Front end alignment for drag racing..chamber issues ..*PIC*

So....what have you guys tried to combat this issue below?. I'm good on strut fronts....aftermarket A-arm systems...but my kids Valiant is killing me...this thing looks UGLY leaving and has a nasty wear pattern. I've had the toe set with nose raised 2 inches...Chamber to zero...caster at 6 degrees...I'm thinking of limiting upper A arm but that kills weight transfer. I'm about ready to scrap the whole k member and start from scratch....but we are into racing season. I didn't even see this til yesterday...March Meet photo.

Something is seriously worn out. There has to be some worn out bushings somewhere. I suspect upper and lower control arm bushings. Maybe a set of tubular uppers with heim joints are in order to start.

It's all energy suspension stuff. I'm probably gonna go that route just to give more adjustment. My Dad has always tossed wrecking yard parts at this car when he raced it....so knowing him when he did the disc brake swap no telling what he used...it has 68 Dart springs under the back....SMH.

Have you checked your measurements in 1" travel increments? That will tell a lot about the suspension.

Is the pic when the tires touched down after a wheelstand or is that just under normal acceleration? If after a wheelstand, I would check the bushings in the front rods. There are heim joint kits for those, too now.

Car runs 13.17 @ 4185 Lbs.... My dad used an old dumpster for floor pans and tubs...and trunk floor...couldn't pull the fronts with a rocket booster....LOL

Get the Moog Offset upper control arm bushings. Check the Lower inner control arm bushings. Don't just assume because its all energy suspension stuff, that its All good Now, Still. Get under there and look with a pry bar in hand.

Thought my stuff was All good too. My inner lower control arm bushings were Falling out last time I removed my engine.

I've seen a few A Bodys do that. Short spindle and the front end raised puts the upper A-Arm at a downward angle. Then when the suspension drops the upper arms pivot down and in. The fix? Late model FMJ knuckles are taller. The factory upper ball joint stud is to small so you'll need these:
http://www.doctordiff.com/a-body-upper-ball-joint-tapered-adapter.html.
Now with the upper A arm level or poniting slightly up the camber won't dive so bad when the suspension drops. I'd add the Moog offset bushings in the front of the A-arm as well. As long as the upper arm location is correct it'll look like this.
Doug

4185 are you sure? That is incredibly heavy for an early A body.

I'll ask my Dad when he did the DB swap if he used the 73 Scamp upper arms...
What did the FMJ knuckles come in?
Thanks

Ya...we are sure...most west coast guys have seen this car...my dad was a drag racer in the 60's...off roader in the 70's...and Demo Derby guy in the 80's...Early 90's he built this car with left over derby stuff. The rear leak link bars are threaded power pole down guide anchors and weigh 35 lbs each.Made his own front leaf spring mounts out of 1/4" plate Trunk floor is 3/16 plate from hump to tail light panel. Mini tubs are made from 3/16 plate for sides and 1/8 steel 26" well casing flattened out. Subframe connectors are 2x2 1/4" wall tubing. K member is completely plated in 3/16 steel. 1960's vintage roll bar/ headrest is made from 2" thick wall black pipe with 6x6 1/4 plates sandwiched on the bottom. It has 361 truck cast iron manifolds running out the front of the K member for exhaust. Has PB...heater...carpet. Front seat is from an 80's Mustang and is heavy. He has 4/0 battery cables for both power and ground all the way to the trunk.It has all stock front fendewells.Has a full boat smogger 440/727 in it with 8 3/4 under it.
I keep threatening to put it on a diet...but my Dad freaks out everytime I mention it. Threatens to take the car back from my boy
My boy is 6' 270 football player and the car was wegihed with him in it....its a TANK...not an Early A Body... SMH.

They came in the Volare and the transverse
front end cars(the bars in front went across
the front end)

...now to try to find any of those in Calif....everything here has been crushed....

Are you still using the original style idler arm that has the single bracket for the mount? May want to switch to the later model and add that top brace with the thru bolt instead of the single bracket. My Bro n law had one of those early A bodies and that idler arm would move all over the place.
Let me try to find my old Mopar manual that shows how to modify the brackets so the idler arm, pitman arm and both tie rod ends are the same level on the drag link.

went to Comp Chassis in Phoenix and spent money.... that's what I did.

... Ya...well...you know AJ has a fleet of cars and is trying to put me in the poor house ...LOL

Wait til the the 7.0 Pro car debuts....I'm gonna be selling organs to keep it going. And the S/C dragster...and the Junior Comp...and...and...LOL

I'll have to see...I believe he swapped the entire 73 Scamp K member.

