Stock suspension racers

mechanic190 said
I am in the process of building my 72 swinger and since I bought the car my plans have had to change from a back halfed car to stock suspension due to my budget. Originally I bought a set of cragar super tricks 15 x 4 and 15 x 12s (for sale too now) now I have a set of stock steels that I'm gonna run. I plan on frame connectors and maybe a 4 pt cage max with pretty much stock 440 727 and hopefully 8 3/4 but now I believe I have a 7 1/4 rear with sbp. What would be the max tire size I can run on the rear and any other tips and tricks would be helpful. Oh and I'm thinking bout trying to build my own set of caltracs for the rear.
Thanks
Brad

Frame connectors: good.
4pt cage: not going to need it with a stock 440 (or a warmed up one for that matter).
7 1/4 rear: You will break this MUCH sooner than you think. My best friend broke one in the first 5 minutes of driving with nothing more than a warmed up 318 in it. I would highly recommend not using this rear end at all. 8 3/4 would be fine, or Dana.

My old suspension combo with my current motor was stock springs (bone stock, not super stock), CE drag shocks front and rear (90/10 front, 50/50rear), and pinion snubber. This was good for 1.49 60' times (best), but normally 1.50-1.53, and high 10's in the 1/4....however, you will have a considerably more weight over the nose of the car than I do (stock 440 vs small block with aluminum heads and intake)...just food for thought. My current setup with Caltrac's, mono's, and their shocks had run 1.45 60', but normally runs 1.47.

The real key to getting the suspension to work is getting the front end loose enough to transfer weight.