I'm trying to put a list together of the most "Bang for the buck" suspension upgrades to a 1973 charger se (see Sig. for info) Please put at top of the list "Bang for the buck" upgrades that are relatively easy to do for a guy with intermediate automotive skills. I don't have a lift but a jack, stands and basic tools. I'm not looking for a track car but an everyday driver with nimble responsive handling.

You might want to ask one of the mods to move this question to the "handling tech" sub-forum. You should get several responses there.

AFAIK, one area you might want to look into is the rubber isolators between the k-frame and front frame rails. Replacing those with solid aluminum blocks will help. I can't remember which vendor sells those blocks though.

Mike.

On the isolators, Firm Feel sells, I believe, the aluminum version.

First step is to make sure all joints and bushings are in good shape... tie rod ends, ball joints ect. If in doubt or in case of problem, a basic front end rebuild with good parts is needed. Quality varies on "kits"... I believe Moog is still good. For a moderate build, rubber bushings, especially the lower control arms are best. Firm Feel or others can get the kit you need. Beyond that, a decent set of shocks would be important. A premium parts store gas shock would do fine for a stock'ish application if the current shocks are weak. Next step would be decent radials. Next step would be alignment. OE specs were not so good for handling with radial tires. .5 degree negative camber and 1 to 5 degrees positive caster (more is better) really help. Getting these specs will probably require parts changes. Either offset upper control arm bushings (Moog) or aftermarket upper control arms.

It honestly depends on several factors. What's your budget like? What's the purpose of the vehicle? What kind of "look" are you going for (i.e. big or small wheels?)?

I don't have a lift and have less than basic automotive know how and am almost done installing all of the suspension under my Dart. I've got a Hotchkis TVS, 4 wheel disc brakes, and some other goodies.

I'd have to say, best "bang for your buck", get a full suspension rebuild (MOOG parts from Rockauto, sometimes PST is ok), UCA offset bushings, some Bilstein shocks (Firmfeel may have them for a later B), and sway bars (either factory or from the aftermarket - not sure who makes sway bars for a later B). Wheels and tires depends on your taste, but I believe you can fit a pretty hefty tire under a later B with a 17" wheel.

Larger torsion bars. I used the 0.96" bars in my '71 Charger, along with a sway bar. I also rebuilt the suspension with poly bushings.
Rear springs were rebuilt at a local shop with an extra leaf set ti stiffen the front spring section. The spring modification and new shocks eliminated wheel hop, and the stiffer springs help reduce understeer with the front suspension upgrades.

Xyxxjx, welcome to Moparts! 1973 b-bodies are fun cars and you'll enjoy yours. As you read on here, lots of great info from our members and begining with the suspension on that car is a good place to start. As mentioned, what is your budget like, that will determine what upgrades/repairs you should start with. First start by getting under your car and take notes what is worn underneath on your frontend. Are the bushings worn, cracked or 'ballooned'? Are the seals cracked and and needing grease? A few new parts in key suspension ereas will make a big diffrence. Polygraphite is liked by most, but can be a bit stiffer than most like, So rubber of a good quality quality like Moog brand is probably best for stock suspension improvements. they also offer an offset upper control arm bushing that is much better than stock ones, but you probably won't need that if you go to tubular upper control arms. If you want tubular arms, I personally like the Firm Feel Inc and Magnum Force units. to be honest, I've had 2 set of Magnum Force on my cars and will be buying another set for my current project. Thos can be purchaed as standard adjustable and double adjustable. I really like the adjustable as it helps to dial in suspension tuning.

After all those are done, swaybars are a great add on and easy to do. I recommend something at least 1' in diameter will work on the front and a maximum rear diamiter one of .80 will do fine one the rear. Speaking of rear, how are your leaf spring bushings? Replacing worn pieces in the rear will help a little bit if your springs are in good shape.

Shocks are next as they can be done in a nice afternoon and many choices are available. I've used KYB's with nice results, but can be a bit 'dated tech' for some folks. I'm running a set of Blisteins I bought from Hotchkis Suspension for a car and were super nice. They may not offer them anymore, but other sources do and might be a cheaper way into better handeling than other options out there.

Steering box is your next step. If you have power or manual, those can be easily upgraded and Firm Feel Inc once again is a shop I can recommend. Their Manual steering boxes with faster ratio worm gear is a great way to improve steering (unless you have to park you car in a tight space). if you have power steering, they have rebuilt boxes with 3 "stages" of firmness for a much better 'road feel' to them (I recomend the stage 2, really is a nice set up). While your at it, they offer a fast ratio pitman arm kit that wil make turning your car a lot more fun. Caution though, the fast ratio arm had been known to interfere with exhaust header clearance and may not fit. If you already have headers or want to install some in the future, you will have to check around to see which ones will fit.