No need to be arrogant. Who is Comp Chassis by the way, any good?

Ron and I have an understanding.... and chop on each other when the chance is provided He's pretty much relegated his own racing to the back burner to support his kid.... who is a great kid with a passion for the sport.

The Canary is a cool old school build. It aint perfect, but it's a family tradition that keeps going. To be perfectly honest, I'd try to modernize it some, and that would start with a mucho better front end set up.... but they do have more irons in the fire than the average joe for sure.

Comp Chassis has done pretty much all the work on both of my cars the 20 years I've been in the desert. I went to them on a few recommendations and have always been satisfied with the work and how the car performs. Living in the plains states to get any work done you pretty much knew your car was going to chassis jail.... Comp has gotten any project I've needed done in a timely manner. The last big visit was years ago when I adopted my dads Duster. I took it in for a full cage and tube K front end complete with coil overs and rack steering. Also had them fix the ladder bar set up.

prior to me molesting the Duster, we also ran a complete K from a 73 era scamp (easy way for disc and big bolt pattern). I seem to recall having to change the pitman arm and idler, but I'm thinking it was more for a clearance issue. I know on wheels up shots, the camber was quite noticeable, but nothing like that coming down.

Ron did they have anymore picts of the car? I'm "assuming" at that point it's still unloaded as it appears pretty close to the beams. might be kind of deceiving though...


FMJ.... the j body was the 80-83 Mirada/Cordoba, like my old land barge.

...back when my daughter drove it..... over 2700 drag strip passes...and still going strong....that was the March Meet...2007 or 2008?

I don't think you can install, bolt up, a 1967 and up A body K member in a 1963 to 1966 A body. The front and rear frame rails are closer together on the early A body cars

I was thinking the same thing.

That is correct. All the suspension pieces themselves will interchange, but the K frame and drag link are narrower on an early A.

The rear end housing and springs are the same width as a late A.

A B-body spindle will work also. It is 3/4" taller and will accept the A-body upper ball joint. Then just use your existing lower ball joint.

....Hmmmmm....that might be a better option...thanks

The late B-body spindle is the same as the FMJ. However it will not fit the early A-body upper ball joint. The only A-Body upper arm that has the "normal" size upper ball joint is 73-76 A-Body.
Doug

Thanks...my Dad is the king of just tossing stuff together. I saw this pic and my jaw dropped. My Dart has NEVER looked like that even carrying both fronts in the air...

Until I resolve it ...the boy is just gonna be driving his S/C dragster...my Dart or working on his 7.0 Pro program.

dr. diff has a kit that allows the early A body ball joint to fit the B body spindles. it consists of a pair of tapered adapters that fit over the A body joint's pins that has the same taper as the B body spindle's hole taper. i used this kit on a 72 duster project using the rebuilt upper control arms and FMJ spindles. worked like a charm ! and a good price to boot ! might be something you may want to consider if you don't have a pair of 73-76 A body upper arms, and your original arms, bushings, and ball joints are in excellent condition.

I think the extra 1200# is murdering your front suspension. Thats ike trying to race with 5 fat guys in the car, your suspension is going to do weird stuff.

As far as mating B Body spindles to A body control arms there are also threaded sleeves available that can weld into your stock upper A arm to receive the larger ball joints. A friend has them in stock so I would imagine they're available through Speedway or Allstar Performance...maybe even Motorstate...

another option for sure. the speedway sleeve number is : 910-34812. price : $7.99ea.

We've found so many issues it's down to a bare K member under the car right now. My dad is freaking out at the stuff I'm tossing....but it's gonna be fixed right. Thanks for the replies and tips...I'll try to post some pics.

I'll bet the lower control arm bushings were beauties.
Doug

I would bet they matched the lower ball joints.

Glad to see a upgrade in progress

Ball joints are in great shape. My dad's "urathane" bushings turned out to be cheap as you can get rubber. Bump stops are gone...top and bottom...completely rotted off. Shocks have ZERO fluid left in them ( he said the used ones transferd the weight better)...ya..it's all not good.

shocks with holes drilled in them to let the oil out was THE thing to do back in the day for fast front rise/weight transfer. i tried that several times, along with completely wore out units. sometimes that would work, other time, it would not.[mostly, the latter]

I am not sure how to link it to the Tech Archives on Front Suspension. BUT the Chrysler front end, drag racing set up, has been saved there.

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/susp/27.html

I think this is the link to the Chrysler recommended settings
Scroll down and click on page 15 or 16

...interesting read....thanks