Page 1 The Birth (Exterior and Suspension Modifications)
Page 2 Gett'en Bent (It's exhausting, really)
Page 3 Death Proof... 
Page 4 No Replacement for Displacement (The build-up and dyno pull of the 408)

The first thing I did was install new Monroe shocks and change out the old bushings to poly type on the upper and lower control arms. I then added heavy duty rear leaf springs and put a shift kit in the A-904 transmission.

I put in a new power steering gear box, inner and outer tie rod ends, pittman and idler arm and new rotors and bearings. I also installed a 1 1/8" front sway bar and a 7/8" rear sway bar with the same poly type bushings. I sanded the whole car and shot it with the color Cobalt Metallic Blue.

I wasn't to happy with the 7 1/4 rear end with 2.23:1 gears so I shopped around and found a 8 1/4 posi with a 2.94:1 gear.

I dropped the rear with two inch blocks and dropped the front via the torsion bars.

I then did some reinforcing of the front end by boxing in the lower control arms with 1/4" A36 (mild steel) plate and welding in a 2X4 box tubing with .120 wall thickness to the radiator support. I caped the 2X4 box tubing ends for torsional rigidity. Now the lower control arms are the heaviest and stronger than Mopar ever made, well maybe the heaviest.

Off the core support I welded in, I installed a couple stiffeners out of A36 (mild steel) 1/4" flat plate between the K-frame and the 2X4 box tubing for better cornering and hard braking.

I ripped out the old rubber K-frame bushing and went with all aluminum bushing from Firm Feel Inc.

I threw out the Monroe shocks and installed KYB's on all four corners.

I added heim joints to one inch diameter 4130 tubing with .095 wall thickness that are 20 1/2" long. By reinforced the lower control arm with these "strut rods", now the torsion bars should only act like a spring rather than pulling double duty as locators for the lower control arms as well.

I just added sub-frame connectors out of 2X2 box tubing with a .120 wall thickness.

I have added a chin spoiler to the front bumper made out of 5052-H32 aluminum that's .063 thick. Lets face it, it has the aerodynamic coefficient of a vending machine and all I'm trying to do is make the car as slick as possible in preparation for the NORC (Nevada Open Road Challenge). See www.silverstateclassic.com for more information.

I'll be adding some more pics here in the near future but I have a Torqueflight 727 with a reverse manual valve body and an 1800-2200 stall built by Dave's Automotive in Newport News Virginia. I'm doing the machine work on a 360 Magnum motor at Bunner Engine Development (2006 ENGINE BUILDER OF THE YEAR) in Hampton Virginia that will be bored and stroked to 408 cubic inches. In the next couple months I'll be adding 11" slotted cross drilled rotors from Summit Racing and a better steering box with a lot more "road feel."

I just picked up a manual steering gear box from Advance Auto Parts that ought to give me the "road feel" I'm looking for. The original intermediate shaft from the steering colum to the steering gear box wont fit the manual gear box because the manual gear box has the larger splined shaft and there is a greater distance between the colum and gear box, so it looks like I'll have to hit a few wrecking yards.

Below is an intermediate shaft I picked up from a 1985 Dodge pick-up at a wrecking yard just down the street from me for $20 bucks. It measures 18 1/2" long where I need the shaft at 10 1/2". So I cut eight inches out, slide a piece of pipe over the cut shaft before I welded it back together and then welded the pipe to the shaft.

Here the intermediate shaft is installed.

Have you ever seen a manual steering gear box on an M-body car? Either have I until now.

I made some spacers 1 1/4" long to push my alternator forward so I could run it off the water pump and crank shaft pulleys since there is no more power steering pump. Yep, that's a 16" electric fan in back of a Summit aluminum radiator two row, one inch tubes. I have a huge transmission cooler sitting about two inches in front of the radiator.

I replaced the manual steering gear box with the same like item because there was way too much play in the first steering gear box. I test drove the car and there definitely is a night and day difference between the two. The car handles like a dream and all the work on the suspension really paid off.
Thanks for looking....

Page 1 The Birth (Exterior and Suspension Modifications)
Page 2 Gett'en Bent (It's exhausting, really)
Page 3 Death Proof...
Page 4 No Replacement for Displacement (The build-up and dyno pull of the 408)