QA1 suspension

[Vince63fury]

Can you guys give me some feedback on the QA1 suspension systems? Good, bad, is it worth the investment?
Going on a 63 plymouth fury

 

[Kern Dog]

What are your goals for the car?
ALL aftermarket front end kits are a step down from stock when durability is concerned.
They may save weight (Not much) but they are not built to resist lateral movement of the frame rails like a true "K" member can.
If the goal is to look modern, they will give you that. The tubular design looks different than the stamped steel OEM parts. The steering rack does too.
Take note that there are no recorded cases where an aftermarket front end has been proven to be faster in autocross than a well sorted stock based setup. Those that use coil over springs/shocks move weight forward and UP compared to stock.
Kits that eliminate torsion bars will have better exhaust and oil pan clearance. If you constantly need to change rod bearings or oil pan gaskets, I can see the appeal.

Drag race car, low mile cruiser? Sure...Go for it.
A car driven on the street where potholes exist? The aftermarket stuff will break far sooner than anything original will.

 

[Vince63fury]

Thanks for the info KD. It's a low milage weekend car show cruiser. Sounds like i should leave the front end alone. It currently has air shocks on the rear. Would like to upgrade from that setup.

 

[Kern Dog]

The cost of those aftermarket setups is a huge turnoff as well.
Some gravitate to them because they come all fresh and new, shiny and nice looking with new hardware and instructions. Owners can often do the swaps themselves in their own garages.
Restoring a stock setup requires disassembly, cleaning, painting and sometimes some welding. Not everyone can paint or weld.
You can restore the stock stuff for about half the price but there will be more labor involved. Torsion bars, shocks, sway bar, bushings-ball joints, even a Borgeson steering box will come in far cheaper and retain OEM durability and ride quality. I've read from many that complain about reduced ride quality with aftermarket front ends. In some cases, the turning radius is much wider as well. A buddy of mine installed a Magnum Force kit in his Valiant. It rides poorly and makes U turns like a long bed crew cab truck.

 

[4mulas]

Well put Kern dog

 

[70chall440]

I've never owned or used one of the new tubular systems but to me the engineering seems to be a compromise. As Kern dog stated, for a drag car it makes sense but for a street car I personally just cannot get my head around swapping out the factory K frame and T bars, especially given the amount of performance and better quality components on the market (Firm Feel, QA1, Bilstein, etc.).

The actual truth is that the vast majority of classic Mopar owners barely drive their cars enough to know how they handle, steer and brake in stock form let alone any enhancements. All this said, I firmly believe in this adage "your car, your money".

 

[dragrazor]

Can you guys give me some feedback on the QA1 suspension systems? Good, bad, is it worth the investment?
Going on a 63 plymouth fury

Got the system while still being manufactured in S E Iowa on my 66 Charger, and very proud of it. Great workmanship and detail. Fit as should W/O any modification.....Absolutely would install again

 

[F4R/T]

You loose so much when swapping over.. These cars weren’t made for those... spot on KD.

 

[dvw]

I've installed a QA 1 sytem in a 64 Fury. To be honest I wasn't impressed. Weight savings is mostly in the brakes. The Bump steer takes a ton of shim to get close. Like inches worth of shim. Drag race? Trim a stock K frame. Make strut rods and steering column shaft from .090" moly tube. 6 cylinder torsion bars. Handling? Still can trim the K frame and do the shafts, gusset the lower arms, big aftermarket sway bar and big torsion bars.
Doug

 

[peabodyracin]

Full disclosure: I ran the powder coating shop that paints QA1 stuff. Retired from there 6 years ago now. QA1 actually used two of my cars for their fit up and final testing work. Both were 69 B bodies. The first was a roller project car but the second was a car that I'd had for a number of years and drove regularly in the summer. I therefore had before and after experience with driving the car. I believe they still have a video of the car on line, showing the conversion. If you see an orange 69 Coronet in their video that was my car.

