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how to make Challenger more road friendly #1722808 01/06/15 01:23 AM 01/06/15 01:23 AM
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112 M moparmikethree OP super stock
moparmikethree OP super stock M Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112	I have a 70 Challenger, completely rebuilt that when driving on highway, it is all over the place . Every suspension piece is brand new, and the alignment is correct. I do not have sway bars,would they help? I want to keep factory type parts in it and can't afford a coil over suspension. What would help?

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722809 01/06/15 01:29 AM 01/06/15 01:29 AM
Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 11,836 Florida M mopar346 Let me tell ya about fat chicks!
mopar346 Let me tell ya about fat chicks! M Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 11,836 Florida	They drive pretty well in stock form in my view. Things to check, correct caster, loose steering box, loose steering coupler (square tabs broken), bad tires (assuming radials not bias) and of course loose steering components. I knwo you said completely rebuilt and aligned but that has different meanings to different folks and as for the alignment if you are not familiar with the alignment guy, know he has the right specs and/or so the screen yourself I would be skeptical but I'm that kinda guy. Careful, your character's showing!

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722810 01/06/15 01:36 AM 01/06/15 01:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 4,848 Memphis HemiRick master
HemiRick master Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 4,848 Memphis	All over the place is not very specific description of the symptoms.....Is there play in the steering? Does it drive fine at low speeds? Was the guy who aligned it ever done an old Mopar before? Take care, Rick 68 Coronet R/T 440 & 68 Charger 528 Hemi,and 5 Challengers! 6 cyl, 318, 360, 383, 451

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: HemiRick] #1722811 01/06/15 01:45 AM 01/06/15 01:45 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,976 Chilliwack B.C. Canada R RUNCHARGER I Live Here
RUNCHARGER I Live Here R Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 15,976 Chilliwack B.C. Canada	They drive great with good parts and a proper alignment. You need a second opinion on the alignment I would say. Sheldon

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: RUNCHARGER] #1722812 01/06/15 02:00 AM 01/06/15 02:00 AM
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112 M moparmikethree OP super stock
moparmikethree OP super stock M Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112	Drives very good around town,when at high way speed you have to "saw" the steering wheel. I did the alignment at work. Been a mechanic for 33 years, at Dodge dealer for 28 years

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722813 01/06/15 02:12 AM 01/06/15 02:12 AM
Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 4,693 Wichita G GY3 master
GY3 master G Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 4,693 Wichita	Bias ply tires?

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722814 01/06/15 03:13 AM 01/06/15 03:13 AM
Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 797 WA P pro451bee super stock
pro451bee super stock P Joined: Jan 2006 Posts: 797 WA	How much castor did you get ? Could be a bad gear box ? How was the thrust angle ? No sways will de stabilize . How about the rear leafs and or bush's?Did you thoroughly check the K for cracks and re weld ? Lots of stuff on these old cars to go wrong. Last edited by pro451bee; 01/06/15 03:15 AM.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: pro451bee] #1722815 01/06/15 03:19 AM 01/06/15 03:19 AM
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112 M moparmikethree OP super stock
moparmikethree OP super stock M Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 710 Harrisburg Pa. 17112	Rear leaf springs have new bushings. Six plys right side five on left. I may need a new gear box, what all makes and models will work. I will get a brand new box

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722816 01/06/15 04:02 AM 01/06/15 04:02 AM
Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA Kern Dog Striving for excellence
Kern Dog Striving for excellence Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA	Power steering? Manual steering? What alignment settings did you use? I prefer to run as much caster as I can, 1/8" toe in and at the very least, 1/4 degree on NEG camber. Forget the factory settings of zero or 1 degree of caster. More caster means MORE stability. It can make the car harder to steer at low speeds but with the overboosted power steering these cars have, you'll have no problem.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722817 01/06/15 04:53 AM 01/06/15 04:53 AM
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,723 North Austin KnuckleDuster top fuel
KnuckleDuster top fuel Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,723 North Austin	Quote: Rear leaf springs have new bushings. Six plys right side five on left. I may need a new gear box, what all makes and models will work. I will get a brand new box If you do get another box, be warned it might be as sloppy as what you already have. Don't know who sells a brand new box but I bought a remanned Cardon box and it sucked...BAD! Upgraded to a Firm Feel Stage III and it totally changed the car. Love it! Seemed a little pricey at first,but after wasting almost $200 on the reman I say it's the best money I've spent on the car.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: KnuckleDuster] #1722818 01/06/15 06:49 AM 01/06/15 06:49 AM
Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA Kern Dog Striving for excellence
Kern Dog Striving for excellence Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA	Rick Ehrenberg has said that in most cases, the remanufactured boxes are mainly just cleaned and reassembled with new seals. NO new parts, NO new reaction springs, just new seals. Imagine taking a 200,000 mile 318, taking it apart to clean it then screwing it back together with new gaskets. I'd guess that it would still burn oil and make less power than it did when new.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: Kern Dog] #1722819 01/06/15 09:11 AM 01/06/15 09:11 AM
Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT gdonovan I Live Here
gdonovan I Live Here Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT	Quote: Power steering? Manual steering? What alignment settings did you use? I prefer to run as much caster as I can, 1/8" toe in and at the very least, 1/4 degree on NEG camber. Forget the factory settings of zero or 1 degree of caster. More caster means MORE stability. It can make the car harder to steer at low speeds but with the overboosted power steering these cars have, you'll have no problem. I suspect a loose part/crack or alignment issue. I know the lower bushing in my GTX manual box is shot but the car tracks straight and true down the highway. Only time it was an issue was when I had the drum brakes on the car and it would jog left-right-left when braking hard. Now that it has the big discs it stops without jogging around. Ordering a new FF box this year, I'm going back to power steering as my street racing days have been over for some time now. "I think its got a hemi"

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722820 01/06/15 10:54 AM 01/06/15 10:54 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,444 Indiana Y YO7_A66 master
YO7_A66 master Y Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,444 Indiana	""I do not have sway bars,would they help?"" My first Challenger (74) did not have sway bars. It drove well at lower speeds but when I was highway cruising speeds and I hit a bump, it started wondering around. My current Challenger has the stock front sway bar and a 3/4" rear sway bar and it drives a lot better at highway speeds than my 74. It is very tight at highway speeds now. If you do not find anything wrong underneath the car, then you might want to look into at least a front sway bar (1-1/8" or so). 1970 YO7 A66 [Canadian Export] F8 Challenger 340 (Currently in shop for stroker assy.)

