Asking a couple questions-will my A body corner?

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yea. I just didn't want to get into that because it often devolves into an arguement rather than a discussion. It was worth pointing out that tires should be, but often aren't, the starting point.

Personally I run 14" 70 s on the street, and 15" 50s for autocross. Its an easy way to get the cg and roll centers lower and there's plenty of choices in 15" competition tires. However few of those are tires that I would actually recommend for everyday use. Those few are OK for that purpose for someone who knows that's exactly what they want.
 
I agree with abodyjoe. If this is a street cruiser keep it simple!
I did:BBP disc swap, frame connectors, frt and rear sway bars(Hellwig), KYB shocks, .990 t-bars, new rear springs. My car is completely predictable and stable....and it's big block. As stated...if you're gonna race it,start looking to upgrade to some aftermarket "system"
 
I'm not really looking to get something setup to run at VIR, just something I can have some fun with on a back road. It does have some newer 14" steels on it with brand new Goodyears all the way around with less than 1,000 miles on them. Honestly it was fairly nimble provided it could get fast enough to show it. The body roll and the brakes were what really kinda worried me.
 
justthatguy said:
I'm not really looking to get something setup to run at VIR, just something I can have some fun with on a back road. It does have some newer 14" steels on it with brand new Goodyears all the way around with less than 1,000 miles on them. Honestly it was fairly nimble provided it could get fast enough to show it. The body roll and the brakes were what really kinda worried me.
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If you plan on keeping the 14's, the stock mopar 10.98" disks are the biggest brakes you'll be able to run. Even the 11.75" mopar disks require 15's.

The recipe to make these cars handle has been listed in this thread a few times. 1" torsion bars, new leaf springs (ideally with a 120-130 lb rate), good shocks and front and rear sway bars. Subframe connecters, 17-18" rims because of better tire selection and compounds, bigger brakes, etc. All listed already.

But, if you want to keep your stock 14" rims and hockey puck hard Goodyear BFG's you can forget about bigger brakes, and the tires will let go before you put much stress on the suspension. Which is why folks have asked what your plans for the car are.

If you intend to keep the 14's, just rebuild the suspension if it hasn't been rebuilt recently, add your stock disk brakes up front, add sway bars to limit the body roll a bit and call it a day. You'd still benefit from larger than stock torsion bars, which will also help body roll, but your tires will be a hugely limiting factor. If you actually want to handle, you'll need to ditch the 14" rims and tires. Even 15" would be an improvement for tire selection (still not much) and brakes (everything needs 15" or bigger). You can still get track tires in 15" sizes, but almost nothing for the street in the right sizes/profiles that's worth anything.
 
72bluNblu said:
If you plan on keeping the 14's, the stock mopar 10.98" disks are the biggest brakes you'll be able to run. Even the 11.75" mopar disks require 15's.

The recipe to make these cars handle has been listed in this thread a few times. 1" torsion bars, new leaf springs (ideally with a 120-130 lb rate), good shocks and front and rear sway bars. Subframe connecters, 17-18" rims because of better tire selection and compounds, bigger brakes, etc. All listed already.

But, if you want to keep your stock 14" rims and hockey puck hard Goodyear BFG's you can forget about bigger brakes, and the tires will let go before you put much stress on the suspension. Which is why folks have asked what your plans for the car are.

If you intend to keep the 14's, just rebuild the suspension if it hasn't been rebuilt recently, add your stock disk brakes up front, add sway bars to limit the body roll a bit and call it a day. You'd still benefit from larger than stock torsion bars, which will also help body roll, but your tires will be a hugely limiting factor. If you actually want to handle, you'll need to ditch the 14" rims and tires. Even 15" would be an improvement for tire selection (still not much) and brakes (everything needs 15" or bigger). You can still get track tires in 15" sizes, but almost nothing for the street in the right sizes/profiles that's worth anything.
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I planned on ditching the 14s anyway. I considered the cobra wheels since there's a set of those every week in the local ads.
 
justthatguy said:
Hey all, first post here in a while, but, I have reached the point to where I am sick of the useless 145 hp of the slant 6 and its almost a certainty that I will move up to a 360. I had considered selling the valiant and buying any number of other cars, most notably, a Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, a C4 Corvette, and a Jaguar XJS. None of these prove a viable route for me (Corvette looked promising but would probably be a bad idea), so I think I'll just make the Valiant better. I already know I need disc brakes and probably sway bars but I'm new to making these things handle. Can anyone provide pointers on which direction I should take and what I should get?
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Your valiant will outrun all of those cars like it is while they are in the shop....the eclipse being somewhat of the exception.

