I like cars to perform well under many different conditions
The Mopar hobby really seems to be segmented. There are the guys that wipe their cars with diapers and sit in lawn chairs at shows discussing factory chalk marks, paint runs and fender tags. There are the drag racers with gutted interiors, pizza cutter front tires and fuel cells in the trunk. The road course and autocross guys discuss slip angles, alignment settings and chassis stiffening modifications. I really don't fit perfectly in any of those groups. I have a shiny car that is fast and can corner well. My car isn't a real R/T so I'm not as nervous driving it as I could be. I was just hoping that other members here had similar interests.
:iamwithstupid:
I'm really not a show car guy at all, I like to see them just not really my thing thou... I live in the sticks kind of & allot of curvy roads here... I personally like my cars to do well in corners, going up hills & down steep grades also, then stop well & do well on 1/4 mile blasts {with proper parts or adjustments}, or just stop-lite to stop-lite, messing with rice rockets or even run down the freeway if needed {little as possible}... I too don't like to be put in one specific group or another either, most my experience is in Drag Racing, but I also have done some Autocross & Sprint Car or amateur cart & road racing some too... IMHFO the Mopar torsion bar front suspension isn't the best for cornering {tend to push/understeer allot}, the Mopar's uni-body chassis needs some serious stiffening & a minimum of sub-frame connectors, front & rear torque boxes, better engine & trans mounts, that don't easily separate/break under cornering & torque stresses etc. {or solid mounts, not fun on a street car thou}... I've had a few Mopars with low ride height {low center of gravity} with wide sticky tires {usually Comp TA's} mostly all B-bodies, 68-70 Chargers & 68-70 RR's {never been a big fan of "too big of hoops/rims" on these cars, but 17's & 18's are good thou, I like a little sidewall for some comfort in the ride}, had tubular K members {great for better oil pan & header fits, stiffening & lightening the front of the car, much better balance}, tubular control arms {Uppers & Lowers}, O/S 1-3/8" front & 1" rear adj. sway bars, {even just poly CA bushings, can make a world of a difference}, adjustable/tunable gas or coil over shocks, bigger better than stock disc brakes, preferably drilled & slotted rotors, better than stock style 4-6 puck calipers, better SS Teflon lined hoses, better than stock M/C & adjustable rear brake proportioning valve... Ten seat that have upper & lower bolsters & good belts, that will actually hold you in the seat much better, of course a great responsive engine, well shifting transmission {auto or manual}, lighten the car where ever possible, without changing it's overall appearances or body lines, hood, bumpers, etc., then also lighten all reciprocating weight, like driveshaft, crankshaft, wheels & tires, trans parts, lastly a really good fuel system, with adequate sized fuel supply & return to keep fuel cool... I've used Capps Automotive now QA1, Ron Jenkins stuff from Magnum Force Racing, some from PST, some from Hotchkiss, some from Uni-steer some from Flaming River, among many other brands, way too many to list.... I'm going to try some new stuff this time around too, specifically better far more adjustable {on the car} upper control arms & possibly shocks, might even go to a 4 bar/4 link w/watts linkage, coil overs set up on the rear, instead of CalTracs/leafs this time "
maybe" too... Last keep as much air out from under the car as possible... I personally don't care what the purist think at all, I build my car for me & not for anyone else, I like to pay homage to the original cars & great body styles thou too, sometimes mix the best of multiple years in a car/project, I can always unbolt stuff & put it back to completely stock too, if I had the whimsy overcome me to have to do so... If the purists happen to like it "great", if they don't I don't really care either, just like most car guys, I would like everyone to like or respect my car & give me the universal thumbs up too, but you can't please everyone, all the time... RSM, XV Motorsports, Mopar performance, Ride-tech, QA1, PST, Hotchkiss, Magnum Force Racing, even the old Capps Automotive stuff... all good stuff for handling improvement, all have pros & cons I'm sure, mostly all about high cost usually.... sorry for the long convoluted post & punctuation...
