74 charger suspension?

[wordslikebullets]

I have a 74 charger.  I want to stiffen up the back end with new shocks, sway bar, and leaf springs but having a hard time finding some.  The shocks are easy but the other two are kinda hard.  Has anyone else done this and is there a good link?  I would think it is an easy job but I have heard that you have to reuse some parts because there are no aftermarket parts?  Any help would be great.  Mine are saggin and when I hit the gas or go over rail road tracks the back end drops too much for me and sometimes bottems out.  Thanks guys?

[HPP]

firmfeel.com

[FLG]

Springs n things sells the rear leafs and won't break the bank. They will make em as many leaf as you want 

[CDN72SE]

I went to a local spring shop and I got them to add an extra leaf on each side, that was 18 years ago and the sag never returned. All I could afford at the time, come to think of it I still can't afford much more. 

[HPP]

I used to do that on my old cars because it was cheap, but all my local shops have all crept up pricing to where they want $200 a pair to rearch and add a leaf. For that price I'll just get new ones.

[royt440]

A long time ago...
I swapped an 8 3/4 rearend into my '74.  It came with the sway bar and if I remember correctly, the bolt holes for the bar ends were already on the frame (just needed to scrape off the undercoating).  The bar is also supported by formed plates that are held in place by the same U bolts that hold the axle to the springs.  Then a short metal rod bolts through the plate and the other end has clamps to hold the sway bar.

[CDN72SE]

I used to do that on my old cars because it was cheap, but all my local shops have all crept up pricing to where they want $200 a pair to rearch and add a leaf. For that price I'll just get new ones.

Very true.

[Mike DC]

 

Stiffen up the stock unibody before you stiffen all the spring & bar rates.  Give the car some decent subframe connectors, torque-box plating, lower rad brace between the front framerails, etc.  Replace the K-frame's 40yo rubber mounts.   

The car will ride better and feel tighter even with the stock suspension parts still on it.  Any suspension upgrades will be much more gratifying this way too.    





The factory's R/T rear leaf spring rates were too stiff.  They launched well at the dragstrip but they were probably worse for handling than something a bit softer.  The ideal spring rate might be something in between the base model and the R/T rates. 

[wordslikebullets]

Thanks guys.  This has been really helpful.  I wish somone would do a full suspension artical on the 73-74 becuse they are easy to buy and have a great look.  I will let you know how it goes.  I just have some sag to it and when I take off the rear axel bottems out. 

[Nacho-RT74]

or springs are 5 leafs... I think add an extra leaf won't hurt, but will gain... I'll make it.

[wordslikebullets]

So I found that at Springs and things for a little over $500 I get to rebuild the rear suspension with all parts bushings and brackets.  That seems like a steal to me.  I will start tonight on the install.  Should be fairly easy but we will see.

Any tips that I should know about the rear end of a 74 charger? 

Oh by the way I got the Monroe Sencatrac adjustabul shocks so hopefuly when Im done the rear suspention will be compleat.  I will take pics  and let you know how it goes...

[wordslikebullets]

So I got done with the rear suspension and let me tell you...it rides like a dream.  No more botteming out, no more rattles, the stance is great, and it almost feels like I have a sway bar on it but I dont...yet that is.  I will have some pics up later but just wanted you to know.

I went with springs and thing full package for the rear suspension.  I went with the 6 leaf, and some Monroe Sensa-Trac load adjusting shocks.  Amazing that is all I can say I would recomend this combo to most anyone that wants a nice ride.  I got all of this done for under $650 including shipping. 

I hope to have pics up tuesday.

[CDN72SE]

Any pics yet? 

[RD]

if you get the new Mopar HD leaf springs, be prepared for the passenger side wheel to be offset.  sometime after 2003, the leaf springs for both sides became generic, meaning cheaply made and not done to OE specs.  this caused the passenger side leaf spring to be exactly like the drivers side.  the difference is this, the front leaf spring shackle for the driver and passenger are NOT symmetrical.  the leaf spring bolt is in two different places.  due to the leaf springs being made the same, the passenger side rear wheel now becomes offset in the wheel well by about 1-1/2" backwards from its centerline.

now.. the solution to this is to get another driver side front leaf spring shackle and mount it to your passenger side.  this will allow each spring to rest correctly and allowing the axle and rear wheel to be centered correctly.

i had this happen on my 72 charger and moparguy01 had this happen on his 74 charger.  I fixed it by doing the above.  I know this did not happen in 2003, as the HD springs I bought back then are now on my 73 roadrunner and there are "no" centering issues of the rear pass wheel and axle.

just a heads up.

[Nacho-RT74]

woah?

Jamie I didn't get what you said... and is a very interesting stuff!!!

[RD]

lol, sorry.. i am sure my english confuses native english speakers... let me see how i can word this so its clearer.

older style HD leaf springs were made to accommodate the different front leaf spring bolt position on the front leaf spring mounts.  the driver and passenger side front leaf spring mounts are not the same.  their leaf spring bolt holes are located in two totally different places, hence the driver and passenger leaf spring are of different lengths.

now, that being said, somewhere along the way in the manufacturing process, whether it was a certain run of the product or all of the product... the leaf springs are no longer made of varying lengths to the OEM specifications.  Instead, they are now the "same" length.

because they are the same length and due to the fact that the front leaf spring mount still has the bolt hole in two different locations, the passenger leaf spring (which is now longer than the OEM style) causes the rear axle to be pushed back creating a wheel placement 1-1/2" rear of centerline rearward.  if you see the rear shackle, it is very evident of this off-center placement because it is no longer somewhat vertical, but actually angled backwards away from the front of the vehicle.

in order to alleviate this problem, you have to have a drivers side front leaf spring mount and mount it on the passenger side so that it will accommodate the longer length leaf spring that the factory is now producing.

