Original Style vs. Polyurethane Front End

[pats71]

With my roadrunner being my second vehicle, my 80' Malibu being my first, and me being only 20, I have no idea on how the older mopars handled. With my malibu has amazing handling and steering characteristics due to a quick ratio box from a monte carlo ss, and a control arm rear suspension which is quite the opposite of the torsion bar/leaf spring suspension of my Roadrunner.

I'm looking at buying a front end rebuild kit from PST and they have the option of and original style kit, I'm assuming is primarily rubber components, and then they offer a polyurethane kit. How well did our cars handle, is there such a thing as a quick ratio gear box with our cars, and what is the lock-to-lock ratio of the gear box? Kinda hard to turn the steering wheel of mine right now with the rotted flat spare tires in the front. The car is going to remain, for the most part, stock but I am very big on handling and having an enjoyable ride. Any help and input is appreciated.

[rr6pak]

Pat:

Firm Feel stage three would be a good gearbox for our cars.

Poly bushings? IMOP, I wouldnt use them. Too many of them squeek. I'd stay with original style such as Moog or even check out http://www.billrolikenterprises.com/ for Bills suspension kits. I'd also advise to get tubular upper control arms for more and better camber. There are others but due to lack of sleep, I cant remember right off hand others will chime in on advice as well

[moparmike]

I replaced my orig stock with Moog and it is night and day plus Moog has lifetime warranty. Very happy with results

[pats71]

I was looking at a rebuild kit from PST since they offer the super rebuild kits at a better price than most others.

[Capsule]

I have the PST poly-bushing kit in my RR and they work great! No squeeking at all! I have the original steringbox and pitman arm so the car is not exactly a 'sportscar' on a curvy road:-)

Capsule

[redline337]

PST has "polygrahite" bushings which are polyurethane bushings impregnated with grahite so they are self lubricating. However, they don't carry the lower control arm bushing in polygraphite, so if you go that route you'll have to use rubber or polyurethane for the lower. I believe their kit includes a rubber one, but you can buy the poly ones from other sorces (I got my bushings from summit, I hope I don't regret going with polyurethane upper bushings).

[SureGrip]

PST has "polygrahite" bushings which are polyurethane bushings impregnated with grahite so they are self lubricating. However, they don't carry the lower control arm bushing in polygraphite, so if you go that route you'll have to use rubber or polyurethane for the lower. I believe their kit includes a rubber one, but you can buy the poly ones from other sorces (I got my bushings from summit, I hope I don't regret going with polyurethane upper bushings).

This is the kit I went with...but it's been in the box since '97 or so. I also bought the upgraded 11/16th tie-rods. sadly, it'll be a little while before I get the kit installed on my car. I just hope the kit is still good after being on a shelf in the shed for over 12 years.

[redline337]

This is the kit I went with...but it's been in the box since '97 or so. I also bought the upgraded 11/16th tie-rods. sadly, it'll be a little while before I get the kit installed on my car. I just hope the kit is still good after being on a shelf in the shed for over 12 years.

I should've gone with this kit....my brake job turned into a ball joint job, and the I figured I might as well replace the bushings, and then as I was tearing things apart I saw how rough my tierod ends are...So looking back I should've just bought the whole kit.

[gcoupe72]

The cars with front and rear sway bars did handle well "back in the day". Steering if power, was about 3 1/2 turns lock to lock. