Strut Rods

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George R

George R

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What is the advantage of adjustable strut rods on the lower control arms?
I need a strut rod for my Dart, and since I'm already looking for one, I thought about the adjustables, but the price tag is scarry!
On a related note, if anyone has a stock one they can spare, please PM me with a price.

Thanks in advance.

George
 
Not to get too far off track but, where can I see pics of this new ride youre working on George?
 
71Dartguy-
I tried to start a new thread in the Members resto section, but the only pix I have are BMP files sent to me by the seller when I was looking at the car. I can't, for SOME reason, transform them to JPG so I can post them. Now the car is all apart, and I kinda missed the boat on the resto from the get-go. If I take new pix, you won't get the "full effect" of the project. To me the car is mean as hell! But now that there is no motor, trans, nose, interior and the soft top is down, it just looks like a junk! LOL

I can email a few pix to you if you would like. Maybe you can do something with them?? I dunno.

Anyway, thatks for the answer dgc333, but wouldn't the lower control arm bushing be put in a bind if you cranked the lower arm forward for more caster??

Another question while I have your attention....a fellow on the board posted a link to Stock Car chassis parts. I saw on the site where they sell a "long" upper ball joint for Mopars.
I was thinking if I crank the torsion bars up farther than stock for that 70's look, will the longer upper ball joint help keep the alignment in spec as it will raise the upper ball joint back to stock location?? I hope that made sense! LOL I need the front tire clearance because of the fenderwell headers.

Gotta admit, I'm havin' a blast with this old hot rod!!! Much more fun that chasing numbers! Thats why I got outta Corvettes in the first place.

George
 
You can send me the pics when you get a chance George and I can see if I can do something with them. I'm glad to see you jumped right into another mopar! Cant wait to see how this one turns out.
 
George R said:
71Dartguy-
Anyway, thatks for the answer dgc333, but wouldn't the lower control arm bushing be put in a bind if you cranked the lower arm forward for more caster??
Click to expand...

If you go crazy I suppose you would but the stock lca bushing is rubber and is bonded in so the suspension motion is all deflection of the rubber in between the shells.

If I was going to go with a non stock strut rod I think I would get the ones that bolt hard to the k-member and use a heim joint to allow supension motion. That would provide much more postive location of the lca. If you are needing more caster a better choice would be the Moog offset upper control arm bushings.
 
dgc333 said:
If you go crazy I suppose you would but the stock lca bushing is rubber and is bonded in so the suspension motion is all deflection of the rubber in between the shells.

If I was going to go with a non stock strut rod I think I would get the ones that bolt hard to the k-member and use a heim joint to allow supension motion. That would provide much more postive location of the lca. If you are needing more caster a better choice would be the Moog offset upper control arm bushings.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the lesson.
I'm not really looking for more caster angle right now, just trying to get all my front suspension pieces in house before I install it all to the car and check it out. Since I only need one strut rod, I may just post a wanted ad and see what turns up.
Once the front suspension is back on the car I'll look into the offset upper control arm bushings.

Do you have any comment on the longer than stock upper ball joints that are available??

Thanks for the help!

George
 
George, The extra caster is nice to have available, The adjustable ones are also bigger diameter so they wont bend as easy. I used a set on my barracuda after buying 3 pairs of bent stsock piece.

RMS also has some nice after market strut rods.
 
The more you raise the front suspension in order to clear larger-than-stock wheels and tires, the less caster you will be able to adjust in. Then the steering becomes vague and twitchy and doesn't return to center correctly after turns. The adjustable strut rods will allow you to adjust in caster even though you've raised the suspension. They are recommended. Otherwise you'd have to spend a lot more money on a custom front end setup in order to get the caster you need with a raised front end.
 
also, the adjustables will allow you to position the lca's correctly in your k frame if you use poly bushings. the poly strut rod bushings are thicker and require either trimming or using adjustable struts, otherwise, the lca's will stick out from the k frame 1/4 to 3/8 inch.
 
George, What year are you needing the strut rod from? I think I have a pair floating around the garage that are different that my 73 ones that you can have if you want to pay shipping. They are from a 72 duster. ya, know, let me go see if I can find them before I put my foot in my mouth... :lol:
 
George R said:
Do you have any comment on the longer than stock upper ball joints that are available??

