Rear Suspension Setup

[stop the beast]

I've been reading about the various MP leaf springs available and I'm trying to determine what rear suspension setup is appropriate for my '66 Dart. There seems to be a lot of combinations but I'm trying to keep is simple.

First off, all said and done the car will probably have ~375 HP and either an 8.75 or 8.25 rear end. Currently, it has a 7.25 rear. I'm looking for about a 2" lift max in the rear end and I'm thinking an HD comprable leaf will get that height and handle the power I'm going to make with ease. I'm not sure if I need a drag shock or not for this power level - I get the feeling I can use a street valved gas adjustable and be fine on the street and the strip (strip will be rare).

My questions are:

In the 66 A body which leafs do I want to purchase for correct fit and height?
Will I need any adapters or relocation kits?
Will the answer to the first two question depend on which rear end I'm using?
Finally, what length shocks do I need for this setup?

I appreciate all the feedback on this board, so thanks in advance!

 

[pettybludart]

I just did a minitub,spring relocation(3 inches)on my 66 Dart.I have a 8 3/4 with 3.91 s.g and new XHD springs.I,m just waiting on some QA-1 adj. shocks from Summit so I can set it on the ground.Once you put the 8 3/4 in,do you plan on running 14 inch or 15 inch wheels?How tall of tire?(these will raise the car abit)You could also run Comp Engineering 3-way adj. shocks without any mods to springs.Feel free to PM me with any questions.:-D

 

[Hell_Fish]

Are you wanting it 2 inches over stock or over what you have now on old springs? I buoght 6 leafs from ESPO.com and if you need more lift, they will arch them for an additional fee.

 

[OldVart]

For the ~375 HP level, a good set of replacement springs and a good set of HD stock type gas shocks will do the job quite nicely for a street car. I used a set or rear leaf springs from a 70 Duster 340, had them re-arched, and put on a good set of Monroe gas-matic type shocks on my 66 with about the same HP level as you have. It's nor a canyon carver, but it is a good handling and good riding street machine.

 

[stop the beast]

Okay, so for leafs I’m almost 100% going to use the Mancini XHD kit, part MRE19811982. It seams like a great deal at $215 for the set. They advertise a 1” lift over stock – which is near ideal for my taste.

Now, I’m still of the fence about the shocks to use – I’m contemplating opposites of the spectrum. I will use a simple KYB gas-adjust or step up to a QA1 drag setup. My question is how well a drag shock is going to perform under daily use? Is it going to be 4x more for my use?

My issue here is that I haven’t found a high-quality street shock for my mopar – not to say KYB isn’t great but…in the modern compact world the best I’ve seen is bilstein…

 

[stop the beast]

Are you wanting it 2 inches over stock or over what you have now on old springs? I buoght 6 leafs from ESPO.com and if you need more lift, they will arch them for an additional fee.

I'm seeking < 2" over a stock setup in factory fresh condition.

 

[stop the beast]

Quick update: I went ahead with the Mancini HD spring, which have an extra 1" of arch. I also picked up some KYBs and when installing them tonight realized where that extra arch was, right at shock mount.

I had to compress the leafs about an inch to get the lower shock eyelet over the stud. I don't want to drive like this too long and I'm not happy with the rear ride height. I've ordered a set of front lowering hangers to drop the car an inch. On the bright side the rear end handles like a monster compared to before.

I've decided KYBs are definetly worth $35 bucks a pop - I still need install the fronts. I hope they are as easy as the rears - they took twenty minutes.