I am looking at going down the coil over route in my 69 'bee....
Already got a cage in the car, including front tubes which are tied into the shock absorber mounts. Are there a off the shelf style coil over that will bolt into the shock location, enabling me to remove the torsion bars?
As for the rear, what are the options other than a full on 4 link set up?? I have heard about running a single leaf as a locator and using coilovers in place of the full leaf spring and damper.
I am able to do the work myself, just throwing ideas about at the moment
You will get differing views, but this is just my opinion.
Front end solutions are very expensive, and in my opinion secondary to sorting out the rear (back-halving). Struts are best, probably followed by an Alterkation set up.
If you don't want to go 4 link at the rear then ladder bars are the next best choice. However, the work involved is pretty similar, so you may wish to bite the bullet. Ladder bars are much easier to set up, though.
Its mainly road use, with the occasional bit of strip action. Only had it 18months so not actually hit the track yet.
If I was going down the 4 link route I would probably throw a 9 inch in it, simply as bits are way cheaper and easier to get, as sinfull as it is in a mopar! However I only got a new diff in it last year so that will wait for now!
The main reason for coilovers is to stiffen it up a bit and be able to set the ride height exactly where I want without messing around with axle blocks, which I am not a huge fan of!
At the risk of sounding like a cock, for your application I do not think I would bother with all that work.
I think Super-stock springs are good enough for street use and a much better ride.
You could end up throwing £12K+ at the car and it may be worth questioning if it is appropriate to do so. I should know, I've ruined a good few cars now
If you really want to go the race route, it may be better to sell the car as-is and buy one that has already been done...your car, your wallet, your choice - happy to discuss if you want to PM me and have a chat.
By your comments I'm assuming you are wanting to lower the car? If that's the case there are far cheaper ways of doing it, Calvert racing sell monoleaf springs in 1" and 2 inches lower than stock. You can just wind down the torsion bars at the front to get that where you want it. Add a set of KYB gas shocks and jobs a good 'un.
Blue is the expert here, but in my experience just lowering the front torsion bars can change the geometry a bit and make the front end very "soggy".
Maybe an upgrade to a stiffer torsion bar is the way forwards?
I had a lot of good sound advice against going over the top with mods to my car, but went ahead and did it anyway
I did it mainly to see if i could and have thoroughly enjoyed the learning process and i know i'll be proud to drive something i've built, even if i don't really get much driving improvements from the work.
Depends what you want from it? If you want to spend the money wisely on performance enhancements, then listen carefully to Pete, Blue, Dunc, et al cos they've been there, done that
By your comments I'm assuming you are wanting to lower the car? If that's the case there are far cheaper ways of doing it, Calvert racing sell monoleaf springs in 1" and 2 inches lower than stock. You can just wind down the torsion bars at the front to get that where you want it. Add a set of KYB gas shocks and jobs a good 'un.
Blue is spot on here you will not be able to completely remove the torsion bar without some engineering as it is integral part of the bottom pivot.
Unless you are building a dedicated race car, I would fettle the existing set up and spend your money on the engine and drivetrain.
Here is my set up would I do it on a roadcar? no.
The torsion bar front suspension is a very nice piece of Engineering and can be made to handle well. If you absolutely need extra clearance for headers, pan steering etc (which it sounds like you don't?) then AlterK very good but if not then stick with the standard front. Like Dave said, get dropped spindles if you really want to lower it other than unwinding the torsion bars (I agree that is not a prefect solution but it is cheap and easy). They are available in the US for under $500, 2" drop. Also agree stick with l/springs.
Best approach is to figure out what you really want the suspension to do - sustain 9 second passes, survive an autocross, drive on the road etc etc. I'd suggest that you are very likely to be able to achieve what you want and more keeping the basic architecture. That is the bang for the buck way to do it. If you fancy a challenge, or like the look and are prapred to pay for it, go for whatever you want.
Gavin Chisholm - 414ci W2 Stroker SmallBlock Panther Pink '71 Challenger convertible - in bits Car progress can be viewed here
Thanks for the suggestions. I like the look of the mono springs, will probably go down this route.
I will probably add subframe connectors and tie in to the cage to stiffen it up some more.
As for engine and drivetrain, already got a nice 440 lump, 727, and new diff so that's all good....for now at least!
The only other thing then is to pick the dampers to upgrade too...