They kept that second car for a good portion of a winter doing all their final testing. While they were at it I was able to stop by and see how things progressed. When they were done I got to keep the setup in the car. I was very happy with how the car handled afterward. Access underneath was much improved. The tubular K frame is lighter than the OEM. I want to say it was about 16 pounds lighter, but can't recall for certain.

I sold the car a few years later. The guy who bought it drives it hard. So hard it hurts to see it sometimes. The front end has held up just fine. No issues. I see him from time to time and he always comments how much he likes the front suspension setup.

That said, I've no stake in QA1 nor am I beholding to them in anyway. I was consistently impressed with the guys there who were designing and working on this stuff. Young, smart, enthusiastic and professional. I used to love driving our delivery truck there when we were short a driver. It gave me the opportunity to wander around a bit and see what else they were cooking up.

 

[Project66]

I installed QA1 strut rods and LCAs on my '66 Satellite about a year ago. These are my observations:

+ Installation of strut rods and LCA was simple and straight forward. They seem to do everything at least as well as the old parts.
+ No problems with alignment.
+ The adjustable strut rods allowed us to set up the front end the way we wanted and don't have rubber bushings that deflect under pressure.
+ The car drives and handles really well.

- I can't jack the car under the LCAs the way I used to (probably not a bad thing, actually).
- Can't use the factory sway bar or any of the bolt-on set-ups. The sway bar tabs on the LCAs are inboard. I think the QA1 sway bar might work with the later K-frame, but not the original one for my car. I tried the Hellwig sway bar with the bolt-on tabs, but the sway bar links were too close to my strut bars. There may be a way to make it work, but I gave up and sent the bar back to Summit. QA1 website indicates that I would need to go with a QA1 K-frame if I want to use a front sway bar.

I still have my original LCAs. I might rebuild those and flip the QA1 LCAs if I can't find a way to make a sway bar work. I'm not inclined to to do the K-frame swap. Seems like a lot of work and expense just to add a sway bar.

 

[Kern Dog]

I installed a QA 1 front sway bar in my Charger. The finish and build quality seems to be top notch. My issue is with the replacement K member and coil-over suspensions.
I'd be open to using their upper control arms or strut rod assemblies. Those are meant to compliment the OEM torsion bar setup, not to replace it.

 

[Mike Brini]

I use QA1 upper and lower control arms and a Hellwig tubular sway bar along with KYB gas shocks. I have no complaints as they have performed flawlessly. I did have the adjustable strut rods but couldn't get them to stop making a creaking noise. Other than that the thing that made a big improvement was subframe connectors.

 

[Vince63fury]

Thanks for all the info.....I'm going to keep it stock on the front.

 

[ckessel]

There are areas on the stock stuff where you can make many improvements for little cash like I did on my k-frame. If you are handy with a welder and have some tools and steel around, doesn't take much. From there you can do quite a bit more with new t-bars, sway bars, strut rods, shocks, reinforce the lower arms, steering box, brakes etc. Check out mine or many others for ideas.

Updating the Super Street Mopar

 

[dragrazor]

Full disclosure: I ran the powder coating shop that paints QA1 stuff. Retired from there 6 years ago now. QA1 actually used two of my cars for their fit up and final testing work. Both were 69 B bodies. The first was a roller project car but the second was a car that I'd had for a number of years and drove regularly in the summer. I therefore had before and after experience with driving the car. I believe they still have a video of the car on line, showing the conversion. If you see an orange 69 Coronet in their video that was my car.

They kept that second car for a good portion of a winter doing all their final testing. While they were at it I was able to stop by and see how things progressed. When they were done I got to keep the setup in the car. I was very happy with how the car handled afterward. Access underneath was much improved. The tubular K frame is lighter than the OEM. I want to say it was about 16 pounds lighter, but can't recall for certain.

I sold the car a few years later. The guy who bought it drives it hard. So hard it hurts to see it sometimes. The front end has held up just fine. No issues. I see him from time to time and he always comments how much he likes the front suspension setup.

That said, I've no stake in QA1 nor am I beholding to them in anyway. I was consistently impressed with the guys there who were designing and working on this stuff. Young, smart, enthusiastic and professional. I used to love driving our delivery truck there when we were short a driver. It gave me the opportunity to wander around a bit and see what else they were cooking up.

