Dart IRS

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DaveO

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Would a 4 wheel independent suspension system help handling in a Dart?
I think so. So I bought a 300-c that got t-boned. Now I want to put the entire drive train in a 1970 Dart. I've done b-body restorations back in the 80's but that stuff was all stock.
I want to build a "Q ship".
It's an old WW-II term for a stock appearing tramp steamer that looks inconspicuous. They had 8" deck guns hidden under false super structures and more speed than a fast destroyer.It would sail up to unsuspecting merchant ships and blow them out of the water before they new what was happening.Enough of the history. You get the drift.
I want a stock appearing Dart with quiet smooth V-8 power, great handling and braking, and comfortable ride. A/C, cruise, you know comfort stuff.
Don't say " buy a new Charger". I want a Dart and that's that! Besides the 300-C was only $2300+ so I could always part it out. I have seen the AlterKtion front setup which I like, but nothing about the rear suspension. Does anyone have any experience with, or concepts for this idea?
 
lets see some pics! I have been thinking of doing something similar to my challenger. o and welcome to fabo
 
daveo ,,it can be done with a lot of work. you could also use a " watts link "rear suspension.. almost as good and a lot easier.. in any case it is going to be a big job, tranny tunnel will most likey be to small for the tranny, so sheet metal work will be involved, you will need to build so sort of sub frame in the rear to mount the irs.. rear cross menber for the tranny will need to be fabricated ... exhaust system made . fuel tank in the way ..but it can be done

not sure where to put that 8 inch gun
 
Many moons ago, people were putting Jaguar rear end assemblies under cars. The IRS on the Jag was mounted on a sub-frame which made the switch pretty easy since it all came out as a single unit. Springs were dual coil-over units connected to the lower control arms.
Memory gets a little fuzzy here. The five lug hub had a 4½ inch bolt pattern and there were some problems hooking up GM drive shafts.
 
The RMS AlterK and a Tri 4bar (link) setup will be much easier and handle better. The street Lynx (tri 4 link) setup RMS has out will nearly bolt in to an Abody.

With the 300m suspension you are gonna have track width issues, steering geometry, custom half shafts built etc.......
 
Track width would be a problem. I have a complete rear end out of a Magnum sitting on the garage floor and its 59" between the backing plates. The whole rear suspension drops out as a unit mounted on a X-frame with all the control arms intact so figuring out that geometry wouldn't be a problem. The mounting width for the X-frame is 42". Four bolts and the whole thing comes out. The only thing you need to add to the car is the pads the the coil springs will contact and shock mounting position.
 
rjsjea said:
The RMS AlterK and a Tri 4bar (link) setup will be much easier and handle better. The street Lynx (tri 4 link) setup RMS has out will nearly bolt in to an Abody.

With the 300m suspension you are gonna have track width issues, steering geometry, custom half shafts built etc.......
Click to expand...
Inland Mopars Car Club built a '68 Valiant as a benefit raffle car this year using the RMS AlterKtion front and Street Lynx rear suspension. I had the opportunity to drive the finished car to 2 different shows and can verify the car handled GREAT. Rode like a dream on the freeways but was nice and tight when necessary. Would not hesitate to use the full RMS suspension under any Abody. The AlterKtion front is a bolt-in setup, but there is welding involved with the Street Lynx rear.
Take a look at our club website, www.inlandmoparscarclub.com, for some build photos of the suspension.
 
I mocked up the alterktion and the tri 4link all in a week end. It all was smooth, considering I didn't have any experience at it. I did have a bit of help from a experienced fabricator. I haven't finished it yet, but can't wait to test it out.
 
HawaiiDuster, do you have any pics of the unit. Mine is under the 300C on a trailer and doesn't move well, car is sort of bent in half. I have looked for illustrations of the unit, which because it comes out in one piece like you said, could lend itself to retro fit but haven't found any. Just remember commercial with Dr.Z.
I have been looking into track, ride and jounce info. What I thought was cool is that it's all mopar. Maybe it's a pipe dream but for me the parts are free.
I had an XJ6 a long time ago and I liked the suspension especially the inboard brakes and low unsprung weight. But the center looks like a dana 44 the size of the original dart diff.
The 300C stuff is designed to work as a package with the 5.7 so if it could be shoehorned in it would require less engineering.
I was hoping that with all of these ending up in the junk yard and not much need for them in the original application someone would have done the math so to speak already.
I'll keep looking.
 
72 Demon, If you remember the jag has a lower torque arm, a lower control arm and uses the half shaft as the upper arm so it has a thrust load on the u joints. I think that's the way old corvettes were too. I'm not sure if the u joints are ready for that kind of abuse, the jag 4.2 wasn't a barn burner.
John's cars in Texas made a conversion for a Shivvee, but then they didn't make a lot of torque either.
Jag IRS still looks great in street rods!
 
This one isn't mine, but it looks just like it.

0c9f_12_sb.jpg
 
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