Suspension Setup on 70 Dart Caltracs &Shocks

[y26]

Ive got a few questions on shock & caltrac setup on a sbm 420hp 1970 dart. Car has subframe connectors, It has mono leaf & qa1 adjustable shocks with caltracs in back, qa1 adjustable shocks in front. always ran footbrake and it felt like the whole car would just jump up when leaving off line. This year we put a powerglide trans and are leaving off a brake after adding a 9" rear. What setup should I start with on the shocks and caltracs this weekend?! Any help appreciated, Thanks!!

 

[omahamoparguy]

it should Hit alot harder obviously off the line. Probably need to stiffen everything, shocks and preload on the bars. the reason the car lifts off the line is due to the suspension design which tries to push on the top side of the center of gravity. this causes the body and the rear axle to go in opposite directions. the body lifts and the rear axle Plants {goes down}. this is just the opposite of the GM A-body vehicles which squat during a launch. Sometime the effect of this could be too much of a good thing. You have to figure out how to control it. stiffening the rebound of the shock could help but experimentation is best to see what works. Drag racing is a scientific endeavor.