You were gone before QA1 got involved with Gerst Suspension then, be interesting to hear your thoughts if you ever see some of his personal work. Never saw the before, only his and it is flawless

 

[Larrry B.]

"Old" thread, but still relevant, at least to me.

I've taken a T-Bar / Leaf Sprint setup as far as I can go. While it's far better than "stock", I'm looking for more on the road. After speaking with Art Morrison on what they offer for Mopars, as nice as their products are it's a LOT more than the QA1 setup. The front clip alone is about $10k. Not to mention the work involved to install, especially the full chassis. Lots of cutting and fabrication to fit. Roadster Shop is even more, Reilly Motorsports and others... I've looked at them all.

I can get the QA1 front and rear with sway bars, 18" wheels, tires a Wilwood brakes for the same amount of $ (or less) than the full chassis from Morrison / Roadster. Still a heavy investment, but more for less so to speak. And the QA1 setup looks pretty comprehensive and well thought out.

This is probably the next big step and within reach toward the end of this year. With this setup and what I've done to the motor, TKX 5-Speed and Sniper EFI I'm getting closer to my goal.

 

[dvw]

"Old" thread, but still relevant, at least to me.

I've taken a T-Bar / Leaf Sprint setup as far as I can go. While it's far better than "stock", I'm looking for more on the road. After speaking with Art Morrison on what they offer for Mopars, as nice as their products are it's a LOT more than the QA1 setup. The front clip alone is about $10k. Not to mention the work involved to install, especially the full chassis. Lots of cutting and fabrication to fit. Roadster Shop is even more, Reilly Motorsports and others... I've looked at them all.

I can get the QA1 front and rear with sway bars, 18" wheels, tires a Wilwood brakes for the same amount of $ (or less) than the full chassis from Morrison / Roadster. Still a heavy investment, but more for less so to speak. And the QA1 setup looks pretty comprehensive and well thought out.

This is probably the next big step and within reach toward the end of this year. With this setup and what I've done to the motor, TKX 5-Speed and Sniper EFI I'm getting closer to my goal.

Why do you think coils are going to handle better than torsion bars? What do you epect to gain by swapping leafs to something else? Or are you looking to change geometry? You still have to deal with bumps. Reinforcing for flex is always a good idea. Moving weight off the nose is good. Most of that can be achived with what basics you have. Be careful how stiff you go on the street. I Have a friend that just finished a home built road race style E type Jaguar with a hopped up 400 sb Chevy 5 speed. It has heims everywhere, stiff springs, and big anti-roll bars. Goes like a rocket straight and thru curves. It's loud, stiff, and bumpy.
Doug

 

[Black_Sheep]

I put QA1 UCA’s on the GTX last winter to gain some caster. With the exception of polyurethane bushings and Hotchkis strut rods the car retains the stock suspension. It drives much better at highway speeds without breaking the bank and still has the factory appearance.

 

[ckessel]

Why do you think coils are going to handle better than torsion bars? What do you epect to gain by swapping leafs to something else? Or are you looking to change geometry? You still have to deal with bumps. Reinforcing for flex is always a good idea. Moving weight off the nose is good. Most of that can be achived with what basics you have. Be careful how stiff you go on the street. I Have a friend that just finished a home built road race style E type Jaguar with a hopped up 400 sb Chevy 5 speed. It has heims everywhere, stiff springs, and big anti-roll bars. Goes like a rocket straight and thru curves. It's loud, stiff, and bumpy.
Doug

View attachment 1594829

And doesn't leak oil.
While I was at the SEMA show last year, I had a look at the QA1/GERST unit on display. Looked pretty nice. One of the reps was there and asked me what I thought about it so I asked him a Mopar question familiar to many of us."What happens when you put a floor jack under the unit and lift it up like you would with the stock K?" He was puzzled for a bit and gave me the same answer as from years ago when I posed the same question. "As long as you bridge across both tubes, you should be ok." Should. I'm sticking with my improved stock stuff until I see something worth the money /improvement and effort.