73 Duster wont handle

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73moparman

73moparman

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Hello, i own a 73 plymouth duster, 340, 727.Everything up front is brand new...bushings, pitman and idler arms..everything. Does not have a sway bar..could this be my problem??
 
Not enough info. Photos of "stance" would be helpful AND IT COULD BE as simple as mismatched tires front/ rear.

What have you done about front end alignment?

More info: "How" does it not handle? Not keeping up with a prepped race Cobra is not a comparison, LOL

Does it wander, "cut" with bumps, play in the wheel, etc?
 
USA for starters. If your car has the "Hot Rod" rake to it, there's more reason.
 
It should also be noted, that even a factory sway bar duster w/ oem type suspension will not handle well. They need a little work to go around corners.
 
Stock springs? Is it a true 340 car or was it something else? For example slant 6 cars have really small torsion bars. Sway bars do help, but stiffer springs, better tires with shorter side walls, correct shocks and struts set up for the springs, and a correct alignment will go a long way.

Like the others have said, need more info.....
 
It's not a Z/28. Front sway bar will make a night and day difference. Are the shock absorbers brand new too? If they are not, just because they pass the bounce test does not mean they are still good either. Handling is a pretty subjective thing, what feels great to one driver may be unacceptable to the next person to drive it.

Summing it up for stock type suspension on this car:

Car should sit close to level at all four corners
Front sway bar installed
Fresh Shock absorbers (Even basic Monroe gas shocks will feel great compared to worn out shocks)
Tires make a huge difference too, low profile tires are more responsive than tall ones(at least go with 215-70's), no 75 or 78 series tires.
Good alignment(paying for an alignment does not guarantee this)
 
There is a picture of my car on my profile. It has brand new shocks all the way around. It was a slant six car from factory and the guy before my put the 340 in. It does have v8 tortion bars..just been aligned. Tires on the back are new..bf goodrich if i recall. Tires on the front are some cheap brand that came with the car and they are low pros..havent changed em out for bf goodriches yet..need any more info just ask..thanks for all the help
 
To sum up the way it handles..when u go down the road at 55 it wants to sway back and forth...
 
67Dart273 said:
Not enough info. Photos of "stance" would be helpful AND IT COULD BE as simple as mismatched tires front/ rear.

What have you done about front end alignment?

More info: "How" does it not handle? Not keeping up with a prepped race Cobra is not a comparison, LOL

Does it wander, "cut" with bumps, play in the wheel, etc?
Click to expand...

This guy is right, i had to re adjust my torsion bars because my suspension in the front was tapped out, unless you have drop spindles you cant run a wide modern tire with the "hod rod" rake
 
Where did you get it aligned? Sounds like the classic issue many of our members have been dealing with LOL. When you send it to an alignment shop that is not familiar with Mopars they reset them to factory specs, which will make your car a nightmare to drive.

Here is a good link
http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/front-end-alignment.html

have your car re-aligned to the below specs (max. perf. street)
Not saying this will fix all your issues but a proper alignment will go a looonnnnggggg way LOL

P.S. the more caster you can get the better :)
 

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73moparman said:
Hello, i own a 73 plymouth duster, 340, 727.Everything up front is brand new...bushings, pitman and idler arms..everything. Does not have a sway bar..could this be my problem??
Click to expand...

Isn't this the car we went over all the front end issues with about a year ago. In the end it had a busted lower control arm sleeve on the K-Frame? You had it welded up if I recall.
 
^^^sounds like the same one to me if I remember right.....alot of our classis mopars "wander" when going down the road...long story short, just a worn out front suspension and steering system. Want it to handle? Put a hotchkis TVS in it and replace all rubber with energy or prothane bushings and you'll be happy! In addition, V8 torsion bars doesn't mean much, you need AT LEAST a 0.92 bar to handle relatively well around corners with an all iron V8 under the hood imo...
 
dusterdan said:
^^^sounds like the same one to me if I remember right.....alot of our classis mopars "wander" when going down the road...long story short, just a worn out front suspension and steering system. Want it to handle? Put a hotchkis TVS in it and replace all rubber with energy or prothane bushings and you'll be happy! In addition, V8 torsion bars doesn't mean much, you need AT LEAST a 0.92 bar to handle relatively well around corners with an all iron V8 under the hood imo...
Click to expand...

