new here, question about improving handling

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cam.man67

cam.man67

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Hi there,

I am a soon-to-be owner of a 1968 Dodge Dart 270 which will be my daily driver. Anyways, I tested the car out the other day, and it's pretty clear I need to do some suspension work on the Dart to make it handle a little better. I was thinking putting on both a front and rear swaybar kit to flatten it out a bit, maybe upgrade the shocks, etc. My question is, twofold:

1. What, if any, stabilizer bar kits are out there for my Dart, and what do you recommend

2. Would stabilizer bars and hardware from a '68 Barracuda fit my car?

Thanks.

I'll post pics of the Dart when I pick it up. :thumrigh:
 
cam.man67 said:
Hi there,

I am a soon-to-be owner of a 1968 Dodge Dart 270 which will be my daily driver. Anyways, I tested the car out the other day, and it's pretty clear I need to do some suspension work on the Dart to make it handle a little better. I was thinking putting on both a front and rear swaybar kit to flatten it out a bit, maybe upgrade the shocks, etc. My question is, twofold:

1. What, if any, stabilizer bar kits are out there for my Dart, and what do you recommend

Addco makes a decent sway bar for the front and rear. Change the torsion bars for a larger set.>.91 to 1.0" diameter

2. Would stabilizer bars and hardware from a '68 Barracuda fit my car?

Yes they will, stay with any A body setup from 67 to 72. They are 7/8" and are ok for regular driving. I changed mine to a 1 1/8th" and a 3/4" in the rear and it works great.

Thanks.

I'll post pics of the Dart when I pick it up. :thumrigh:
Click to expand...

There are better sway bars on the market but for overall cost and return I think Addco is pretty good. If you plan on using this on a road course do some shopping, Hotchkiss makes some quality pieces but you're going to pay for it.
You should check the front end for wear, and rebuild if necessary. Look to upgrade the brakes, it's good to be able to stop! The car is 43 years old so expect things to be worn.
 
Start with what the factory did on the HP cars (bigger torsion bars, better shocks and rear springs, and a sway bar). Decide what level of handling you are looking for BEFORE buying parts........
 
Thanks for the input, all. Regarding make of swaybars, has anybody used g-Max bars? I can't find a price for the Addco ones, but this is far cheaper than Hotchkis. Perhaps a front swaybar is all I need, in conjunction with larger torsion bars.

I'm not obviously looking to build a track car, just something I can drive around, have a little fun hitting the back roads with it. Whatever. ;)
 
Front sway bar , good shocks and bigger torsion bar will help a lot . Should help cutting lean around turns . g=max looks good
 
If you want to make your 40+ year old car handle like a new one, please read the numerous threads in this Suspension, Steering, and Chassis category. There is a lot of great info posted there from guys that have "been there and done that."

From doing just that, I have determined that some simple things could be done to improve handling:

Good wide radial tires
Disc brakes
Thicker torsion bars
Sway bar - fronts affect handling the most, but rears also help greatly
Rebuild worn front-end suspension components, i.e. ball joints, etc.


The next level might be:

Tubular UCAs and reinforced lowers
Reinforced K-frame
Sub-frame connectors
Thicker front suspension components
Fast ratio steering


These are just a couple of ideas to mull over. Again, read back through the threads; there is very good info there.
 
I always put in heavier tie rod ends and sleeves 100 bucks of new parts plus Alignment I ask for 74 fury parts they bolt right in al my early a bodies makes all the difference in the world
 
These things were designed back in the day when folks thought a nice car should behave like a bowl of Jello. When a cushy ride was far more important than handling. So the factory put torsion bars on them that filled that role. You'll be surprised how much nicer your car behaves with just heavier torsion bars. The sway bars, rear springs, shocks, etc will definitely help but those spindly original torsion bars need an upgrade for any semblence of handling.
 
I recently went from no swaybar and drag shocks to Hotchkis front sway and some $15 a piece Monroes and it made a dramatic improvement in how the car drives overall across the board. Next is a new idler arm since mine has play and then strut bars,upper CAs, and hd tierods and sleeves.
 
Great, thanks for all the info! Right now I'm thinking bigger torsion bars, front swaybar, then if that doesn't get me to the level of handling I want, I'll throw on a rear bar. The PO just put on new shocks, so I don't feel like spending any $ there yet.
 
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