Pretty much, when they made the new HD springs they ignored the OEM specifications of unequal length leaf springs and are now making them equal length.  This causes the centering issue because the passenger side OEM leaf spring is/was shorter than the drivers side.

Will your car still drive without fixing the passenger side front mount? YEP!  will it look funnier than heck? YEP!

below is a picture of moparguy01's car after i took the driver's side front leaf mount off my 71 charger and put it on his 74 charger.  not the most straight on shot, but you can see the tire is now centered in the wheel well.  his OE pass side front leaf mount (when used with the HD springs) caused this same tire/rim to be offset an 1-1/2" rearward in his wheelwell.  it was a huge relief to see why my 72 charger had this same problem and that i now know how to fix the problem.

below that is a crude drawing of how the angles of the rear shackles will look between the OE and new HD leaf springs if the above solution is not applied.

[HPP]

I'll admit a certain amount of ignorance of the 3rd generation Chargers, but your saying in stock form, the passenger side leaf spring is shorter in overall length than the drivers side by 1.5 inches? I can't say I've ever come across any references to that in the chassis manual. 

[RD]

I'll admit a certain amount of ignorance of the 3rd generation Chargers, but your saying in stock form, the passenger side leaf spring is shorter in overall length than the drivers side by 1.5 inches? I can't say I've ever come across any references to that in the chassis manual. 

that, or the axle perch bolt on the leaf springs have been re-located 1-1/2" rearward from their original location.  1 of the 2 are the only reasons that would cause the situation that is happening with the HD springs when mounted.

[Nacho-RT74]

sorry, I understood what you said... what I didn't know is the diff bracket on each side and where exactly was the offset ( transversal or longitudinal ) and got me STUNT.

will have to check further on it, since I allways got a problem about that. Then noticed the passenger side wheel was further back, but also found the frame location to the spring bracket ON THAT SIDE was hit, so took it to a body shop to fix it. They had to hammer a lot the bracket location on to frame.

but, when I changed the springs around 8-9 years ago, I didn't noticed the diff spring brackets holes having both on my hands , and replacements down here are also not side differenced

didn't noticed either the diff bolt location on to bracket on a 73 I helped to replace springs and got both in hands

how much is the offset ON TO BRACKETS ? 1" is too much to not notice it having both in hands. Even more if bigger offset

1974 PN catalog only states diff PNs between HD and standrat springs ( 5 or 6 leaves ) but not side related

However, bracket info is kinda confusing

( BTW, I'm needing a 74 front spring bracket because body shop dented it a lot trying to relocate the frame location if somebody knows one available... note, 74 are with smaller crossbolt due the thicker insulation at springeye bushing so hole is diff size )

[HPP]

I think after 30+ years, differing owners, parts sourcing problems, potential collision damage, and the occasional cheapskate, it is entirely possible that non-stock style parts have made their way on to our cars. Heck, over on ABodies only.com, there was a guy bragging about adapting chevy truck springs to his Dart. So I tend to think you have altered parts under you car.

To me it doesn't make any sense that the factory would make one spring pack shorter than the other. Heavier with additional leaves, yes, but one side shorter, no. That defeats the whole symetrical approach to construction that make cars perform reasonably equally in right and left hand driving, which street cars are subject to.

Re-reading you post, it sounds as if you have a front leaf spring hanger with two leaf mouting locations. This that tells me you have a non-original, super stock style front hanger, which is two inches longer than stock. This style of hanger would require a 2" shorter spring to properly locate the axle in the original position. The stock hanger, standard or heavy duty, it doesn't matter,  only had one mounting location on them and they were both equal length.

So, it sounds like someone substituted a SS hanger on one side of your car at some time, but then put a stock spring pack in it, hence pushing the axle back. There also is the possibility that you have both SS hangers, but only one side has the SS spring pack.

Can you post pictures of your front spring hangers? The two sides should appear considerably different from each other if you have a mixed set. A measurement from the front spring eye bolt to teeh axle cneeter bolt would also be a tell tale indicator.

[RD]

Re-reading you post, it sounds as if you have a front leaf spring hanger with two leaf mouting locations. This that tells me you have a non-original, super stock style front hanger, which is two inches longer than stock. This style of hanger would require a 2" shorter spring to properly locate the axle in the original position. The stock hanger, standard or heavy duty, it doesn't matter,  only had one mounting location on them and they were both equal length.

So, it sounds like someone substituted a SS hanger on one side of your car at some time, but then put a stock spring pack in it, hence pushing the axle back. There also is the possibility that you have both SS hangers, but only one side has the SS spring pack.

Can you post pictures of your front spring hangers? The two sides should appear considerably different from each other if you have a mixed set. A measurement from the front spring eye bolt to teeh axle cneeter bolt would also be a tell tale indicator.

the front passenger side hanger was a OEM piece on the 74 charger.  not a SS hangar.  i measured the two hangers' bolt hole placement and found that each needed to be in different locations.  so either the leaf spring center bolt was put in the non-oem spot on accident, or they started making the leaf springs equal in all regards to left and right.

the 3rd generation chargers are not "symmetrical" in all regards.  the rear wheel well housings are two totally different sizes to accommodate the NASCAR style wheel/tire combinations that they were using.  the passenger side rear wheel well housing is substantially larger than the driver side.

I really need to get out there and do some checking, but I truly believe they started making the HD leaf springs differently in some sort after 2003.  this change is causing some issues.  my 73 Charger wore the HD springs my 73 RR has on it now.  And neither of them had/have centering issues.  Now my 72 charger and russ' 74 charger both had the centering issues using OE front hangers with HD leaf springs bought after 2003.  72's were bought in 2005, not sure when russ' were bought, but i do know they were purchased after 2003.