1973 duster front suspension upgrade

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JohnnyJet

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Now that the car is running so well I need to upgrade the front suspension. Im gonna need new torsion bars(stiffer) and the rest of the "kit" so I can make the car handle a bit better. Please fire away with recommendations of any type. I always get great feedback here and you guys are batting 1000. Thanks
 
Unless you are going to upgrade to real performance wheel and tire package and/or plan on doing track day events…..

You will see little from anything more than a good stock rebuild (stiffer bushings are optional), quality shocks and performance sway bars.


Don't get hung up on tube control arms or any of that other over priced crap. You will never see the the advantages of those parts in normal street use.
 
ok. I need new torsion bars as mine are of the slant6 variety, what size do I get. and is just suspension better than pst or vice versa
 
i have 920 vars in my slant6 duster, they are ok, id kind of like stiffer. i am running kyb shoocks, when i tear it down im putting on adjustable tube uppers and hiem jointed strut rods. in the rear i put 6 leaf springs nylon front eye bushings and prothane hd shackles. i need to get a firm feel box and some sway bars. im running 245 40 17s on all 4 corners. those few changes make it handle real nice and not a harsh ride at all.
 
JohnnyJet said:
ok. I need new torsion bars as mine are of the slant6 variety, what size do I get. and is just suspension better than pst or vice versa
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The .99 t-bar are on sale on Ebay for like $179 shipped through Just Suspension

Get the Hellwig Front and Rear Sway bars. Best fit and mounting hardware.

Then get all Moog ball joints and bushings from www.rockauto.com. If you add it up, should be close to the kits out there with no name suspension pieces.

Also get the Moog 7103 Offset upper control arm bushings and install in stock upper control arms (as mentioned above) for the most caster.

Isn't tons of stuff or money, but it WILL feel a world of difference. Those items are the basic stuff that's in my car. I don't have any fancy stuff.

Here's the special install instructions for the 7103 bushings. Dont follow the instructions in the box.

4644780-offsetbushingsFINAL.jpg
 
yeah i wanted to buy those t bars for my 69. one thing ill add, compare the cost of upper ball joints, and bushings to buying a new set of adjustable rms upper arms. brand new, much stronger, adjustable to get your alignment where you want it. i bet you can sell your old arms to make up the difference, plus you dont have to spend the time to change bushings and balljoints. just swap the arms out.
 
autoxcuda said:
Then get all Moog ball joints and bushings from www.rockauto.com. If you add it up, should be close to the kits out there with no name suspension pieces.
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Dont forget to use the 5% off code for RockAuto. Just google for it, there's always one around and easy to find. There are a couple forums out there that have a permanent discount in place.
 
ok before I order is there anything that I should order differently because I now have a 360 with headers instead of a slant 6 ? Im gonna go with the MOOG stuff and the new .92 torsion bars
 
JohnnyJet said:
ok before I order is there anything that I should order differently because I now have a 360 with headers instead of a slant 6 ? Im gonna go with the MOOG stuff and the new .92 torsion bars
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the only thing that would change is the motor mounts.
 
Personally i'd be going the .990" bars, i don't think the .920"s would be enough to keep the firm feel. I don't think the .990"s would be too harsh if you are wondering either.:-D
 
v8val said:
Personally i'd be going the .990" bars, i don't think the .920"s would be enough to keep the firm feel. I don't think the .990"s would be too harsh if you are wondering either.:-D
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i agree. when i had the 920s in my big block dart, it rode like a normal car. in the slant six duster they are a little sporty feeling, but i would definitely go to the next size you can get.
 
FWIW, this is my 74 at an autocross 2006:
dd12.jpg


Specs: .99 mopar torsion bars, stock a arms with moog offsets, KYB shocks Mopar/ADDCO front and rear sway bar set. Superstock leaf springs with adjustable front hanger set to lower rear,225-50-15 15x7 ansen sprint wheels front 235-45-17 on 17x8 rear, mopar frame connecters(welded).
dd22.jpg
 
demonduster said:
FWIW, this is my 74 at an autocross 2006:
dd12.jpg


Specs: .99 mopar torsion bars, stock a arms with moog offsets, KYB shocks Mopar/ADDCO front and rear sway bar set. Superstock leaf springs with adjustable front hanger set to lower rear,225-50-15 15x7 ansen sprint wheels front 235-45-17 on 17x8 rear, mopar frame connecters(welded).
dd22.jpg
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Not sure I understand the SS spring choice but it looks like you are having a great time.
 
The superstocks are just what I had laying around. I thought about dearching them like E-berg did but sold em. The car now has Flex-a-form fiberglass leafs( little over 1" lower now than ss setup), Edelbrock shocks( similar as KYB to me) and an xv radiator support welded in. Engine is now an Edelbrock head 426/360 stroker. Car weighed 3080lbs (no driver, tools and spare in trunk 1/2 tank fuel) on CAT truckstop scales 52%(1600lbs) front 48%(1480) rear weight I'll probably autocross in the spring. Feels tighter on the street .
 
explain the moog offset bushing benifit for mormal street driving. I know what the do but is it necessary for street use
 
You want positive caster so the car does not wander at higher speeds. With not enough the car kinda has a floating feeling. If you put in too much Positive caster with a manual steering box, it will have very high effort to turn the steering at low speeds. When you set the camber to negative to improve handling, the positve caster will not adjust enough. The offset bushing helps you get back the Positve caster and have enough negative camber at the same time.
Check these out: http://www.stockcarproducts.com/align11a.htm
http://www.stockcarproducts.com/align11.htm
http://www.stockcarproducts.com/tech1n.htm
 
as i understand it, it only gets worse when you lower the car from stock spec just by using the t bars. the offset bushings are nice, but they arent cheap. i would definitely check the price on a set of tube adjustable a arms that come loaded vs buying offset bushings, and quality balljoints. dont forget the socket to change them.
 
jamesdart said:
as i understand it, it only gets worse when you lower the car from stock spec just by using the t bars. the offset bushings are nice, but they arent cheap. i would definitely check the price on a set of tube adjustable a arms that come loaded vs buying offset bushings, and quality balljoints. dont forget the socket to change them.
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The bushings are $28.79 a pair at www.rockauto.com http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1088603,parttype,7532

You will need two sets to do one car.

The regular Moog bushings are $25.99 to do both side. So it's double to do the 7103's.

The upper Moog ball joint is $16.59 each.

So with bushings and ball joints you've got $90.76 in parts. Then add pressing costs if you have to have someone else press in the bushings and/or screw in the upper ball joint.
 
that stuff is cheaper than i remembered. i bought the offset bushings for one of my darts and i swear they were sold each and cost me 100 bucks for 4. i also remebered the ball joints costing more, but i bought afco, and i wasnt shopping at rockauto.
 
Im sticking with the stock bushings, Im not into autocrossing, and dont think i need the offset for my cruising
 
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