you mention is called an anti tramp bar setup in the uk. as you say the front half of the leaf spring effectively becomes the lower 'link' of a 4 link. they even came as factory equipment on some mid to late 60's fords here.
neil.
 
mygasser said:
the leaf link you mention is called an anti tramp bar setup in the uk. as you say the front half of the leaf spring effectively becomes the lower 'link' of a 4 link. they even came as factory equipment on some mid to late 60's fords here.
neil.
Click to expand...

the 72 Motown Missile 'Cuda was originally built with one and tested extensively. We built a similar version in the early-mid 70's. After several test sessions, we removed them and went back to the tried and true Mopar Super Stock springs......... and never looked back.
 
68 HEMI GTS said:
I run these K&N’s on mine. Absolutely no ET difference with or without them on the old combo. Plus the cylinder walls looked perfect when I tore it down. Those nubs stick up through the scoop and I use a washer and small alligator clip to help control the hood from lifting on the big end.

View attachment 1716136629
Click to expand...
I have been searching for a set up similar to that. All the ones that I have found always end up being too tall for my application. Do you have the part numbers for those K&N filters so I can get some measurements. They just might work. Thanks..... Ken.
 
Outstanding news! Just got a call from Jamie Passon, trans and everything clutch related will be ready to pick up at his shop in about two weeks :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :steering:
 
Maxcustody said:
Jared what heads did you go with?
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I got a deal on the Speedmaster Victor copies. I paid $800 for the assembled heads, and offset rockers. Turns out the valves are the wrong size, length wise, and they will need a geometry correction kit from @B3RE.

Next time I will save up for Trick Flows, I’m going to have another $6-800 getting these heads right. It’s a wash at this point. I definitely learned a lesson, and should have listened to everyone who said to “buy once,cry once”.

The 383 should have gobs of top end with these heads though.
 
well darn, I think your doing what you want and that's great... but the FIL surely took care of that engine, so some nice oiling in the cylinders and a fire up would have been cool. I bet the engine would have ran perfect
 
1964barkuda said:
well darn, I think your doing what you want and that's great... but the FIL surely took care of that engine, so some nice oiling in the cylinders and a fire up would have been cool. I bet the engine would have ran perfect
Click to expand...
Thanks. It may have started and run but for how long...............I didn't want to risk permanent damage. This is a long thread and lots of documentation. You will see it did have some issues and one of the heads was bad among other things documented in the many pages here.
 
Getting closer……. I think I finally ordered last of the parts we needed and we have received everything.

Cross ram carb fittings, water pump, starter, rad and fan shroud :thumbsup:
 
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