Big Blocks and Handling

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I read an article in Mopar Action yesterday about adding a bearing and brace to the to the bottom of the steering box shaft. They say the length is extreme from the mounting bolts of the steering box to the end of the steering shaft where the pitman arm connects.
Steel Block Industries---
Has anybody purchased this brace/bearing combo???
 
Jim Lusk said:
Never heard of it......
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Yep, SOLID STEEL INDUSTRIES sells a steering stabalizer for what they claim is a week link on A and E bodies.
A bar that bolts between the frame rails and has a bearing that the end of the steering box shaft slips into???
$250 plus and i will wait for some feedback before i make my own. Looks easy. You can go to the site and see a picture
 
I did a search for Solid Steel and only came up with those bars for late model Rams. I have been around good handling Mopar A-bodies for over thirty years and have never seen or heard of a problem from this area. I don't even think Hotchkis sees a problem here..........
 
Jim Lusk said:
I did a search for Solid Steel and only came up with those bars for late model Rams. I have been around good handling Mopar A-bodies for over thirty years and have never seen or heard of a problem from this area. I don't even think Hotchkis sees a problem here..........
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The new Mopar Mag has a big write up on how effective it is on an A bodyDart. I will buy the mag tonight. Its one of the two popular Mopar mags on the shelf now. Mopar Muscle? Mopar Action? Its on the mag stand
Its essentially the same bar they are using on there trucks.

I bet if i put a Dial indicator on the bottom of my manual steering box if there is a huge problem i should see the indicator deflect when I turn the wheel??? right???
 
i stopped reading magazines for years. mainly mopar magazines. its all jsut a bunch of biased reviews for free products, basically advertising from front to back.
 
jamesdart said:
i stopped reading magazines for years. mainly mopar magazines. its all jsut a bunch of biased reviews for free products, basically advertising from front to back.
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I kinda agree with you. I like to look at the pictures really is all. This iswhy I have not ran out and popped 250 bucks for MUSTHAVE bar
 
Classic example of what happens when you simply add a rear sway bar to a Dart....

RearSwayBarResults.jpg


Compare the handling between a 69 Charger with just a front sway bar and a 71 with both front and rear bars.


69 Charger

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nWrvpl3Nsg&feature=related"]C&T 1969: Dodge Charger 500 Road Test - YouTube[/ame]


71 Charger

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBSd2QvY7wQ&feature=related"]1971 Charger SE 440 - vintage road test - YouTube[/ame]
 
tooslow said:
The new Mopar Mag has a big write up on how effective it is on an A bodyDart. I will buy the mag tonight. Its one of the two popular Mopar mags on the shelf now. Mopar Muscle? Mopar Action? Its on the mag stand
Its essentially the same bar they are using on there trucks.

I bet if i put a Dial indicator on the bottom of my manual steering box if there is a huge problem i should see the indicator deflect when I turn the wheel??? right???
Click to expand...

I saw the write-up today (I didn't buy the magazine, though). My impression was that this was just patterned after the truck piece, but maybe not the same company (maybe this is Ehrenberg's design?). IF, and that's a big if, this really helps I have a hard time believing that a SINGLE bolt through one side of the k-member will be very stable. They also show the distance from the lower mounting bolt to the centerlink end of the pitman arm as being the problem. This really doesn't address that, in my opinion.

Also, I'll repeat myself. If Hotchkis doesn't find this piece necessary or even desireable, I don't think it is. It's not that I'm any sort of Hotchkis supporter or think they are the end-all, be-all. It's just that they have spent a lot of time getting improved handling with a package deal for Mopars with stock-style suspension and I don't think this is part of their thinking.
 
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