Freshening up front end

[68CoronetRT]

Hey Guys, Looking for some advice on a front end re work. Stock upper and lower arms, small block T bars and white rocket shocks currently. Thinking I need to go to a better T bar thickness and maybe an upper arm/shock combo for all around better driveablity? Its a 440 now. .96 bars a good street bar? What about shocks? Tubular upper arm? Firm feel box? Car is 90% street and maybe 10% strip.

I dont want to go full K member blah blah blah, just handle a little better than the big boaty feeling now.

[garner7555]

If you only go with .96 torsion bars the tubular upper control arms are not needed in my opinion.   I would go with a larger torsion bar.  I will list upgrades below in the order of most helpful in my opinion.

1. Big sway bar up front
2. Shocks
3. Torsion bars.  With a 440 I would get something larger than 1"
4. Tubular upper arms or offset ball joints.  Whichever you prefer. 

Any route you go make sure you get a GOOD alignment done, either to custom specs or as close as they can get to 2005 Mustang specs.   

[RCCDrew]

In addition, I would recommend to fully weld the k member and reinforce the steering box mount. Also reinforce your lower control arms.

[lukedukem]

Hey Guys, Looking for some advice on a front end re work. Stock upper and lower arms, small block T bars and white rocket shocks currently. Thinking I need to go to a better T bar thickness and maybe an upper arm/shock combo for all around better driveablity? Its a 440 now. .96 bars a good street bar? What about shocks? Tubular upper arm? Firm feel box? Car is 90% street and maybe 10% strip.

I dont want to go full K member blah blah blah, just handle a little better than the big boaty feeling now.

I was in the same boat about 3 months ago. my car was an original 318 and now has a 383 in it. it also had original bushings and small sway bar, and Gabriel shocks that were worn to chit. here is my thread, it also contains a swap to disk brakes. it is for a 69 charger, not sure what your working on.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,123802.0.html

i went with .96 torsion bars, hotchkiss front sway bar, KYB shocks. other than that, just stock UCA & LCAs with Moog bushings. i also did all new ball joints as well. the difference was amazing. 
Give it a read and if you have any questions don't hesitate.

Luke

[68CoronetRT]

Thanks for the insight guys. Car already has the hotckis sway bar, and disk brakes. I just need a firmer feel and better shocks. Sounds like the T bars will be the biggest upgrade.

[funknut]

I'm going through this process now (slowly) and am now in the 'while I have it apart, I really should...' phase  

To get rid of the 'boaty' feeling you should take the time and look through all the bushings (UCAs, strut rod bushings, LCA pivot shaft bushings) and ball joints.  I got the firm feel stage 3 rebuild a few months ago and it made a very nice difference, but there was still a fair bit of slop in the steering due to other worn components.

[68CoronetRT]

How do you guys feel about the QA1 setup? good/bad?

[Kern Dog]

In addition, I would recommend to fully weld the k member and reinforce the steering box mount. Also reinforce your lower control arms.

This is good advice and costs very little. The steering box mount may not flex much in light duty use with skinny tires. Once you step up to wider tires, the added reinforcement really helps.
I had 1" torsion bars in my aluminum headed 440 for years. They are fine but once I switched to 1.15s, I was amazed at the improvement. Some smart guys at Moparts feel that even with the largest torsion bar made ( 1.24) these cars are still "under" sprung as compared to what Chevy and Ford coil spring suspensions max out at.
In other words, the stiffer torsion bars such as 1.12 to 1.18 will be fine. A good shock like a Bilstein will be a nice improvement as well.

[garner7555]

I forgot to mention in my first post, if you don't already have subframe connectors then you should also plan to add those.   

[c00nhunterjoe]

The largest sole component game changer is boxed frame connectors fully welded to the floor. I went overkill with 2x3 box sunk through the floor, reinforced the frame front and rear at the mate points and fully welded them all. With the interior back in, you cant tell i did it until you crawl underneath and unless you know mopars, it looks legit. It handled better on the new 205/75/15s with connectors then it did on 245/75/15s without.

[Kern Dog]

My car had never been wrecked and was originally a 318/904. The car was never pushed or stressed enough to tweak the unibody. I have been running a HD suspension and really wide tires since 2003. I welded in frame connectors in 2012. I didn't notice that much of an improvement in the handling...BUT I did notice how much more solid the car felt on rough roads. It just soaked up the bumps. It rattled less.
I've been running a 275-40-18 up front and a 295-45-18 in the back. Big torsion bars, big sway bars, Bilstien shocks, Frame connectors, welded K member with gussets on the steering box mounts, boxed lower control arms, Moog K 7103 offset UCA bushings.
The proper wheel alignment also makes a big difference in how these cars feel. The newer shops are often NOT equipped to align old cars because new cars do not have much to adjust aside from the TOE. Find an old timer at an independant shop, someone with experience with old cars. No offense to the 30 and under crowd but they were trained to work on the cars most likely to come in for repair: 1995 and newer cars.
Alignment specs:
Camber: 1/2 degree NEG
Caster:   3-5 degrees POS
Toe:       1/8" toe IN.
These settings are what I run. Do not be concerned about the NEG camber number. The slight amount will not result in inner tire wear. Rick Ehrenberg from Mopar Action suggested these numbers in several articles. The factory settings were designed around softer suspensions, skinny bias ply tires and the desire for really easy steering. Today, most cars steer firmer than the old cars because it is what people seem to like. Mine is even firmer than most due to a Firm Feel steering box, fast ratio steering arms and a smaller steering wheel.
Feel free to PM me for any other questions.

[c00nhunterjoe]

Alignment machines are essentially all the same. The problem is the guy running it. The newer programs run on "red to green". Meaning, the 18 year old running it only knows that he is turning a rod until the light turns green. He has no idea what he is actually doing to the car, and THAT is the problem.

[garner7555]

Alignment machines are essentially all the same. The problem is the guy running it. The newer programs run on "red to green". Meaning, the 18 year old running it only knows that he is turning a rod until the light turns green. He has no idea what he is actually doing to the car, and THAT is the problem.

That is the exact truth and nothing but the truth.      

[HPP]

Alignment machines are essentially all the same. The problem is the guy running it. The newer programs run on "red to green". Meaning, the 18 year old running it only knows that he is turning a rod until the light turns green. He has no idea what he is actually doing to the car, and THAT is the problem.

...and that red/green program depends on what car they loaded into the computer program. If they even have old car specs, it will most likely default to factory numbers for the red/green signal. This is why if you have to take your car to a newer shop and they insist on loading a program to align your car, you want to ask for '05 Mustang GT specs. These are almost spot on for the recommendation Kern Dog posted in his reply.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I still use a hunter j111, which is so old you cant even call it a dinosaur. Lol. All you need is the ability to take the readings. Its not rocket science.