MY NEW BUILD

[illrad91]

Hello guys I bought a 67 dart and these are my plans for it.
Im planing on a qa1 k member with qa1 lower and spc top, qa1 strut ,I don't know what brakes yet for fronts, gts gerst 4link, vikings shocks in front and back, backs I'm leaving the 12" drums with 3.23 they came with but I Gotta shorten it so idk which axle shafts I need to get that would go great with this build?, pst polygraphite super front end kit, 11/16" pst aluminum tie rod sleeves, the borgeson box but I'm not sure which one yet theres too many, firm feel 1.12 and front sway bar, . idk if it will all work yet but thats most of it. I would really like your guys thoughts and opinions on the matter. Im getting this because I want to hit corners going like 40 and not have to worry about it. I try to get high performance stuff so I never have to worry about them breaking on me. I wanna hit the strip but ride like a m3 on the road. Im putting a big block 440 in there by the way but thats last lol thanksss

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Hope you have about five (5) years and it's sounds to be about 15K+, time, skills, tools, and a place to work. Keep posting your build. It will be fun to follow. Oh, and it sounds like if you need any AMD panels. Get your order in before what you need is no longer available.

 

[illrad91]

Hope you have about five (5) years and it's sounds to be about 15K+, time, skills, tools, and a place to work. Keep posting your build. It will be fun to follow. Oh, and it sounds like if you need any AMD panels. Get your order in before what you need is no longer available.

whats a and order? yea I'm already 5k in parts lol

 

[Plymouth 65]

A big block in an A body that handles like an m3 will be a challenge. You're build looks pretty high end and fairly well thought out. But I'd rethink the big block if you want it to be a dual purpose road/track beast. 65'

 

[vegasanthony]

Hope you have about five (5) years and it's sounds to be about 15K+, time, skills, tools, and a place to work. Keep posting your build. It will be fun to follow. Oh, and it sounds like if you need any AMD panels. Get your order in before what you need is no longer available.

More like 20k just in parts

 

[Chained_360]

I agree with Plymouth 65, you're gonna have a hard time wrangling the front end of that thing with a 440 in it, even with aluminum parts. For the same amount of money for big block A body headers and all the other conversion parts you'll need, you'll come pretty close to the cost of a nice 408 stroker rotating assembly. 360 Magnum engines can be found for a couple hundred bucks, and if you really are going all out then aluminum heads and parts on a small block will really lighten up the front end.

If you're going for M3 performance then weight and stiffness is going to be the name of your game. US CarTool makes excellent chassis stiffening products, and you might even want to consider a half cage or something similar to stiffen up the chassis. FWIW, I own an A body and I've ridden in my roomate's '09 M3! It would take a pretty penny to make them comparable on a racetrack with a competent driver.

I am not saying what you are trying to achieve is impossible. What I am saying is I would highly suggest planning your build for your end results, not hyper-focusing on what the most expensive or most badass parts are. Nice suspension parts won't do their job correctly if the chassis is as stiff as a wet noodle. A big engine will get you lots of power, but that won't matter if you're trying to retain speed through corners.

Some resources for you:
Welcome to USCT Motorsports - Get If Stiff

And a good 'ol Uncle Tony's Garage video about weight. This applies for cornering too! Making a car lighter doesn't just affect its straightline performance:


I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this build, I am not trying to tear it down. I myself want to build a good-handling, trackday A-body but I don't have the budget or space for that yet. You asked for our opinions, and this is mine. Good luck sir! I'm excited to see this build progress.

 

[vegasanthony]

A big block in an A body that handles like an m3 will be a challenge. '

Btw anyone attempting this would have already ordered a Hemi Denny full blown front end with coil overs
And a four link for the rear

 

[illrad91]

I agree with Plymouth 65, you're gonna have a hard time wrangling the front end of that thing with a 440 in it, even with aluminum parts. For the same amount of money for big block A body headers and all the other conversion parts you'll need, you'll come pretty close to the cost of a nice 408 stroker rotating assembly. 360 Magnum engines can be found for a couple hundred bucks, and if you really are going all out then aluminum heads and parts on a small block will really lighten up the front end.

If you're going for M3 performance then weight and stiffness is going to be the name of your game. US CarTool makes excellent chassis stiffening products, and you might even want to consider a half cage or something similar to stiffen up the chassis. FWIW, I own an A body and I've ridden in my roomate's '09 M3! It would take a pretty penny to make them comparable on a racetrack with a competent driver.

I am not saying what you are trying to achieve is impossible. What I am saying is I would highly suggest planning your build for your end results, not hyper-focusing on what the most expensive or most badass parts are. Nice suspension parts won't do their job correctly if the chassis is as stiff as a wet noodle. A big engine will get you lots of power, but that won't matter if you're trying to retain speed through corners.

Some resources for you:
Welcome to USCT Motorsports - Get If Stiff

And a good 'ol Uncle Tony's Garage video about weight. This applies for cornering too! Making a car lighter doesn't just affect its straightline performance:


I sincerely wish you the best of luck with this build, I am not trying to tear it down. I myself want to build a good-handling, trackday A-body but I don't have the budget or space for that yet. You asked for our opinions, and this is mine. Good luck sir! I'm excited to see this build progress.

Sorry for the late reply but first I wanna start by thanking all of you guys for your opinions I definitely put that info into consideration before I started buying parts. Well I Decided to not put a big block every one of you guys were right but instead I'm gonna go small block not sure what yet tho but I just removed the slant finally. So I bought most of the parts still missing quite a bit but I'm getting there slowly. This is what I got so far Still waiting on a few things to come in.

qa1 K member
Pst front super poly front end kit
upper qa1 and lower control arms
pst 11/16" steel sleeves
firm feel 1.12 torsion bar with adjusters
hotchkis adjustable strut rods and Front adjustable shocks
tubular hellwing 1-1/4" front sway bar
67 b body 8 3/4 rear with 3.23 489 case with stock axles
front disc bb single piston from a 74 duster
rear disc bb from speedway
front spindles from drdiff
gts 4link

im gonna put a borgeson power steering
ron Francis express wiring with istart

and a couple of other stuff I know I'm missing all together about 3-4k left in parts excluding motor and trans and then off to body work. what do you guys think so far will be uploading pics soon.