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: YO7_A66] #1722821 01/06/15 11:15 AM 01/06/15 11:15 AM
Joined: Aug 2013 Posts: 518 Georgia S Steve Bryant mopar
Steve Bryant mopar S Joined: Aug 2013 Posts: 518 Georgia	Adding a front sway bar to my '70 Cuda really smoothed things out for me too. However, I only noticed the extra stability whipping into my neighborhood at faster speeds or anything that resembled a drastic or abrupt movement.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: YO7_A66] #1722822 01/06/15 11:21 AM 01/06/15 11:21 AM
Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT gdonovan I Live Here
gdonovan I Live Here Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT	Quote: ""I do not have sway bars,would they help?"" My first Challenger (74) did not have sway bars. It drove well at lower speeds but when I was highway cruising speeds and I hit a bump, it started wondering around. My current Challenger has the stock front sway bar and a 3/4" rear sway bar and it drives a lot better at highway speeds than my 74. It is very tight at highway speeds now. If you do not find anything wrong underneath the car, then you might want to look into at least a front sway bar (1-1/8" or so). I have driven the GTX with and without the swaybar (to aid in racing) and never noted a difference at highway speeds. Swaybar should make no difference if everything else is up to par. Chrysler sold millions of cars without one and wandering on the highway was not a noted issue. "I think its got a hemi"

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: KnuckleDuster] #1722823 01/06/15 11:23 AM 01/06/15 11:23 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 4,244 Canada Kam*Kuda master
Kam*Kuda master Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 4,244 Canada	I did the same. The firm feel made a huge difference. I used the Addco sway bars. That helps lots with body roll. the biggest difference was better tires Quote: Quote: Rear leaf springs have new bushings. Six plys right side five on left. I may need a new gear box, what all makes and models will work. I will get a brand new box If you do get another box, be warned it might be as sloppy as what you already have. Don't know who sells a brand new box but I bought a remanned Cardon box and it sucked...BAD! Upgraded to a Firm Feel Stage III and it totally changed the car. Love it! Seemed a little pricey at first,but after wasting almost $200 on the reman I say it's the best money I've spent on the car. 1970 Barracuda Convertible 1968 Satellite Street Strip car 1654.5 Mustang 1955 Land Rover

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: gdonovan] #1722824 01/06/15 11:40 AM 01/06/15 11:40 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,444 Indiana Y YO7_A66 master
YO7_A66 master Y Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,444 Indiana	""It drove well at lower speeds but when I was highway cruising speeds and I hit a bump, it started wondering around."" ""I have driven the GTX with and without the swaybar (to aid in racing) and never noted a difference at highway speeds."" Mine only wondered after hitting bumps at highway speeds. It just felt "squishy" without the sway bar(s). I guess it could have been low cost shocks too. 1970 YO7 A66 [Canadian Export] F8 Challenger 340 (Currently in shop for stroker assy.)

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: YO7_A66] #1722825 01/06/15 12:09 PM 01/06/15 12:09 PM
Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT gdonovan I Live Here
gdonovan I Live Here Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 10,847 Oakdale CT	Quote: Mine only wondered after hitting bumps at highway speeds. It just felt "squishy" without the sway bar(s). I guess it could have been low cost shocks too. Spring rates might be a factor, GTX is fairly stiff. "I think its got a hemi"

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722826 01/06/15 01:09 PM 01/06/15 01:09 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,394 Pikes Peak Country T TC@HP2 master
TC@HP2 master T Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 5,394 Pikes Peak Country	Quote: Drives very good around town,when at high way speed you have to "saw" the steering wheel. I did the alignment at work. Been a mechanic for 33 years, at Dodge dealer for 28 years If your sawing the wheel, it sounds like you have a worn out steering box, worn out box coupler, or some pretty wide bias ply tires. If everything else is new but the box and/or coupler, I'd suspect the box and the coupler are the culprits. I'd second the suggestion to get a rebuilt Firm Feel box and associated coupler rebuild kit. There also is the Borgeson box upgrade that could be utilized, but it will cost a bit more than the Firm Feel box. I'd also update your alignment specs to be more aggressive if you are using radial tires. Radials will tolerate a wider range of specs than bias ply. Us the specs for a 2005 Mustang to get things a bit more modern. This also will enhance the feel with increased caster and some negative camber. A front sway bar wouldn't be a bad addition, either.

Re: how to make Challenger more road friendly [Re: moparmikethree] #1722827 01/06/15 01:12 PM 01/06/15 01:12 PM
Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 4,454 Morristown Tn. 7 71birdJ68 master
71birdJ68 master 7 Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 4,454 Morristown Tn.	I used to regularly drive 300 miles one way in a B body 318 car without a sway bar at 80 MPH, and never had any issues with it acting like he described. Something is wrong somewhere. With a little engine, you don't need a sway bar, that's why they didn't install them.

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