Hotchkis TVS. What's missing?

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
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So I'm looking at the hotchkis tvs kit for my 70 dart build looks like a great upgrade from stock. I can't help but feel like there's somethin I'm gonna have to get separately. I was originally gonna go with RMS front and rear but that was gonna b close to 10k with wheels and brakes. The nice thing about rms was it comes with spindles that the brakes bolt right up to. Does the hotchkis setup? Well not that I'm reading. So I don't know what to do about brakes. My car is a /6 9" drum car so major upgrades r needed before I drop in my 360!
 
you use your stock spindles as far as i know.. so you'll probably have to go to 73-spindles and source big (if thats what you're looking for) brakes for stock 73-up spindles..

the alter-k uses a mustang style spindle so there are plenty of choices for brakes out there for it...


looks like for a 67-72 dart anyway the Hotchkis TVS doesn't come with shocks or torsion bars, so add that into the price.. you may as well rebuild the rest of the suspension while under there (unless already done) so add that to the price..and then you're stuck with the crappy stock steering box. guess you can go with a firmfeel for close to $400 or the bergoson one for close to $800 for everything needed to run it.. so add one of those into the price..

there have been a couple of threads here saying the Hotchkis springs on a dart sit way too low.
 
Hmm so much for "Total Vehicle System" eh? I hadn't really thought about it lowering the ride height either. Rms doesn't lower does it?
 
You can lower with the RMS, but only with the shocks that they supply. about 2"
 
The Hotchkis TVS is kind of a weird group of parts. No shocks, no torsion bars, no frame connectors. But it does have heim joint tie rods, which really aren't necessary for most cars. The rear springs have been pretty problematic for most folks on here that have used them. Even the adjustable heim joint UCA's are probably way overkill for most builds, and I don't like heims on a daily or frequent driver. Although the UCA's are beautiful pieces.

If I were building a daily or frequent driver I think I'd skip the TVS. Get a set of 1" or larger torsion bars, Bilstein or the new Fox shocks, and either XHD rear leafs or something from ESPO. For the UCA's a set of stockers with offset bushings is more than workable. Badart on here does sell a set of tubular UCA's that are still bushed, which would be better for a street car IMO (http://www.dillingerchassis.com/). He also sells the adjustable strut rods, which are a good deal to get the suspension geometry right, especially if you're going with polyurethane LCA bushings. The Hotchkis sway bars are very nice, but you can also get pretty equivalent bars from Hellwig for a lot less. That and a set of frame connectors and a suspension rebuild (new bushings, ball joints etc) would make for a well handling car with the right wheel/tire set up, and although you'd probably be close to the total cost of the TVS, you'd have more useful parts and not have anything else to buy.
 
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