It for sure is. Here is the thread. There was an issue of mismatched torsion bars, did you ever get a matched set?

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=160746

attachment.php
 
Yes sirs that would be the car..still wont handle going in a straight line..likes to sway all over the road. everything up front is new. i just dont know where to begin in fixing this problem. tires? sway bar? bushings? theyve all been mentioned
 
Yes sirs that would be the car. I replaced everything up front all new rubber bushings..fixed the lower control arm sleeve and got it all aligned by a shop in town. I just dont know what i should try next. Tires? Sway bar? Shocks? I just wanna get that sway out of there..its dangerous to drive...
 
Caster Caster Caster. What 67cuda360 said. Get the max + caster you can, maybe 2 degrees without any other changes.

Before you change any hardware changes, double check the caster. This made the single biggest difference in my 73 Duster's straightline driving. Before I had it adjusted, I had 0 degrees, and the bu,p sterring was scary!

If that does not help, use moog offset upper control arm bushings, and get the max amount of caster you can. 3 degrees would be nice.
 
I subsequently added the offset moogs and got +3 degrees caster. Also rebuilt the front end using moog parts and a poly lower control arm bushing, 1" torsion bars, KYB shocks, Tie rods ends and center from a 76 Grand Fury, and supper srock springs in the back with lowered front spring mount. I have the stock 340 sway bar. and a Firm Feel stage 3 power box.

17x7 225's up fron, 17x8 275s rear, Nitto 450 (not the stickest tire)

Car handles respectably, and it is smooth at 130+. No wander, no bounce, just loud!
 
73moparman said:
Yes sirs that would be the car. I replaced everything up front all new rubber bushings..fixed the lower control arm sleeve and got it all aligned by a shop in town. I just dont know what i should try next. Tires? Sway bar? Shocks? I just wanna get that sway out of there..its dangerous to drive...
Click to expand...

I remember you worked your butt off on this car but you got it done.

Did you every get a matched set of torsion bars?
 
Put a front sway bar on it, get some new tires for the front.

Those 2 things I would do regardless of whatever is going on.

Oh, and put in subframe connectors.
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
Put a front sway bar on it, get some new tires for the front.

Those 2 things I would do regardless of whatever is going on.

Oh, and put in subframe connectors.
Click to expand...

You don't need an effing front sway bar to get a car to drive down the road. Hundreds of thousands of cars didn't have them.
 
Thank you for that Nancy, oh and go kick the dog and have another beer while you are at it.

He is trying to improve the handling of his car. He has a rebuilt front end, unknown torsion bars (other than what some guy said) and crap front tires.

On top of a /6 to V8 swap.

That is why I made my recommendations. The combo he has now should drive like a turd.

And it does.
 
My first A-body was a 66 GT with the 273 two barrel and the standard suspension (.850" t-bars, no sway bar). I thought it drove fine, UNTIL I got the 66 Barracuda. The next Barracuda I bought was a 67 fastback that had the same suspension as the 66 Dart. First thing I did was go to the local wrecking yard and grab a pair of 340 t-bars and sway bar. The thing drive like a pig until I did that. Even when I put the 383 in that car the 340 suspension package was enough for the car to feel stable. I will never drive another A-body without, at least, the 340 package, even if the car has a slanty.
 
jimmyray said:
Caster Caster Caster. What 67cuda360 said. Get the max + caster you can, maybe 2 degrees without any other changes.

Before you change any hardware changes, double check the caster. This made the single biggest difference in my 73 Duster's straightline driving. Before I had it adjusted, I had 0 degrees, and the bu,p sterring was scary!

If that does not help, use moog offset upper control arm bushings, and get the max amount of caster you can. 3 degrees would be nice.
Click to expand...
Ok i will get it to the shop and get the caster set to the max and go from there..thanks for the info
 
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