So I'm going to start on some basic handling upgrades from my 69 Roadrunner. Manual steering car, no front sway bar currently. Im planning on the Firm feel front tubular sway bar, and unfortunately can't afford bilsteins at the same time, but it needs shocks badly. What would you go with for now?? KYB??

I don't know the answer to your dilemma since I don't know all the facts but if I was broke I wouldn't spend money on KYB shocks. I also probably wouldn't put a new Firm Fell tubular bar on the car. If I was broke I'd find a used performance bar or a factory bar and then buy Koni shocks. Last time I checked the Koni shocks were cheaper than the Bilsteins and the Koni shocks are adjustable.

What other details would help? Stock suspension, in good condition but has old shocks up front and sir shocks out back, so anything is likely an improvement. MY car but has been passed on to my oldest son, he got squirrelley accelerating, hit a sign, and now it is in the body shop getting fixed and that ate up a lot of $$. It does tend to sway on hard acceleration, especially if you over correct steering. So I think a sway bar and new shocks should help. 383 4 speed, has aluminum heads etc, not the fastest in the world, but respectable, I realize some supsension updates would benefit, and they may come but not at the moment. I would like to buy one swaybar set up and be done, that will work with future suspension upgrades, so if not Firm Feel then what. My thout was Shocks I can easily upgrade later?

thought the Koni shocks weren't a bolt on in the rear?

Hellwig bar is cheaper than Firm Feel and when you buy from Summit it is free shipping. So you could buy the Koni shocks for the difference. That would take care of the front. Does the car have good tires? Which torsion bars are on it?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hel-55903

Thank you for the Hellwig bar info that looks like a great option at the price!

It has good tires in the sense that they have good tread, not a performance handling tire, Old school set up with 15 x7 Cop wheels......Stock torsion bars as well.

Look at Monroe shocks. I have KYB gas-adjusts on my Cuda and I wouldn’t buy them again. Too harsh, especially on the rear. Monroe’s are a value shock that simply work, no they are not Bilstiens, but they don’t cost any near that price.

I put the Hellwig Bar and Monroe shocks on the Duster and they are a perfect combination in my opinion. Not too harsh and the bar works great!

Thanks, the monroe shocks and hellwig bar are probably what I will do for now

All Road Runners were factory equipped with a front bar.
If the factory mounting points are still there, I'd look for a stock front bar.
Others may chime in, but I think any '66-'69 B body bar would fit, and help improve response,
Not that a stock bar is "better" than aftermarket, but may "better" fit your budget, and let you see how a stock RR handles.

Hi, just want to let you know that I have that 1 3/8 inch Helwig sway bar installed on my big block 69 Coronet with Monro-Matic shocks. It's not a canyon racer by any stretch of the imagination, but the sway bar and shocks work well for driving on the street. The sway bar helps flatten body roll in the corners and the shocks do a good job damping the bumps in the road.
The difference in body roll between the stock sway bar (around 7/8 inch) and the Helwig bar is definitely noticeable, so I would recommend the larger sway bar.
Hope this helps.

thanks for the report ! glad to hear it turned out well for you.

I have yet to find anyone cheaper than these guys - and if you wait for a special weekend like black friday ect the special price is added on!

https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/sway...y?zenid=d6af49b1d7e092f9ad36e8abf0aa46d0

Thanks for the help everyone!

While not a performance shock, Monroe Gas-matic or comparable nitrogen charged shocks are significantly better than plain oil shocks and will have enough oomph to control t-bars up to .96 diameter. These can be a decent budget alternative until you decide to move up to better dampers or step up suspension rates.

PST makes a decent kit for not so much. I had one on my old 67 coronet. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1-8-Front-Sway-Bar-1962-69-Mopar-B-Body/203088269395?fits=Year%3A1969%7CMake%3ADodge&hash=item2f49011053:g:6nsAAOSwxGBdAA7B
Bilstein kit https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1-8-Front-Sway-Bar-1962-69-Mopar-B-Body/203088269395?fits=Year%3A1969%7CMake%3ADodge&hash=item2f49011053:g:6nsAAOSwxGBdAA7B I suspect if you have air shocks your rear springs are spent you might want to get a new set. They are about $280/set

I agree. I had KYB in my Police Diplomat. Not a big fan. Replaced them with NOS Mopar Police shocks I happened to come across. And recently when my Power Wagon needed shocks I went with a set of Monroes and I've been very pleased. Didn't break the bank.

FWIW - I have FirmFeel's tubular sway bar "kit" mounted front and rear of our '65 to flatten the car... ..then I experimented with shocks...



... I ended up real happy with basic Monroe-Matics in front, and 'stiffer' Monroe-Gasmatics in the rear.
This gave me smooth transition to oversteer entering turns that I can manage with throttle through the turn - which is exactly what I was looking for.
- Art

PS - I don't track race my Mopars, I just wanted the '65 to have better handling.

I had the same experience with KYB`s. They were too stiff and harsh for my car. I gave them away and replaced them with Monroes.