Since it's winter and we're down to how men should dress and learning gang signs I'd thought I'd ask for some opinions on possible improvements to my Dart.

I usually try do to make some kind of improvement to the car every winter, sometimes small and sometimes large. This year there really isn't a lot it needs other than the trans pulled and the vent relocated, so I'm looking at what I can do to make it better.

My car is a street/strip pump gas deal and I've taken everything out that I'm willing to remove, it has decent shocks, the fuel system is adequate, really pretty solid and dependable. It will run in the low 6.30's in race trim and maybe better off the brake.

So what is the most bang for the buck?

1: Relocating the battery to the trunk.
2: Tubular adjustable upper control arms with low friction ball joints and adjustable heim end strut rods.

Other ideas?

What year Dart?
I would put the battery in the trunk as far back as possible on the passenger side up close to the outer 1/4 panel before I would spend the money for those upper A arms

Thanks Cab, 69.

I did the battery(s)years ago and it made a BIG difference for me along w/QA-1 heimed strut rods.............

A lot depends on what the car is doing now. Is it deadly consistant from good to poor traction situations? If not, then moving the battery makes sense. I am guessing you want to go faster, or is consistancy more important? The extra cable i needed to move the battery was 15 lbs. Thats a loss off .015 et on weight that you have to get back with traction, that might be available with some chassis tuning.
Look to see if it is possible to move the engine and tranny back at all. Moving 800 lbs of motor, tranny ,etc a 1/2 inch may be worth the trouble. Any chance you could move the rear axle forward?

Greg it consistently spins the tires (radials) on mediocre tracks, that's why I bought John's trans brake that will leave in second. I like fast, but cars that consistently go down the track win races.

So, you want consistancy then! What kind of shocks do you have? My thinking is if you have room for improvement there, that is where i would go.

Moving the bat to the back is a double benefit, 40# off the front, 40# on the right rear. The effects are more then just a 40#,s Make this one of your easy upgrades.

New Viking da's front and rear last year.

Battery 1st - make sure you do the metal rear seat bulkhead panel & cutoff switch that also kills the alternator, 3/8" hold-down bolts, and at least a plastic marine case, and add an engine-chassis ground - then, if you want it dead stable at speed, aftermarket upper control arms will allow more caster to accomplish that.

The benefit of moving weight varies by distance. Measure from the current battery location to where it will go and divide by the wheelbase. The result will be the percent change in weight shifted. Move it 125 inch in a 100 inch wb car, it is like moving 125 percent of the battery wieght.
So, 50 lb moved 125 inch in a 100 inch wb car is like moving 62.5 lbs off the front, and onto the rear. Then recalculate the percentages of front to rear.

Dominator

Get stiff-wall slicks.............Problem solved.........

I have a par of 28 x 10.5S, but you can't run them in a street car shoot out type stuff.

Okay I'll move the battery. From what I've read if I move the battery the car has to have a master power kill? Which switch? Also the best way to wire it? It looks like some guys use a ford solenoid in the trunk so the main power wire to the front isn't hot unless the engine is cranking. With the Moroso box I won't need a bulkhead behind the rear seat so that looks like the simplest rout to go.


Thanks

Gotcha...........

I run a Jeep relay for the starter, its from an early 80s Jeep CJ I think. The jeep relay works like a ford relay but it has a post that has to be grounded by the neutral safety to allow it to start. This is the same way the stock relay works. It has worked well for me for years.

For killing the power with the master switch there is simpler ways to do it but I use a continuous duty solenoid on the inside of the firewall to kill the alternator feed. Once I bought a quality solenoid(Cole Hersee) it has been trouble free.

Okay I'll move the battery. From what I've read if I move the battery the car has to have a master power kill? Which switch?
Thanks
[/quote]
Get a good one that is rated at or above 250 amps
I've wore out the lower rated Moroso and Mr Gasket cheaper ones
Nothing like have a street car that won't start due to that darn switch

with Cab here as I replaced my failing 50 amp? switch with a good 250 amp unit. I had to solder new ends on the cables because the poles were larger. Get the good stuff the first time. I think I bought the push-pull setup from Bickel.

I haven't tried the 4-post cut off switches, not sure how good they are, but I think it would make wiring the alternator to the battery easier.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/lng-45782/overview/

I though about just linking two switches together? My neighbor give me a few 2 post cutoff switches.

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