Any suggestions - other than put an anchor in the boot ?

Garp · Post by **Garp** » Sun Feb 28, 16 6:26 pm

hi all,
So this is possibly a MOPAR 101 type question and may seem a tad' naive however I'm gonna ask it anyways .....
the ride in my 74 Challenger is quite hard, you feel the bumps and you feel the catseyes if you hit them - not hear them, actually feel them.
Coupled with this, the tail is light as a feather and if you hit a sizeable pothole you can feel the rear break loose for an instant and get "all squirrely"
Is this just the way things rode in the 70's. Obviously if we had beautifully maintained wide roads (which we don't - god knows why we pay our council tax) I wouldn't feel it half as much .... is it just a characteristic of a 70's Dodge, if so I will get on and enjoy it, if not, any tricks for softening the ride and increasing the purchase on the tarmac ?
One of my oldest friends is a gal who "likes her pies" and when I took her and her husband for a spin, she sat in the back - I got a load more traction but also managed to get the tyre to scrape up uinderneath the wheel arch - when questioned about the scraping noise I didn't have the heart to tell her and just said it was a wheel bearing !!!
Cheeers Chaps

challenger · Post by **challenger** » Sun Feb 28, 16 9:03 pm

firstly what size wheels you running ? with minimal rubber mounting on the rear end suspension you will always feel bumps and cats eyes etc on an e body, going from experience b body,s drive a whole lot better, i use upgraded springs and shocks but cant say its ever skipped from pot holes, maybe you have weak springs and strong shocks. even with your friend being a heavey hitter you shouldnt get that much travel with decent springs

Bozwell · Post by **Bozwell** » Sun Feb 28, 16 9:51 pm

tyre pressures too high.

MilesnMiles · Post by **MilesnMiles** » Sun Feb 28, 16 10:38 pm

Springs, bushings and shox and roll bars
I once went 290 miles to the Nats in a 1970 Challenger; great looking car.
Handled like a barge, terrible. My B body would run rings around it I suspect.
Probably need to speak to Ade W. He has the Hotchkiss kit and reports a really good handling car. Probably run rings round my B body
440 helps too

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Mon Feb 29, 16 6:57 am

Bozwell wrote:tyre pressures too high.

My first thought, also how old are the tyres?

Garp · Post by **Garp** » Mon Feb 29, 16 9:24 am

Blue wrote:
Bozwell wrote:tyre pressures too high.
My first thought, also how old are the tyres?

Tyres are new BFG's - running a slightly larger/wider set on the rear with pressures around 32 all round. To be fair, I just guessed these pressures based on my Volvo V70 ..... daft I suspect.
I'm guessing that perhaps less stiff shocks in order ? I had read just last night about the Hotchkis setup - pricey but will make the world of difference apparently....
Ta'

Garp · Post by **Garp** » Mon Feb 29, 16 9:27 am

challenger wrote:firstly what size wheels you running ? with minimal rubber mounting on the rear end suspension you will always feel bumps and cats eyes etc on an e body, going from experience b body,s drive a whole lot better, i use upgraded springs and shocks but cant say its ever skipped from pot holes, maybe you have weak springs and strong shocks. even with your friend being a heavey hitter you shouldnt get that much travel with decent springs

....this had also occurred to me - one "big bird" in the back shouldn't cause that much travel but then thought about how many of these cars actually ever took four occupants ....

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Feb 29, 16 9:30 am

I would have thought around 25psi would be right in a small block.

Try different pressures and decide on what suits you best for your driving style.

Garp · Post by **Garp** » Mon Feb 29, 16 9:37 am

Pete wrote:I would have thought around 25psi would be right in a small block.

Try different pressures and decide on what suits you best for your driving style.

Pete,
I just googled that and 25 is better - cheaper to let some air out than redo suspension - Cheers

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Mon Feb 29, 16 9:50 am

Yea, 25 is about what I normally use at the rear, it's a bit suck it and see but 32 is too high I think. I use the highly scientific method of driving slowly through water and looking at the pattern left on the road, the least pressure it takes to give a full even contact patch is what I use. You can't use the recommended pressures from way back when because we all use different tyres to the originals, and you will need to lower them some.