Autocross #2 with my 70.

[JR]

Well,  I took my 70 to its second autocross. I went back in November on nearly stock suspension and it was TERRIBLE then, so I made a few changes.

The first time I went, it was on totally stock suspension except for offset UCA bushings, poly bushings everywhere else, adjustable strut rods, and thats it. Totally stock otherwise.

Now, its FiTech EFI fuel injected, has a 1 3/8's front sway bar, and a 7/8's inch rear sway bar. I also purchased a quick ratio pitman/idler arm kit, but didnt have time to change it before the event.

I have to say, the improvement from sway bars alone is incredible. I cant reccomend them, enough. The car was nearly neutral through the corners, and on the verge of throttle oversteer. It was 180 degrees different than last time.

When I tried it on the stock configuration,  I got MASSIVE understeer, uncontrolled body roll, and wasnt any fun to drive at all.

For anyone looking to improve handling on your Mopar, I cant reccomend sway bars enough (assuming the rest of the suspension is in good condition). The original configuration of only a front 7/8s bar on a 4000lb car is a joke.

It did give me an idea of where to go next. It really could use more camber, less weight,  chassis stiffening, and upgraded shocks next. I think those will give the best payoff. I am very happy its becoming fun to drive now.

There was a mechanical glitch though, a mystery fuel leak developed from around ths gas tank, which eventually caused it to stall under braking before I found the leak. Ill drop the tank this week and figure that out.

But overall, im very happy with it. I like really pushing the car to find weak points, improving them, and making it better for it. I have to run out of weak points SOMEDAY right?

On to the pics.



My car numbered up. Thats a 1/3rd scale indy type race car to the left. It has a 120 hp 2 stroke snowmobile engine, CVT trans, weighs 650lbs wet, and is stupid fast. They road race them, and they will do 130 flat out. Absolutely crazy.



Brand new M2. Beautiful. This car only had 970 miles on it at the time, and was driven by a top level driver who competes in the Nationals every year. It was magical. Probably the best BMW you can buy today.



NSX. Beautiful car. I love these.



My 70 not blending in with anything. The GTIs and Minis are fun to watch, they will carry their inside rear wheels on tight corners.



Not blending in, again.



Staging up, about to make a run.

I was hoping to have some on track pics to post, but the normal photographer wasnt there. Oh well maybe next time.

Oh, heres a before and after of the front sway bars. Original vs 1 3/8 hollow Hellwig bar.


Original, undersized RT spec 7/8ths bar.



1 3/8ths hollow hellwig bar. The new hotness. (I welded the skid plate back up right after this pic.)

So, long post, but i hope it was entertaining. Id encourage anyone to try autocross. Both for improving your driving skills, and finding the weak ponts on your car. I have no delusions of building a competitive autoX car out of my 70. I do however, plan to make it the best all around performing car I possibly can, and what better way to test it than by driving the wheels off of it,

[lukedukem]

you had the best car there   

any videos?

Luke

[Derwud]

Sweet Car.. I am going full Hothckis on my car, along with QA1 Lower arms and subframe, and Borgenson steering box.

[JR]

Thanks guys, I actually did have a gopro, but for some reason it stopped recording on me. I suspect the SD card was corrupt. Ill keep watching the facebook group and if any videos or pics pop up ill add them here. Ill have a fresh SD card next time I go.


EDIT: Good news, I just tried the sd card again and was able to recover the video. It was there, my computer wasnt reading it. Ill try to get it uploaded.

[Charger_Fan]

That looks like it would be tons of fun! Thanks for sharing your pics.

So, with your front sway bar, did you have to cut the welds at the front of the skid plate to get it in there? Is it so fat that you can't slide it in without cutting the plate?

[JR]

You're welcome, it's a blast, everyone should try it atleast once!

For a 70 skidplate k frame, that's actually the recommended way (according to the instructions)  to install the sway bar. It's also the biggest possible size bar that will fit. 68-69s use a different K frame and can actually fit a bigger front sway bar.

I actually tried every way possible to install it without cutting the skidplate. But there was no way.  It's a tight install even with the plate cut. But the results are totally worth it. One of the best, instantly rewarding mods I've ever done to it.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Nice! Car looks great 

[RallyeMike]

Lotsa fun!

[tan top]

 

[69rtse4spd]

 .

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Very cool!   

I just swapped in the Hellwig hollow bar in my '69 this season & really feel the difference.   Not sure on the color....might just spray it up black....so far it doesn't look too goofy...Ive since sprayed the plated bolts black to blend in better..

[crj1968]

So cool to see a Charger out there with those cars.   

And yeah that M2 is sweet. 

I bought a 2005 BMW 3 Series about a year ago. I'm since sold on BMW's. They are rock solid.