There are plenty of 14 and 15" tires that will grip well enough for you unless you are a professional driver... Just go with the suggestions on sway bars , shocks and springs/torsion bars.... You will be hero when you keep up with the fwd rice burners thru the corners....and do what you can about front to rear weight distribution...relocate battery to back etc..

I sell Porsches, jags , M-B's , Acuras , Rovers and Volvos.... 1 out of 100 of the yahoos that come in looking for the "best" handling car can outdrive the average car sold today !

I've driven with Roberto Guererro and Davy Jones.....they can scare the **** out of you while drinking a cup of coffee !
 
The Acura's with S-Hawd (Super handling all wheel drive) may be the exception..their awd system spins the outside tire 5% faster through the corners.... Makes the average Joe a hero ! Really works !!
 
I did look at the Dodge Stealth R/T with AWD and it's sister the Mitsu 3000GT VR-4. Both cool cars but no one is selling, at least for what a mid 90s car is actually worth.

Found a disc brake set last night for $680. Not bad but I think I can do better.
 
justthatguy said:
I was looking at some track days but you have to have a membership there and it was $150 a month. Though, certainly, if I ever get the chance, I'll take a lap or two.
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Many different track groups rent the track from time to time. They have instructional classes for the beginners to the experienced and plenty of open lapping. You can do a two day event for somewhere around $350
I would be glad to let you know the next time one of the groups I am connected with are doing their weekends.

And I agree with the comment about a good driver...one of my favorite experiences was with a driver in a beat-up, nearly stock V6 Mustang and after a few laps with him I was somewhere between excited and vomiting. We were passing far better cars at a blinding rate, sideways..... with most any vehicle, you run out of driver long before you run out of car. Modifications only help to make that take a bit longer.
 
I absolutely agree with that, though I tend to think of myself as a good driver (good to the point that a V8 GM land yacht doesn't put out). Thanks for the offer, I'll definitely take you up on that when I get the car finished.
 
come out to goodguys Columbus and i'll take you for a few laps on the auto-x. A-body joe and autox cuda have good advice. I was keeping up with new vettes in the autox with factory upgraded stuff. Firm Feel makes about everything you will need. plan it out so you don't waste a lot of money though.
 
Alright, here is my plan at the moment:

torsion bars
disc brakes (11.75, or so the kit says)
leaf springs
shocks
wheels(17s)

added onto all the goodies that make a 360 swap possible.

I'll probably do the V8 swap before I do the suspension.
 
Well for the street my Dart handles really well , 225/60 15 in front 245/60 in the rear . Sway bar 1.1 torsion bars the heavy duty rear springs ans bilstien shocks and firm feel stage 2 steering box . Frame connectors as well . Car stays flat on the long sweeping exit and entrance ramps and back roads , not many cars stay with me .
For a srteet car it is very good Ive taken exit/entrance ramp and back roads at well over legal speeds , so it handles well enough to land in jail , what more do you really need for the STREET .
Now if you are actually taking it to a track Mr autoxcuda is your man .
If only it had the independant rear from my old Tbird S/C

Good luck with your car and enjoy it !
 
justthatguy, if I am not mistaken, in addition to what you've specified you're going to at least have to install the Mopar leaf spring relocation kit in order to use those wheels and tires. Will the other FABOites please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
72BBSwinger said:
If you're stuck on 15" wheels, run a 50 series tire.
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You aren't going to find a 50 in a 15".

Forget about aspect ratio and get a good, high performance tire. Even this will be difficult but if you are willing to live without meats on the back and white letters, it can be done.
 
justthatguy said:
Alright, here is my plan at the moment:

torsion bars
disc brakes (11.75, or so the kit says)
leaf springs
shocks
wheels(17s)

added onto all the goodies that make a 360 swap possible.

I'll probably do the V8 swap before I do the suspension.
Click to expand...

Don't forget to reinforce that k member, I'm serious. 17" sticky rubber is gonna make potential problems way worse than they already are.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
You aren't going to find a 50 in a 15".

Forget about aspect ratio and get a good, high performance tire. Even this will be difficult but if you are willing to live without meats on the back and white letters, it can be done.
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Nobody told Pirelli that! The P-zero is available in 225/50R15. (That's the size the Green Brick runs.)
 
There's also a Kumho Ecsta AST, H-rated, $71 each. Also the Falken ZE-912, V-rated $76 each.

Again: that's what the Green Brick runs, and the results there speak for themselves!

Also note: OE tires on an A-body were only 25" or so!
 
Again: that's what the Green Brick runs, and the results there speak for themselves!
Click to expand...

how long ago was that thing built? is it a true street car or more of a track car? does the OP want a street car or a track car? what are the street manors of the brick? does it ride like a tank? the aftermarket has come a long way since the days that car was built.
 
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