Sports car handling from an A-Body?

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MRGTX

MRGTX

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Hey, guys.

I have been staring at my '73 Dart Sport for about five years now since I last drove it. The stock 318 has pretty well had it (150k miles) and the 904 is due for a rebuild as well...but the body and interior are still in great shape.

Though I'm a Mopar guy at heart, I have been busy with Mustangs in recent years...and I have let the Dart sit and fall into a state of semi-neglect. I know, I know...

Every so often, I get the urge to do this car up right...and that cycle has come around again. So if I invest a bunch of money and time into this thing, I think I want to make it more sports-car like... something like an AAR or "T/A Dart." I know it has been done before... but here's my pipe dream at the moment:

I'm looking into 5.7 Hemi swaps now...may just rebuild a 360. I like the idea of a modern engine making 340hp right out of the box.

I gather that the 904 can bolt up to the 5.7 (after a high performance rebuild, of course)...but I am also looking into 4spd swaps...or a TR6060 If I can afford it.

Aluminum driveshaft

8 3/4" B-Body rear axle, 3.90 ratio

Coilover front suspension kit / stiff front sway bar
Upgrade front calipers/disks and convert rear brakes to disk

Heavy duty shocks/springs all around

Chasis bracing...wherever possible

15" Mini-Lite style wheels with the fattest tires I can fit all around.

What do you guys think? I'm not exactly rolling in cash so this project will take a couple of years... but I have had this car for half of my life so I dont think it's going anywhere soon. :)

I know quite a few A-Bodies have been switched over to 5.7 Hemi power. Are there any commercially available conversion kits for this yet? (I have priced motors...not too bad for a mildly used one).

Can anyone share a link for the best suspension kits?

Has anyone ever swapped the Challenger's Tremec 6060 6spd into these cars?

Thanks for any advice, helpful links or words of wisdom!

-Mike

Below is a pic of my Dart from before it started sitting... looks pretty much the same, just...dirty at the moment. :D


BTW,
This article got me thinking about modding my Dart years ago...cool stuff.
http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0406_1971_dodge_dart/viewall.html
 

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look up the bold beeper & the green brick valiant on google. My computer wouldnt pull up the pages.

Anyways,the both cars show how you can use an inexpensive setup to make a car that handles really well.

IMO, the best suspension setup right now is the hotchkis TVS.

Also just a suggestion, skip the 15s unless you wanna run dot slicks. They don't make much in the way of performance tires(for handling) for those wheels. I wanted to keep the rally's on my duster, but BFG TA's are not cornering tires and slicks are a no go for my street going ride.
 
There's no reason you have to go coil-overs for handling. Mopars had the best starting point for handling in the musclecar era.. Spend money in the right places and your car will handlevery well. If you was a package for your torsion bar front end, look at Hotchkis. If you want an aftermarket front end with coil-overs, look at RMS. BUT, understand that you don't need to go either of these routes to get to your goal.
 
I have a book some where on how to make an A-body handle. his guy did it using all facotry parts as well as rubber bushings, if I remember right. Will start looking for the book again....
 
If you have your heart set on a 5.7 I'd sway more toward an alterkion because of engine fitment.

I don't think the 5.7 is that cost effective. Especially if you have a 360 and some decent parts for it now.

I'd look at 17" minilite looking rims instead of 15". It's really tough to find good 15" tires anymore. 225/50/15 would be about it. So to have all that good suspension stuff on crappy tires is a waste.

That 1971 Dart article in Hot Rod is a car built by my friend Tim Herren. A lot of the "story" in that article is B.S. It's got a 20:1 MP manual steering gear. And 245/50/15 tires that are no longer availible. The owner in that article added the rims and might have done some other small details. But mostly it's how Tim built it.
 
whats your budget? looks like a nice car so its a good blank slate.

personally not a fan of the super road handling old cars as at some point it gets cost prohibitive to make it competitive vs. buying a production car that was actually built to handle well.

that being said i had built a duster a few years back using the firm feel suspension parts, and was very pleased with the quality and fitment of their products.
 
Cap auto products make good stuff. And I agree with the other guys go 16" rims or bigger shorter side wall are good for handling. The 5.7 is a good swap but stroke the 360 lots of power and I built mine on a tight budget it wasn't much more then doing a rebuild. The center of gravity plays a big part also.
Just a few suggestions good luck.
 
ramchargermike said:
Cap auto products make good stuff. And I agree with the other guys go 16" rims or bigger shorter side wall are good for handling. The 5.7 is a good swap but stroke the 360 lots of power and I built mine on a tight budget it wasn't much more then doing a rebuild. The center of gravity plays a big part also.
Just a few suggestions good luck.
Click to expand...

Plus he could also go with the magnum 360, which seems to put out good power on the stock stroke.
 
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