New way to build up a Charger?

[areibel]

http://schwartzperformance.com/mopar-b-body-chassis-full-frame/

Only $9200 gets you rolling, just hang your shell or AMD panels on it?  Looks like it has all the cool toys too, rack and pinion, big brakes and rear- all you need is a fat check book!

[Troy]

A member here is already using one. He has a build thread somewhere. It fits under the factory frame - it doesn't replace it. I suppose that with enough time and effort you could modify things to do it that way.

Troy

[speedfreak68]

I'm using one in my buildup, I'm using it instead of of the factory frame, because my frame was junk... all of it was..... I'm extremely happy with the quality of the chassis! 

[areibel]

So do you actually have to remove the old frame, T bar crossmember, etc?  It mentions removing the front rails and shock towers, I just assumed you'd remove all the unibody frame members and mount the floorpan directly onto the frame, like a mid sized GM?

[Troy]

Hey! That makes it easier. Here's the build thread:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,63123.0.html

Troy

[speedfreak68]

They are made to bolt in, its a pretty slick setup. I think they had pictures of how they go together on the schwartz website.

[Mike DC]

  
The Schwartz frame is not within 10 miles of a bolt-in job.  I don't understand why the phrase "bolt in" has gotten anywhere near it.  

It bolts in under the rear half of the factory frame.  But the entire front half of the factory chassis has to be hacked away.  Front subframe rails, T-bar crossmember, shock towers, etc. 

[tan top]

   more i look at this  , more i'm liking    think if i had the dough & 20 years younger  , think i would build a charger with one    prolly stick a cage in it , tie is all together  &  turn it into a  C500  sort of a   grandnational clone   

[speedfreak68]

 
The Schwartz frame is not within 10 miles of a bolt-in job.  I don't understand why the phrase "bolt in" has gotten anywhere near it.  

It bolts in under the rear half of the factory frame.  But the entire front half of the factory chassis has to be hacked away.  Front subframe rails, T-bar crossmember, shock towers, etc. 

Its called bolt in because it bolts in on the front with the bumper bolts, in the rear on near the wheel wells, and they supply a bent piece of metal to be welded to your torsion bar x member to bolt to the chassis.   So yes, you do need to cut away the front subframe, I wouldn't say hack.... that sounds negative lol...... you can get it powder coated so after the modifications to the front of the car and torsion bar cross member you just bolt on the rolling chassis and you're ready to go.

[Ghoste]

   more i look at this  , more i'm liking    think if i had the dough & 20 years younger  , think i would build a charger with one    prolly stick a cage in it , tie is all together  &  turn it into a  C500  sort of a   grandnational clone   

Or a good drag car, or jump car for DOH reunions, or stunt cars for the next 8 installments of F&F or DOH movies, or four wheel drive Chargers or any of the other sundry ways to destroy an existing car.  Start with this frame, get AMD sheet metal, a drivetrain and away you go.

[Patronus]

Where's the group buy?

[myk]

9K?  What a cock-tease.  When I was done spec'ing out my chassis I had to stop because I remembered I wasn't John Schneider or Jay Leno.  My chassis was about 20K easy...

[Ghoste]

What did you want on it that brought in another 11k in price?

[myk]

Coil-over/shock package, $1300.  Baer 6 piston brake setup, $4500.  Heidts IRS, $8500.  Detroit Tru-Trak, 1695.  Assembly, $595.  So actually I was being conservative with my dreaming/drooling, lol.  You have to understand that I'm one of those idiots that wants to make the classic Dodge Charger do things it was never designed to do.


But I can dream, can't I? 

[Ghoste]

Absolutely and if you are getting an aftermarket chassis like that, then modern underpinnings should be exactly what you are using.  IMO

[Mike DC]

By the time you are using a modern car's front susp, another modern car's rear susp, and another modern car's drivetrain . . .  IMHO you might as well just save yourself some trouble and hang the Charger's outer skin onto a single intact modern car's undercarriage.

[Ghoste]

In most ways, is this not the same though?

[myk]

I wouldn't use a modern car's drive-train; I would keep that part in the 60's with a worked over 440 and matching T-flyte.  But IMO the original suspensions's gotta go...

[HPP]

It may start at $9200, but once you put the recommended suspension systems under it, you are closer to $17,000 with of items. Option it out full tilt with all the goodies and you can push it upwards of $30k.

By way of contrast, you can spend $2500 at Firm Feel, or on XV Level 1, or the Hotchkis TVS and achive practically the same performance.

I suppose if your floors were rotten, your subframes hacked, and your suspension is bent up, it might be easier to use the Schwartz set up than restore all the factory stuff.

[bill440rt]

   more i look at this  , more i'm liking    think if i had the dough & 20 years younger  , think i would build a charger with one    prolly stick a cage in it , tie is all together  &  turn it into a  C500  sort of a   grandnational clone   

Or a good drag car, or jump car for DOH reunions, or stunt cars for the next 8 installments of F&F or DOH movies, or four wheel drive Chargers or any of the other sundry ways to destroy an existing car.  Start with this frame, get AMD sheet metal, a drivetrain and away you go.

YAY!!!   

[myk]

Why the hell does that XV Level 1 package cost so much?  It's just sway bars, shocks and springs for cryin' out loud...

[Ghoste]

So going back to this chassis, would you hang sheet metal on it like a stock car or do you need to attach the chassis to an inner structure upon which the sheet metal is attached?

[HPP]

Why the hell does that XV Level 1 package cost so much?  It's just sway bars, shocks and springs for cryin' out loud...

Because they are all matched to perform together. Plus they are amortizing all their research and development. If you know the specific shock rates to set up to the spring frequencies, you can duplicate the package for half the price.

[Mike DC]

So going back to this chassis, would you hang sheet metal on it like a stock car or do you need to attach the chassis to an inner structure upon which the sheet metal is attached?

With the Schwartz deal, my understanding is that it's basically a ladder-frame that you bolt onto the undercarriage of the existing stock Charger shell.  But you must hack away the front subframes & shock towers to make clearance.  


I don't understand the reasoning for the design to be honest.  It might work mechanically but I don't see the market demand for it.  Not many guys with intact rear subframes are going to wanna hack off the front one.  Not many guys with rotted-out subframes at both ends are going to wanna replace the rear one with a donor car's rear subframe, just for the sake of installing an aftermarket full frame under that. 

[Ghoste]

Ohhh, that doesn't sound too appealing to me then. 

[myk]

So going back to this chassis, would you hang sheet metal on it like a stock car or do you need to attach the chassis to an inner structure upon which the sheet metal is attached?

With the Schwartz deal, my understanding is that it's basically a ladder-frame that you bolt onto the undercarriage of the existing stock Charger shell.  But you must hack away the front subframes & shock towers to make clearance.  


I don't understand the reasoning for the design to be honest.  It might work mechanically but I don't see the market demand for it.  Not many guys with intact rear subframes are going to wanna hack off the front one.  Not many guys with rotted-out subframes at both ends are going to wanna replace the rear one with a donor car's rear subframe, just for the sake of installing an aftermarket full frame under that. 

Good point.  I'm all about modernizing this car but not to the point of sawing off perfectly good subframes and shock towers.  I don't see anything necessary beyond those bolt in subframes like the ones from alterKation and XV motorsports.  Anything beyond that and, well, I say start shopping for a Lotus or a Civic Si if handling is that important to you...