Mopar Muscle Association UK

I wanted to share this one.My first thread.
The day started badly but ended surprisingly well.
I had car booked in for test ,previously tested some months ago.
It begins in petrol station ,with a good hour to spare.Fill up ,crank engine ,battery flat .I have had the car 18 months with no charging problems yet today the alternator decides to fail.
A kind lady in a 4x4 offers to jump start the Dodge and has H/D leads(must be the car),it really restores your faith in people.
I race home ,botch Ford battery on after removing from another vehicle.Get to garage JIT.Mechanic gets in (you've guessed flat battery).
He calmly gets booster connects one to +ve the other to back of alternator and starts cranking.Smoke and sparks pour from the loom by firewall(literally)and I react pulling off lead.
Now I am thinking recovery truck and what an effing ......He now connects to -ve engine bursts into life and in it goes.
After a test drive and about four boost starts,with me watching nervously, it passes.
Its only the second time I've given it a good drive and it sure needs improving.The brakes are terrible,disc conversion and servo needed on front(I was thinking MP kit).Steering is o so light perhaps a smaller steering wheel and car wallows all over the road , so new shocks (what do you guys recommend).Bearing in mind most parts are probably the originals ,not surprising!
I look forward to your comments and suggestions .Thanks AL.

Must be a nice feeling to get the MOT done, well done!


These cars are sent to try us,lol.

Exactly !

Are you gonna post some piccies for us all?

Welcome aboard Al! Ah, the delights of Mopar ownership! The first thing you'll need to do is carefully and thoroughly clean up the electrical bulkhead connector, that's always a cause for concern.

Secondly, well set up and overhauled manual drum brakes can work surprisingly well, so I would have a good old sort outr of those before rushing into the time and expense of a servo and disc conversion, but that's my opinion!

Meanwhile, buy a set of KYB shocks from Mancini or Summit (surprisingly good value!) and that will help out your handling no end.

That should make things a little less scary for starters!

Hi Al,

What Ivor says. Additionally and with regard to the steering, you might think about getting a 'firm feel' box from Flaming River. Steve Hughes is someone I know on here who has one and it transformed his steering. Having said that, the steering on my charger is totally rebuilt (bushes, box etc.) and she doesnt wallow in the slightest. Wheel hardly moves when you are rolling, at any speed and mine is stock.

Its just about continuous little improvements.

Anyway, get some pics up son, dying to see the car.

steering is light becasue it was designed fo cross ply tyres which had a much greater rolling resistance

you can adjust the box for more feel

if it has no sway bar adding one will help

full front end rebuild with selected good quility rubber parts will work wonders

don't be tempted to poly bush everything. some places had delibertaly compliant rubbery bits to avoid fatigue....
others to avoid road noise

check you have correct torsion bars for engine weight

avoid coilover shocks they can cause fatigue cracks in the upper mount at both the front and the back

Kyb Gas sdjust are a nice compromise between standard oil shocks and the usual performance brands. 1960s small truck shock so ideally specified for a lumbering old tractor like a B body

alignment is crucial after rebuild.

don't be tempted to lower it in persuit of better handling
1/2 inch off bump stops is a bare minimum of travel
fatigue craks in chassis and teeth will ensue if you run it on the bump stops.

raising suspension 1 inch and using 2 inch dropped (riased) spindles is the only true way to lower without greif.

Brakes is a whole kettle of fish

buy aftermarket
use later OEM parts if you can find em
build yer own set up from modern bits (some had had success with the right disk spindles and landcruiser calipers)
but the master cylinder for the drum front end needs its anti return valve removing otherwise your disk brakes just stay on.

On any mopar with rubbish brakes i'd check to see if your master cylinder or indeed a junction/distribution block bolted to the inner wing/bulkhead
has a wire comeing out of it

if it does this is the brake failure safety death switch which tiggers a dash light if the brakes fail, this allows youto stare at the light wondering what the hell does that mean? as you take out a bus stop full of people...

what it does is block off the brake circuit it thinks has a loss of presure
vigourous bleeding of the brakes can cause it to trigger

i ran around with no rear brakes for about a year bacuse the brake warning light bulb in the dash had also failed

you undo the cap on the switch/connector about 1/4 of an inch
you will hear the piston inside spring back to where it should be
and then you either enjoy all brakes working or brake fluid comeing out somewhere....

take off front drums
check shoes are good
if uneven ware and you have the facilities scrub the high points down) beware of asbestos)

take the drums and use course emery cloth to bust the glaze caused by 40 years usage

copper slip grease all points in the mechanism but sparingly

put em back on and adjust

you may be surpised....


Dave

What Dave said ...i did this to mine many years ago and the car drove great...Rubber not Poly

Mine is the one in the foreground .
It did share a container with the Lambo and a Mitsibushi.Funny thing is the whole lot had to be fumigated ,due to to spider infestation.Wonder where they came from?
More to follow ...

Thats better !

hi al welcome aboard we have had a very bad time with mp brakes i wouldnt go near them again bad castings crap hoses bleed nipples that dont seat the list goes on do what dave said

Al, if you want to upgrade your brakes it would be worth your while to read this sticky............

http://www.moparuk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29043

Several people on here have used aftermarket disc kits and got poor results. It can be done using all standard off the shelf parts if you don't mind a bit of time spent sourcing the bits.

Happy cruising.

I take on board what you all say.A set af KYB's sounds like money well spent.Apparantly my car has H/D suspension factory option!
Ivor, I will think about my brake set up but its all so old ,has the cast iron single line master and a lot of components need replacing anyway.
Dave ,had the drums off some of the shoes well shot self adjusters missing ,still scraped through though ,so want to replace all including lines .I hope mine doesnt have the death switch !
Sway bar I think there is one (same as anti roll bar?)
Mine is a numbers matching 361 ci B/B .In fact I think everthing matches,but would a 440 weigh about the same ,probably make more sence than rebuilding.Autobox needs a rebuild too,the list goes on.......
Dave ,how do you adjust the steering box for feel ?
Reading the latest comments dissapointing you cant get a good brake kit for reasonable money .
More pictures ,I did say it was original.

Thats a tough old looking beast! I like it!