Dusters' turn radius SUCKS

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rick_rawker

rick_rawker

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Does a '74 Dusters' turning radius normaly suck ? It is night and day between my '64 Dart and my sons' '74. Can anything be adjusted or changed to improve this crippling condition ?

Thanks, Rick
 
Hmm... how bad is yours? My '70 Duster has a pretty terrible turning radius too, I can't make a successful U-turn unless the road is three lanes (on each side) and it's not very easy to park in tight spaces without backing up and correcting. I haven't driven an early A-body like your '64 Dart though so I don't really have anything to compare it to.
 
That is when you turn the wheel and hammer it and just slide around, or do a dukes of hazzard reverse 180
 
something that might be worth a try is having the alignment done a little racier for this problem. there is all kinds of adjustments that can make a difference.
does the car have sway bars? that could be something worth looking into if a different alignment doesn't solve it.

recently did a disc brake, large bolt pattern front end on my dad's '71 big block valiant, and we added a sway bar on top of all the other suspension parts. he still is running the slant six torsion bars, but it handles so much better and turns much sharper. it out turns my brothers '79 volare, which is lighter, has a sway bar, power steering and horizontal torsion bars.


hope this helps you somehow

-Zack
 
the spindals/ ball joints lower have what they call wheel stops that hit the lower a arm at full turn, what has been done to the car, like said if it has the wrong sway bar links with disc brake the calipers will hit and make it hard to turn fully. make sure it hits the wheel stops frist/ alingment won,t heip unless you installed new stuff and is way out/ tie in and toe out has to be close to 0 for wear or tires wil squeek like a pig. als
 
My previous 2 A-bodies were a 74 Duster and Dart Sport....I currently have a 71 Swinger and it turns like an oil tanker compared to the Duster and Sport.

3 lane U Turns etc....
 
alignment (less caster) might help turn easier...but shouldn't effect STOCK turning radius as previously noted....unless something is keeping it from full travel....there are several things you could do to get it to steer sharper/quicker...but if you are already on the stops...you're home
 
Is the turning radius shorter one way or the other? I know a lot of alignment "specialists" who think making sure that the steering wheel being straight is the same as centering the steering. Short of that, is it possible that the wider front track of the 67 up cars contributes to the larger radius?
 
in my experiance manual steering cars have a smaller turning radius than power cars.i dont think ps cars reach the stops for some reason.i wood get some h.p and a posi and do it the right way...
 
Joe334 said:
That is when you turn the wheel and hammer it and just slide around, or do a dukes of hazzard reverse 180
Click to expand...

You're givin credit where it ain't due. The reverse 180 or "Rockford Turn" was coined by none other than James Garner as Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files. About a decade before the Duke boys.
 
Garner may have attempted to lay claim to the maneuver, but it existed long before he did it on screen. The Rockford Files was on the air 5 years before The Dukes of Hazzard, and the two shows overlapped by two years.

Generally, the "J-Turn" is credited to moonshine runners, as is the "bootlegger" turn. The Duke boys were supposed to be "former" moonshine runners on the TV show, so I suppose their use of the move was "legit".

In either case, the move existed long before either TV show existed. As far as what someone might associate the move to, could have more to do with someone's age.

Personally, I remember a hell of a lot more about The Dukes of Hazzard than I do about The Rockford Files. And the cars were way cooler.
 
If you have replaced the lower ball joints you might encounter this. Look at the lower control arm, there's a point where the ball joint arm touches the lower control arm. Some of the new lower ball joints have a nub cast in and you won't get full turn. I took a small grinder to mine and solved the issue. You don't have to take off much but you have to do it to both sides evenly.
 
StrokerScamp said:
You're givin credit where it ain't due. The reverse 180 or "Rockford Turn" was coined by none other than James Garner as Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files. About a decade before the Duke boys.
Click to expand...


the rockford 180 is when you back up fast press the brake to get your front tires sliding and slide around and get it in drive or first mid spin and then haulass!
 
mikebee said:
the rockford 180 is when you back up fast press the brake to get your front tires sliding and slide around and get it in drive or first mid spin and then haulass!
Click to expand...
the stunt drivers do it by slamming the emergency brake, in order to get the rear tires locked, with less road grip than the front tires. Try it. You just have to remember to let off the emerg brake.
 
I put 73+ brakes and balljoints on a 67 car with a 67 swaybar, and had to grind the swaybar mounts some to get the turning radius to something worthwhile.
 
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