Torsion bars are a huge diffrence in handeling for a car. Bigger bars ( but not too big) will be like night and day. On a big car like yours, at least 1' inch diamiter will be needed. New units can be had and the only companies I would recommend for those are Firm Feel incs, Hotchkis and early production Mopar Performance.

Another thing most folks don't realize is subframe connectors will help stiffen the ride in the body, making for a better road feel. Since you don't have a welder, Hotchkis and Magnum Force have bolt in ones that can be done at home and no floor pan modifications to make them fit.

Tires will be determined by the rims you have. 14-15 inch rims will do nice with Cooper Cobra tires. They look great, handle better than stock, cheaper than BFG's and have good street/road feel to them. If you are upgrading to 16'+ plus wheels, your choices will be endless, so you will need to decide that then you get your wheel size figured out. While your at it, check your brakes out. Never hurts to have a nice set of pads and rotors one your car. I have had good results with raybestos for driver cars.

there are lots you can do later on with the suspension, but all these listed can be done at home with average tools (except the torsion bars and bushing, there are aftermarket tools you can get for those) and average garage skills. hope this helps you out, and hope you get to enjoy your hard work soon!

what about the sector support kit?
http://www.firmfeel.com/b_body_mopar_sector_support_kit.html

1st thing is to call springs and things and get the front end rebuild kit. They have several types depending on you budget. You can also upgrade the T-bars, add front and rear sway bars, look online for a used PST front bar. I had one on a 67 coronet, worked great. As for rear springs if yours are ok you might want to drop the rear an inch w/ blocks. You can get a bunch of meat under a Gen III charger so that shouldn't be a problem. I'd drop the front at least 1.5" round it out w/ a decent set of shocks and you should have a well handling car that doesn't break your wallet.

Don't skimp on the front end rubber. I used standard parts-store quality when I replaced all the ball joints and bushings. In less than two years of casual driving, some of the rubber boots (protection cups) are starting to split so grease is exiting the joints and dirt is entering.

I would definitely stick with a brand name like Moog. On my E-Body, I also added a sway-bar and stiffer torsion bars, moderate shocks, radials and the car is rock solid.

A Steering Box replacement should be seriously considered. I didn't replace mine when the motor was out and I regret in in a major way since they are not that easy to remove. Even with all the improvements I made, the car would still shimmy a little over bumps and then it started to leak! The steering box is usually the last to be replaced and I should have made it a priority.

Lastly, this is a great time to clean and coat the underside if you haven't done so already. A little cleaning work and some good base epoxy will make things real pretty!

Since your asking for upgrades, I'll assume all the basics are in good working order.

Best bang for the buck, modern alignment. $100 As much positive caster as possible up t around 5*, zero to -1* camber, .125" total toe in. Simple solution, take it to your shop and ask for 2005 Mustang specs. they won't be able to get it there, but the closer they get, the better. May not be able to do this yourself, but it is a bargain for how it will transform the feel of the car.

Next up, I'd go for better shocks. I believe Firm Feel offers these in Bilsteins for the 3rd gen Chargers for $100 each. Or you can adapt to Camaro or Chevelle units and maybe save a few bucks in the process.

After that, although this may be interchangeable with the shocks for #2, Bigger sway bars. Careful shopping should net these for under $200 front or rear. However, stepping up to really big, tubular, or adjustable versions may run around $375 per end.


Those are the three biggest things you can do for a street cruiser. After that you can decide if you want to pursue other upgrades like higher spring rates, solid frame bushings, 17"+ sized wheels and tires, etc.

Pay a visit or make a call to Firm Feel. They tend to have the most product line and selection for 3rd Gen B Bodies.

Steering box...need something with more road feel
Upper Control Arms....allow to align with more caster
Shocks...Something nice, Bilstein
Torsion Bars...larger size
might think about swaybars front and rear too.

Wow, so many answers. Great info. I should say that i still have the original rims on, so i definitely want much beefier tires. I'm planning on 295/50/r15 in the rear not sure about the front but i would like as wide as possible. Anyone know how wide i can go in the front? I don't like the look of the tires being tucked in under the body, i want mine as far out as legally possible in California. I prefer the look of the tires being almost flush with the body without scraping of course. Is this just a matter of backspacing?

I might have to do this in a couple of stages since the budget right now probably is in the 1000$, range give take a bit (not including tires and rims here) I'll have more $ in a few months. So it sounds like the list might go something like this:

Basic check of bushings ball joints etc.
Sways
shocks
upper control arm or moog offset
wheels
alignment (wouldn't it make sense to do the alignment last here?)
then when i get a bit more $ torsion bars and steering box

Old video if the Charger with hard street tires (255x60x15" BFG T/A)
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1031347024164

Be careful on how wide you go on your front tires. The car may want to road wander/follow ruts. I was dealing with the same issue swapped to stock width tires, all of the dartiness/rut following went away. All of it. I don't know where the tipping point is, and I havent measured the width of mine but a WAG would be that they were around 10" wide or so. I never woukd have guessed that tire width would make a car feel so shifty.