Front end upgrades 74 dart 225 slant 6

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74Dart_Girl

74Dart_Girl

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I went in for an alignment today and as suspected I will be looking at replacing parts in the future. We starting discussing various options as to what to plan for and i'm looking for opinions on what is available and what the best options for long term would be.

Its currently got a 225 slant 6 in it, and I plan to keep it in there, not looking into replacing it with anything at this point or for a very long time yet (its a daily driver) but I am interested to know what would be best, I mean who knows. Maybe 10 years from now I will decide to swap it, maybe a windfall of money will bestow me and I will not give a crap about fuel ;).

Anyways interested to know what all your opinions are, I'd like to start pricing things out and planning for the future, its going to need it inevitably. Right now all I need to do (apparently) is replace the upper arm bushings, other then that everything looks ok for the time being.
 
So the first step is a complete rebuild of whats there now. That is, upper and lower control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, strut rod bushings, rear spring bushings and shocks. First upgrade would be high quality shocks. Next would be a front sway bar. Then larger torsion bard and HD rear springs.

Actually the first upgrade along with the shocks would be wheels and tires.

If your front end is still original, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results of a good rebuild.
 
thats awesome. I will start pricing everything out tomorrow. Im excited to bring this car back up to full par, its giddiness for me every time I get something done lol. Keep using the phrase, its running like a brand new car! haha :)
 
There is no way I'd screw around with anything less than ALL rubber bushings, and if you do any mechanical work at all you can do this all yourself. Get yourself a shop manual to start if you do not have.........(The 72 and 73 are the latest, here)

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1970088617

and ask questions right in this thread. You can make most of the "pullers" you need from pipe fittings, bolts, washers and all thread, or buy them. If you have good local shops with a press they can do this. A torch helps, as does an air chisel. Not always necessary. Being young, a big vise and hammer helps, LOL

As above. Don't use the old factory alignment specs with radial tires, read this:

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/front-end-alignment.html

This chart came from there

289d4j7.jpg


It's just not that hard to do your own alignment, I'm an old guy. 65, with osteo problems, I don't even have a shop. I use my car trailer for a rack!!

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=248235

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1969910897
 
Time to decide if you want to upgrade to disc brakes or not as well. If you already have discs then that's great. If you don't and you're learning toward getting discs, then you might as well do the disc/suspension rebuild at the same time because some of the suspension pieces are different for disc vs drum. Also you want to get the car aligned the least amount possible to save money. So when you go to do the upper control arm bushings, you might as well just do the whole thing. Upper and lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, tie rod ends and strut rod bushings. That way you can get everything together in one piece and have it aligned once and be done with it.

If you're doing it yourself, the only real difficult part would be the lower control arm bushings. They can't just be pressed out easily like the uppers. Some guys will weld a washer to them and press them out that way. I'm not good enough with a welder to do this so I went the caveman route and used an air chisel and hand chisels to get the bushing out of there.
 
Since you are close to the border- I would check out the US companies offering complete suspension and steering rebuild kits. The point of disc brakes is a good one, especially with the traffic you have around there.
My buddy lives down by Aldergrove and the neighbor had a green dart like yours. Wonder if its the same car .
 
being a 74, it might already have disks and a sway bar. Later cars usually had the better stuff. I had a 75 swinger, slanty car and it had all the better disk brake stuff from the factory. Might take a close look at what you have already.
 
Yeah its still drum and manual steering, I have loved the experience of driving these old school mechanisms, very nostalgic indeed. Upgrading it though may be an asset considering this car drives year round, it would be nice in winter to have a little more consistent of a braking system. (steering doesn't bother me a bit)

Im not so close to the border anymore, I moved up north to the central interior, so border trips etc are a little less able to happen. BUT for the right savings, I would definitely do the trip.

H20Loo That was more then likely my car yes ;). I lived in Aldergrove for a few years. She was parked there for quite awhile.
 
Offset UCA and the moog strut rod bushings, the hockey puck ones. You don't need a shop to align your ride either, chances are they will screw it up anyway:

You need 2 tapes, for checking toe tape the ends to a reliable point low on each side of the tire, and measure the same on the other. Center the steering wheel and play with it. 1/16-1/8" toe in.


Angle finder, a chunk of 1x4" with a notch in the middle to clear hubs, cut to fit the inside of the rim to check caster, 1/2 degree negative. Front cam all the way out, rear cam all the way in. Dun.
 
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