Thanks for the help!

George
Click to expand...

Who makes the longer than stock upper ball joints? What these will accomplish is a lower roll center location and would also likely improve the camber curve. This of course will improve cornering ability. To fully understand the effects you would have to use some suspension software.

Another way to accomplish the same effect is to use F-body (Aspen/Volare) spindles on an A-body. They are about 1" taller.

The longer upper balljoint have been available for GM's for years for use in oval and road racing. I did not know they were available for mopars .
 
340duster said:
Who makes the longer than stock upper ball joints? What these will accomplish is a lower roll center location and would also likely improve the camber curve. This of course will improve cornering ability. To fully understand the effects you would have to use some suspension software.

Another way to accomplish the same effect is to use F-body (Aspen/Volare) spindles on an A-body. They are about 1" taller.

The longer upper balljoint have been available for GM's for years for use in oval and road racing. I did not know they were available for mopars .
Click to expand...

Theres a couple of ways to get longer upper ball joints.

The one I think he may be referencing to is the Howe upper ball joint. Most circle track race cars use the K727 style upper ball joints. The Howe ball joint is low friction, adjustable lash, aluminum body, and interchangable ball joint pins.

I'm very familiar with these. I have installed and adjusted many of the Howe upper ball joints on the circle track team I helped with.

The Howe upper balljoints are a pretty hardcore piece. Not all the guys in our class choose to spend the money to run them. They are a fine detail item. The low friction is really nice too. But that is only if all the other bushing points are low friction.

They Howe upper balljoint is one of the only ways to adjust spindle height in a relative quick manner. Nice when we are testing different geometries out with the designer of our chassis'.

They do require maintenence. I have spotted them getting out of adjustment mid season or so. That's about ten races 15 or so practice nights, and practice before races.

The other adjustable upper ball joint is a sperical heim joint with a tapered stud on the end to go into the spindle and the other side threaded. You shim the threaded section to get the height you want.
 
player1up said:
George, What year are you needing the strut rod from? I think I have a pair floating around the garage that are different that my 73 ones that you can have if you want to pay shipping. They are from a 72 duster. ya, know, let me go see if I can find them before I put my foot in my mouth... :lol:
Click to expand...
Thanks Player. I think Fishy68 has one for me. If something happens, I'll PM you.

340duster said:
Who makes the longer than stock upper ball joints? What these will accomplish is a lower roll center location and would also likely improve the camber curve. This of course will improve cornering ability. To fully understand the effects you would have to use some suspension software.

Another way to accomplish the same effect is to use F-body (Aspen/Volare) spindles on an A-body. They are about 1" taller.

The longer upper balljoint have been available for GM's for years for use in oval and road racing. I did not know they were available for mopars .
Click to expand...
Someone posted a link here on FABO to a Stock Car website that sold these parts. I was interested in it and read it, but I didn't save the site. I thought it would help my suspension geometry since I plan to raist the front of the car up to help with tire clearance since I have fenderwell headers. I don't really have the money to spend on a set of Volare/Aspen spindles. Man, I remember when those cars were EVERYWHERE!

autoxcuda said:
Theres a couple of ways to get longer upper ball joints.

The one I think he may be referencing to is the Howe upper ball joint. Most circle track race cars use the K727 style upper ball joints. The Howe ball joint is low friction, adjustable lash, aluminum body, and interchangable ball joint pins.

I'm very familiar with these. I have installed and adjusted many of the Howe upper ball joints on the circle track team I helped with.

The Howe upper balljoints are a pretty hardcore piece. Not all the guys in our class choose to spend the money to run them. They are a fine detail item. The low friction is really nice too. But that is only if all the other bushing points are low friction.

They Howe upper balljoint is one of the only ways to adjust spindle height in a relative quick manner. Nice when we are testing different geometries out with the designer of our chassis'.

They do require maintenence. I have spotted them getting out of adjustment mid season or so. That's about ten races 15 or so practice nights, and practice before races.

The other adjustable upper ball joint is a sperical heim joint with a tapered stud on the end to go into the spindle and the other side threaded. You shim the threaded section to get the height you want.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that AutoX. You explained it very well. It doesn't seem as though these ball joints are intended for what I need.
 
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