Original hemi dart information

[Liteweight]

Originally Posted by bob george

Chrysler sent out a service bullitin to all dealers on the suspension modifications.There were no parts just instructions as how to lengthen the upper control arms and the angle to gain positive caster.It was also mentioned to bend the idler arm and pitman arm down.

Jim, Bob
I've heard both scenarios. Bob, have you seen one of those bulletin's, do you have one or have access to one?. Please pm me if you don't want to put the answer up publically.

I know my current LO didn't have any of those mods & it had all the original OEM Hurst installed parts on it including the 4 piston 4 1/2" Kelsey Hayes disc assemblies. It was the most evil handling Mopar I have EVER owned because of the dropped K member & the resulting bump steer. I decided to check out what made this thing such a hell ride to drive. Backed off the torsion bars & did a toe check from full compression to full extension. I couldn't believe it!!!!. Just short of 1" of bump steer. AND, the tires weren't changing @ the same rate as per C/L of the car.
Since I street drive this car quite a bit, I needed to fix this situation, or someone was going to get hurt & one very shiney Dart was going to get bent up.
Here's what I did to take the ride from hell into one of the best handling mopars I've owned. It now has less than 1/8" bump steer through it's entire suspension travel, has less than 1/2* of camber change, & 5* of caster.
All the original parts removed were put into boxes & safely stored for the next owner/s

Lower control arms remain stock with poly bushings, center link/ inner tie rod heights were leveled by shimming the steering box & idler arm. The forward strut bars were replaced with a solid front mount & heim ends so the lower ball joints don't move fore or aft, specially on a hard brake application.
(Note the nice bodywork/ valve cover clearancing Hurst did for engine fitment via 5 lb ball peen)
Brake assemblies were replaced with Willwoods because they're more reliable than parts that are 45 years old






The tie rod assemblies were replaced with DOM tubing & heim ends. This allows me to raise or lower the rod end heights with shims so the arc of travel is the same as the spindle



The adjustable upper control arms are essentually doing what Chrysler told the racers to do. Lengthen it, but with the added advantage of placing the upper ball joint just about anywhere you want it to be. ie-camber & caster.



liteweight

[bob george]

We had boxes of old bullitins and old mags as well as articles on mopars starting back in 1963.I gave most of the stuff to Jim Kramer and others years ago.I may still have some in the files or in the shop attic.If I ever take a mind to look I will.
With the availability of offset bushings,offset bolts and adjustable A arms the problem is pretty much eliminated.A lot of guys install the later big joint parts from later model mopars also.
I do have an old hand drawing from the Ramchargers showing adding 3/4" to the length of the front of the upper A arm and 1/2" to the back.It also described bending the idler arm and pitman arm down 1/4"/3/8".
I would suggest the aforementioned corrections rather than the cut and weld process.

[Liteweight]

Thanx Bob for that info
Any chance of scanning that bulletin from Ramchargers & either posting it here ---or----- I sure would like a copy ---just to have you know.
I don't like to cut & weld or heat to bend any, "as cast" front end parts. I just don't get a warm & fuzzy, if'n you know what I mean

liteweight

[Ghost Missle]

Daryl,

I don't know of too many guys who drive their original LO Darts on the
street like you do but anybody that wants a Hemi A-body to steer, ride
and handle supremely well might want to consider using one of the HDK
custom K-frames that my brother makes.

It's a completely bolt-in (and reversible) procedure that uses rack and pinion
steering and coil over shocks. He has also devised a very strong bolt-in upper
shock support that does not put loads on the inner fenders.

You can have wipers, heater (and A/C!) and if not using a cross-ram, a flat
hood.

One unique design feature of this unit is that the front track can be 3"
narrower than Magnum Force and others that push the front wheels out
to the fender openings. This can allow a taller and more tucked in tire than
other conversions

There is no bump steer - 0 camber change throughout the full travel and correct
ackerman effect. Over 5" of suspension travel and steers like a new Honda.

I wouldn't have mentioned such a sacrilege but I see that you have already
exchanged a lot of components for tubular and heim jointed items so I don't feel
so bad about making the suggestion. In this case, as in yours, it is a simple
matter to put it all back the way it was.

