Clat trac vs. SS springs vs 4 link
whats up!
I had CalTracs on my old 440 Duster & I had NO problems with hooking up. I had a mild 440 (850-vac sec/performer intake/mild cam/headers/X-pipe/flowmasters), a 4 speed, 8-3/4" (3.91, locker, moser axles) AND a 100hp shot of NOS. My suspension was pretty basic... stock V8 torsion bars (it was an original 318 car), 90/10 drag shocks, stock leaf springs (moved in-board), Cal-Trac bars, 50/50 shocks, 10.5" wide slicks and thats about it. It launched hard & straight every time. It took me a few tries to get them adjusted properly but once theyre set up right you dont even have to think about em. Ive personally seen people running 10.60s with not much more than a set of CalTracs. You should check out their website - calvertracing.com - thatll pretty much show you everything you need to know.
As far as the SS springs go, ive never run them or seen them run without at least a set of slapper bars so I couldnt tell you for sure
But as far as a 4 link suspension goes... itll definitely get you farther along than a set of CalTracs will but you gotta be talkin' some serious #s to justify back-halving your car, especially if its primarily a street car. Like I said, ive seen em work @ 10.60s so unless you plan to go much faster than that, Id save my $$$ for other cool stuff. How fast do you plan on going anyway?
Im actually putting together a '74 440 Dart right now for street/strip use but this time im copying the motor set up that Steve Dulcich came up with in his "440 - RESTO TO RAD" series. The tranny will, again, be a 4 speed & ill DEFINITELY be running CalTracs on this car too.
Just one last thing... you know that if your gonna be puttin out any kind of serious kind of power youre gonna need a chassis that can handle it, right? I wouldnt run any faster than 13s with out at least a set of WELD-IN subframe connecters. Especially if you plan on launching as hard as it sounds like you are. A cage would be even better for the long run.