[myk]

JR you're making me feel silly.  I've got the whole Hotchkis TVS but I felt that I needed more upgrades, such as the Borgeson box, torque boxes, better tires and brakes before I took to the track.  You hit the track last November in a basically stock car!  Hats off to you again.  BTW what tires are you running?  I'm running 400 rated tires that have zero grip....

[Laxy]

Great stuff, should be more people doing this sort of thing in old Mopars! Look forward to the video.

[rebby]

I was considering upgrading my front sway bar and adding one in the rear. I think your comments in this thread, alone, have convinced me to put these upgrades on my short list. Really looking forward to seeing some video.

[JR]

Thanks guys. I have to restart the upload video to youtube. Spending all my extra money on car parts means I have a crap computer from 10 years ago and its uploading so slowly it locked up.  Ill try and get it up here asap.

Myk, the tires are Nitto 555s in the rear, and general AS03s in the front. Ive had great luck with the AS03s on my BMW, so I wanted to use them on the charger. Turns out, General doesnt make the size I need in the rear, so thats why I had to run 555s there. The AS03s are a fairly low grip tire (compared to proper summer/performance tires) but breakaway is very linear, and feedback is great. I adore them. However, Ill step up to Pilot Super Sports eventually.

And again, I cant reccomend upgraded sway bars enough.  I ran the same course back to back, and the sway bar combo completely transformed the car from an understeering, wallowing pig, to a neutral, steerable with the throttle,  fun to drive, car. They really make it feel more alive.

Thanks for the good words guys!

[crj1968]

Hey JR on that picture of your new front sway bar, what are the lines going into that block in front of your crank pulley?

[Charger_Fan]

You're welcome, it's a blast, everyone should try it atleast once!

For a 70 skidplate k frame, that's actually the recommended way (according to the instructions)  to install the sway bar. It's also the biggest possible size bar that will fit. 68-69s use a different K frame and can actually fit a bigger front sway bar.

I actually tried every way possible to install it without cutting the skidplate. But there was no way.  It's a tight install even with the plate cut. But the results are totally worth it. One of the best, instantly rewarding mods I've ever done to it.

Thanks for replying. It's good info to know, should I get around to putting one on mine.

[Derwud]

JR you're making me feel silly.  I've got the whole Hotchkis TVS but I felt that I needed more upgrades, such as the Borgeson box, torque boxes, better tires and brakes before I took to the track.  You hit the track last November in a basically stock car!  Hats off to you again.  BTW what tires are you running?  I'm running 400 rated tires that have zero grip....

Don't feel silly... His post shows you are on the right track... I remember what is like driving a these cars with worn out parts and skinny bias ply tires.. NEVER again!!

[Kern Dog]

Sorta on topic, not sure...
I ran Nitto 555s since 2003. They had a treadwear of 300. I have worked on the suspension for years, tinkering with different torsion bars, sway bars, shocks, etc. I just got the car to handle neutrally after dealing with an oversteer condition. THEN I figured that 12-13 year old tires should be replaced. I again went with Nittos, but these are the NT01 with a 200 treadwear. Now the oversteer has come back. I used the exact same size again, 275-40-18s front, 295-45-18s rear.

[JR]

What rear sway bar do you have Kern Dog? How big? Is it adjustable?

Mine is the Hellwig 6909 adjustable, I have it set in the center hole. Mine felt like it could be tailhappy if I set it at the firmest slot. I haven't tried it though, I'm happy with it so far.

[rebby]

JR, did you have to drill the frame for that or does it use an existing hole?

[JR]

Yes Rebby, you have to drill 2 holes in the frame on each rail, and a crush sleeve insert goes inbetween. Its easy though, I spent less than 2 hours installing it. Heres a link to the instructions to my exact bar. Hellwig 6909 7/8ths

http://www.manualsdir.com/manuals/331517/hellwig-sway-bar-6909.html

Heres mine from underneath.  


Oh, and crj1968, that block is just a temperature sender unit housing for the transmission cooler. I put it under the shroud so it cant be seem from anove.

And finally, I have video. First, ill link a vid to another, very good driver's fast run. This is the white 335 parked to the left of the charger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlhWLZI6hOM

Ok, heres my run.  I just found out I spent 2 days uploading the wrong run video. This is my second run, when I was taking it easy(ier) to learn the course. But you may get a feel for how much better the car wants to change direction now. No plowing through corners at all. I only got one run flat out after this before the fuel problem took me out. Still very happy though. (SKIP TO 2:30. I didnt edit the video. Would have melt down my computer. )

https://youtu.be/R3eoLEf4KoY

[crj1968]

That was crazy. I have no idea how you knew how to navigate that course. 

[Charger_Fan]

That was crazy. I have no idea how you knew how to navigate that course. 

You have to watch which direction the cones are pointing. Still, on a flat surface like that, I would need more than a couple practice runs, for sure!