Alterkation front end swap

-
But is any of this stuff superior to a well tuned torsion bar set-up? I keep going back to Mopar Action articles of their "Green Brick". That car obviously handles pretty darn good. I could think of other things to do with $4K instead of a coil over suspension.


Wylde1.
 
Well it's lighter, more brake options, way more header space , and in my opinion there is no way that a steering box and all the related parts can be as tight as a rack.

Add up what better bars, sway bars, new front end parts, firm feel box etc...etc...etc costs and I bet the difference isn't as wide as you may think.

Drive a car with an alter-k and you will be hooked
 
I think Joe 's car has been on the road with the RMS setup for at least several years, with a bunch of road miles on the setup.
If anything was amiss with RMS's setup, Joe would have experienced problems by now.

I have a matching numbers 1971 340 Duster and even with that type of an original car, I'm seriously considering moving to the RMS setup, for all the advantages that Joe cited.

RMS stands behind their work, and I recall that some members on the Moparts board may actually be using the RMS setup for autocrossing with excellent results.

As far as costs, if you itemize the costs for updating a SBP A body, to LBP factory stuff, you will be ahead cost-wise with the factory LBP conversion, but not by a lot, if you consider swapping out the steering box and updating all the steering/suspension pieces with top shelf, high quality components.

High quality Suspension parts are not that cheap, and if going through this hassle, remember you want pro quality components like Spicer Pro, not just any old foreign sourced low price kit from a vendor. You have to factor in, you will be installing all new suspension components, i.e. ball joints, bushings, tie rods, control arms, perhaps torsion bars and all the LBP brake parts. A buddy of mine kept a precise accounting of all the expenses, in Excel and it was a lot more than I expected.

No failures or catastrophes reported since RMS made the setup available 3-4 years ago.

It's a proven setup...
 
I was debating this very subject a while ago and went with RMS. It really feels like your driving a modern car AND it was the easiest setup to install, IMO it was way worth the money and great for a hemi upgrade later on!
 
i have been debating the torsion bar alter-k issue for a while now. what are you going to do with the car? i just purchased most of the front end parts for the torsion bar set up, m-body spindles, torsion bars box brakes etc. the only thing i did not replace was the center link and tie rod adjusters. i just hit $1400, a far cry from the $4400 an alter-k costs. my car will have a 572 Hemi in it, so custom headers are in order. The money I saved by not going to an Alter-k will pay for a set of headers from http://www.perfweldheaders.com/index.html . i could have went with an alter-k and then just used a set of tti headers, but the price tag for it all would have been $5200 or so. And I seriously doubt that a set of TTI headers is going to perform as well as a custom made set of headers with merge collectors.
 
i just purchased most of the front end parts for the torsion bar set up, m-body spindles, torsion bars box brakes etc. the only thing i did not replace was the center link and tie rod adjusters. i just hit $1400
Click to expand...

is that all new stuff?
control arms
bearings
seals
brake hoses
calibers
rotors
all ball joints
all tie rod ends
all new bushings
all bushings pressed in
all parts cleaned up (your time is money)
etc..etc... $1400 sounds pretty cheap for all new quality stuff.
 
everything new, except the control arms and steering box, which will be rebuilt. all the parts are new Dana parts, straight from Napa. i have been wondering how much lighter the alter-k is? not a guess, but an actual scale weight....
 
inkjunkie said:
everything new, except the control arms and steering box, which will be rebuilt. all the parts are new Dana parts, straight from Napa. i have been wondering how much lighter the alter-k is? not a guess, but an actual scale weight....
Click to expand...


depends on what options ya get with it and what stock suspension stuff you started with.... manual rack and light brakes people have gotten about 90 pounds lighter. if ya get a power rack and the budget brakes it will be less of a weight savings.

i know going from stock power steering to stock manual steering ya save close to 50 pounds. now goto a rack without all those pitman arms,idler arms tie rod ends and adjusting sleeves and the center link. that saves a bunch of weight right there alone.
 
originally went with the budget ones. think they are from a ford granada or something and a manual rack. now i'm running a power rack and wilwoods.
 
[I]B-body setup is $4,000.[/I]

WOW-steep, is it really that much better than just going
1) Baer,Wilwood front disks & calipers
2) After market upper control arms to reduce bump steer and for better alignment
3). Strengthening lower control arms at home
4). Larger torsion bars
5) good struts
Maybe $1800 for these mods??? HMMMM -Altercation really? I feel Hesitation?
 
Hey, I dig, then I ask stupid questions
You didn,t answer my Q though. Is it worth the extra cash ?
In the WOW catagory its awsome!!!
 
tooslow said:
Hey, I dig, then I ask stupid questions
You didn,t answer my Q though. Is it worth the extra cash ?
In the WOW catagory its awsome!!!
Click to expand...

Well worth the money my opinion. Kinda hard to explain the feel...really have to drive a car with the set up.
 
For what it is worth just checked XV's web site and still do not see an a-body front end.....
 
I probally have $3000 actually in my front end with the flaming river steering box and the poly front end rebuild kit plus longer pitman arm,.$125.00
My steering is still pretty sloppy somewhat as compared your rack and pinion
I imagine your assembly is alot more rigid.
For another $900 bucks your new set-up would be the way to go If i did it over

Its the "Cats ***"
 
I've been looking at a set up from control freaks suspension, has anyone seen these? Freakride.com
 
572cuda said:
I've been looking at a set up from control freaks suspension, has anyone seen these? Freakride.com
Click to expand...

yep. they basically copied it from Bill @ RMS, and made it tubular.....I wouldn't use it....Go for the rear deal....Alterktion!
 
572cuda said:
I've been looking at a set up from control freaks suspension, has anyone seen these? Freakride.com
Click to expand...

mopardude318 said:
yep. they basically copied it from Bill @ RMS, and made it tubular.....I wouldn't use it....Go for the rear deal....Alterktion!
Click to expand...

i remember when that all went down. guy on moparts bought an alter-k. then sent it to his guy who copied it only in round tube. that was with an early alter-k. bill has updated and improved his alter-k over the years. god know if control freak did or not..


like stated. go with the original.. bill knows how and why he did things the way they are done.
 
I've had two Alterkations, best system on the market. As far as having a fab shop whip one out, good luck w/ that. Bill has alot of research in this front end that can't be achieved w/ just building one. You can probably figure the 4000.00 dollar range is right in there.
 
Joe, what size are your front tires and wheels? You think they'd fit on a 63 dart?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top