It's nice having all of that clearance without the torsion bars or drag link
in the way. The headers will litteraly fall on the ground when unbolted.

If you insist on the original engine positioning (no heater and mandatory hood
scoop) retaining the torsion bars and drag link, he is now developing
a conversion for Skypower (forum member here) that uses a modified stock
K-member, one of the new small steering boxes and TTi Hemi A-body headers.

He has been building these conversions for over 20 years so the current
version is very evolved and well sorted. One of his early ones (528 Hemi
Duster) has over 60,000 not-so-gentle but trouble free street miles on it.

Probably not much interest here but he has motor mounts for all Mopar
V-8's including the Gen III Hemis. He has shipped these conversions to
Australia and Columbia. Some guys have even installed GM LS motors
and the in one instance, a big-block Ford(!).

If anyone wants, I can supply contact info and I have pictures.......lots of
pictures.

[Skypower]

I will x2 all that was just said above. Denny makes some awesome front end stuff. He is very knowledgable about Hemi's in A bodies and all the little things it takes to make them work and drive like they really should.

[JCShiels]

Thanks for all the great information on the suspension modifications! Regarding what I said about receiving components from Chrysler was what I assumed at the time (43-44 years ago!). There was certainly a discussion at the time of revised geometry for the front ends and I thought they had parts in hand but possibility they were parts modified as recommended by the bulletin. They may not even have had parts at all, so I will modify my original statement to say "I thought they got parts from Chrysler". Anyway, the resulting discussion was constructive!

[bob george]

Originally Posted by JCShiels

Thanks for all the great information on the suspension modifications! Regarding what I said about receiving components from Chrysler was what I assumed at the time (43-44 years ago!). There was certainly a discussion at the time of revised geometry for the front ends and I thought they had parts in hand but possibility they were parts modified as recommended by the bulletin. They may not even have had parts at all, so I will modify my original statement to say "I thought they got parts from Chrysler". Anyway, the resulting discussion was constructive!

Jim, as usual you have gathered a lot of great information about mopar history.I was fortunate enough to be working at HaynesSmith Motor Sales in Marion ,Illinois while attending Southern Illnois Univ at Carbondale.
A lot of information came direct from Chrysler and a lot of unorthodox methods for modifications were shared but modified parts were not for liability reasons. Lee Smith made a lot of parts at his machine shop back then.I still have some of his unique parts.
With respect.
Bob

[dblizzo]

Originally Posted by Liteweight

These are the only 2 pictures I have of Cookie Duster. They weren't PDF, just saved as, from ebay auction & ????. I tryed resizing, but they just lose they're clarity.Anyone ???
If you look at the C piller on the first picture it looks like it has a SS/B designation.





Welcome to my nightmare

liteweight

Liteweight, I have some info for you. I was searching the net for anything on the "Cookie Duster". I really didn't think anything would pop up, but this thread did. Anyway, the Cookie Duster was my dad's (Tommy Blowe) race car. He bought it new from a dealer in MD. He lived in northern virginia and raced a lot in Manassas. He owned the car until about 1972 and sold it to some unknown guy from Maryland. He still has a bunch of photos of the car. If you need any additional information, PM me and I'll give you his info

[John Boland]

Originally Posted by dblizzo

Liteweight, I have some info for you. I was searching the net for anything on the "Cookie Duster". I really didn't think anything would pop up, but this thread did. Anyway, the Cookie Duster was my dad's (Tommy Blowe) race car. He bought it new from a dealer in MD. He lived in northern virginia and raced a lot in Manassas. He owned the car until about 1972 and sold it to some unknown guy from Maryland. He still has a bunch of photos of the car. If you need any additional information, PM me and I'll give you his info

I am pretty sure I recall seeing the Cookie Duster race at Capital in the mid 70s. The car used to show up with Greg Avent's hemi Road Runner. I think the owner's 1st name might have been Clyde.

[dblizzo]

Not sure what you meant the cookie duster's first owner was named Clyde or Clyde was owner of the roadrunner? Clyde may have bought the car from my dad Tommy. My dad was the 1st owner of it and painted the car himself since that's what he did as a profession.