Got new shocks for my 73 Swinger....

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318MoparGuy

318MoparGuy

MoparHokie
Joined
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Location
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Hi All,
Well I finally ordered new shocks all around for my 73 318 and went with Bilstein RCD's. I ordered them from PST and got them delivered to my door for $368.00 with the 10% FABO discount and free shipping. They arrived 4 days later and were packaged real well...no damage to box. The shocks the PO had on there were on their last legs and it was time to upgrade as I will be moving to Waynesville, NC in the mountains of western NC. PO had upgraded torsion bars to 893/892's and added a huge aftermarket front sway bar. So with the bigger TB's and sway bar, I should be in good shape handling and ride wise. I read that FABO guys that put Bilsteins on felt a more "planted" feeling at speed, my Dart is just a cruiser but wanted to feel more secure in handling and such. I will try to get them on soon as I can, but am in the midst of packing for the move...will keep you posted. Can someone clarify this.....are 892/893 bars considered Big block bars or 340 bars? Thanks...
All the Best,
318MG
 
892/893 = 340 bars.

Do us a favor and put up a pic of the bilstein box/part #.

Or just give us some part numbers. :)
 
368 bucks for shocks? Did a hot blonde deliver them, install them and give you a happy ending?
 
RustyRatRod said:
368 bucks for shocks? Did a hot blonde deliver them, install them and give you a happy ending?
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Absolutely.....I believe in buying quality parts for my vehicle...just like you do when you are building a motor...do it right once and it's done...right????
 
You'll love the ride from the Bilstein RCD's. The 340 bars are still kinda small, the difference in going to 1" or 1.03" bars is huge even compared to the 340 bars. The RCD's improve the ride quality so much its not even funny. How anyone can use KYB's I don't know, those things are awful, and get even worse as you increase the spring rates. $368 for the Bilsteins is a pretty good deal, and they're absolutely worth it. I ran KYB's on my Challenger for a long time, and after I installed a set of bilsteins I kicked myself for not doing it sooner. I thought the KYB's were "ok", but man, was I wrong. They're miserable compared to the Bilsteins.
 
RustyRatRod said:
368 bucks for shocks? Did a hot blonde deliver them, install them and give you a happy ending?
Click to expand...

Ah, but while some settle for just a happy ending, ofcourse anyone knows that when it comes to a good pair of shocks, it's the entire 'ride' itself that's "happy"...
 
72bluNblu said:
You'll love the ride from the Bilstein RCD's. The 340 bars are still kinda small, the difference in going to 1" or 1.03" bars is huge even compared to the 340 bars. The RCD's improve the ride quality so much its not even funny. How anyone can use KYB's I don't know, those things are awful, and get even worse as you increase the spring rates. $368 for the Bilsteins is a pretty good deal, and they're absolutely worth it. I ran KYB's on my Challenger for a long time, and after I installed a set of bilsteins I kicked myself for not doing it sooner. I thought the KYB's were "ok", but man, was I wrong. They're miserable compared to the Bilsteins.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info...always enjoy reading your posts about shocks, spring rates, etc. I don't know much about that stuff...but learning...thanks!!!
 
318MoparGuy said:
Hi All,
Well I finally ordered new shocks all around for my 73 318 and went with Bilstein RCD's. I ordered them from PST and got them delivered to my door for $368.00 with the 10% FABO discount and free shipping. They arrived 4 days later and were packaged real well...no damage to box. The shocks the PO had on there were on their last legs and it was time to upgrade as I will be moving to Waynesville, NC in the mountains of western NC. PO had upgraded torsion bars to 893/892's and added a huge aftermarket front sway bar. So with the bigger TB's and sway bar, I should be in good shape handling and ride wise. I read that FABO guys that put Bilsteins on felt a more "planted" feeling at speed, my Dart is just a cruiser but wanted to feel more secure in handling and such. I will try to get them on soon as I can, but am in the midst of packing for the move...will keep you posted. Can someone clarify this.....are 892/893 bars considered Big block bars or 340 bars? Thanks...
All the Best,
318MG
Click to expand...
Update on new Bilstein RCD's for my 73 Dart - Moved from Waxhaw, NC to the mountains of western NC (Waynesville) and just got around to posting this update...still unpacking. The previous ride on my Dart was horrible....shocks sucked going over bumps and at speed and leaned pretty well going into big sweeping turns. Installed Bilstein RCD's on all 4 corners and the relocation ride from Waxhaw to Waynesville (about 3 hours) was such a pleasure. The Dart was now very stable at speed...no swaying or rolling...ride felt very controlled and smooth going over bumps that would have rattled the car with the old shocks. I have seen the posts of some guys saying shocks are all the same, but I have to heartily disagree. The RCD's are worth every penny and then some. Also, they have a great warranty (as long as you own the car) and can be rebuilt if needed down the road. How many other shocks can say all that??? If you are contemplating new shocks for your A Body or other vehicle, you should very seriously consider the RCD's...that's the way to go!!!
Take care,
318MG
 
I put a full set of shocks on the wife's 73 Dart, $80 for all 4. It rides like a recliner on the highway, has absolutely no road feel and being that it doesn't have a sway bar, comes close to digging the rockers into the pavement on hard corners.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
I put a full set of shocks on the wife's 73 Dart, $80 for all 4. It rides like a recliner on the highway, has absolutely no road feel and being that it doesn't have a sway bar, comes close to digging the rockers into the pavement on hard corners.
Click to expand...

RCD's cost $368 with FABO discount...no tax in NC and free shipping. Yes, alot of money for 4 shocks, but as I said after driving with them compared to how the Dart drove previously....WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!! Not to mention feeling much safer while driving around.....318MG
 
Bilstein has been making shocks for years and know what they are doing I guess coming over to Mopar from many years dealing with foreign cars I know much about them. They are expensive but worth every penny. Koni is also another great shock company.
 
318MoparGuy said:
Update on new Bilstein RCD's for my 73 Dart - Moved from Waxhaw, NC to the mountains of western NC (Waynesville) and just got around to posting this update...still unpacking. The previous ride on my Dart was horrible....shocks sucked going over bumps and at speed and leaned pretty well going into big sweeping turns. Installed Bilstein RCD's on all 4 corners and the relocation ride from Waxhaw to Waynesville (about 3 hours) was such a pleasure. The Dart was now very stable at speed...no swaying or rolling...ride felt very controlled and smooth going over bumps that would have rattled the car with the old shocks. I have seen the posts of some guys saying shocks are all the same, but I have to heartily disagree. The RCD's are worth every penny and then some. Also, they have a great warranty (as long as you own the car) and can be rebuilt if needed down the road. How many other shocks can say all that??? If you are contemplating new shocks for your A Body or other vehicle, you should very seriously consider the RCD's...that's the way to go!!!
Take care,
318MG
Click to expand...

Glad you like them! Good to hear that even with "smaller" torsion bars like the OE 340 bars they still provide a dramatic improvement over some of the other options out there. The Bilsteins are great shocks, I do think that for the really large torsion bars the Hotchkis Fox's are a little better still, there was an improvement in ride quality when I went from Bilsteins to Hotchkis shocks on my Duster. But it has 1.12" torsion bars and those kind of wheel rates really put shocks to the test. Glad you're happy with the improvement!

1968FormulaS340 said:
I put a full set of shocks on the wife's 73 Dart, $80 for all 4. It rides like a recliner on the highway, has absolutely no road feel and being that it doesn't have a sway bar, comes close to digging the rockers into the pavement on hard corners.
Click to expand...

1968FormulaS340 said:
I'm not spending that much on something that rides on 195/75/14, white walls. Those shocks would just make the wheel covers fall off.
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Doesn't sound like something that's fun or even safe to drive to me. 195/75/14's will definitely limit your handling ability, but even those are capable of better, safer handling than what you describe. I ran my Duster with 225/60/15's, 1" torsion bars and Bilsteins (no sway bars) and the result was still a pretty well balanced, decent handling car. Not the corner carving monster it is now with 275/35/18's up front, 295/35/18's out back and 1.12" torsion bars, Helwig sway bars, and Hotchkis shocks of course. But even though the tires weren't capable of the same levels of grip and there was definitely still some body roll it handled well enough to be safe out on the roads today, and the ride was still pretty soft compared to even a modern non-performance car, say like a Civic something similar. Not a flying couch, but nothing that would rattle your eyeballs out. With how even base level modern cars handle now, I think improvements are needed to the stock suspension to even be able to safely avoid accidents out on the streets. Too many cars, no one paying attention, and even the base level cars can out-stop and out-handle one of these cars with totally factory equipment. Puts you in a bad spot. But even a few fairly simple upgrades, like modestly larger torsion bars (even 383 bars!), better shocks, sway bars (even stock ones) and 73+ disks and the larger BBP rear drums make a dramatic improvement in safety without compromising too much originality or ride quality.
 
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Again, it all depends on what you want your car to do.
If the twistys, or sport handling is your thing, im sure they are great shocks.
Street light to street light, or quarter mile blasts, there are much better choices for both functionality and your pocket book. Two different cars, Two totally different set ups.

Slant 6 bars, clapped out front shocks, no sway bars, C body shocks in the rear, Super Stock springs, Cal Tracs, 411's , 408. Street light to Street light. Adios my bilstein Amigos.
 
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72bluNblu said:
Glad you like them! Good to hear that even with "smaller" torsion bars like the OE 340 bars they still provide a dramatic improvement over some of the other options out there. The Bilsteins are great shocks, I do think that for the really large torsion bars the Hotchkis Fox's are a little better still, there was an improvement in ride quality when I went from Bilsteins to Hotchkis shocks on my Duster. But it has 1.12" torsion bars and those kind of wheel rates really put shocks to the test. Glad you're happy with the improvement!

I love the ride.....Thanks 318MG





Doesn't sound like something that's fun or even safe to drive to me. 195/75/14's will definitely limit your handling ability, but even those are capable of better, safer handling than what you describe. I ran my Duster with 225/60/15's, 1" torsion bars and Bilsteins (no sway bars) and the result was still a pretty well balanced, decent handling car. Not the corner carving monster it is now with 275/35/18's up front, 295/35/18's out back and 1.12" torsion bars, Helwig sway bars, and Hotchkis shocks of course. But even though the tires weren't capable of the same levels of grip and there was definitely still some body roll it handled well enough to be safe out on the roads today, and the ride was still pretty soft compared to even a modern non-performance car, say like a Civic something similar. Not a flying couch, but nothing that would rattle your eyeballs out. With how even base level modern cars handle now, I think improvements are needed to the stock suspension to even be able to safely avoid accidents out on the streets. Too many cars, no one paying attention, and even the base level cars can out-stop and out-handle one of these cars with totally factory equipment. Puts you in a bad spot. But even a few fairly simple upgrades, like modestly larger torsion bars (even 383 bars!), better shocks, sway bars (even stock ones) and 73+ disks and the larger BBP rear drums make a dramatic improvement in safety without compromising too much originality or ride quality.
Click to expand...
 
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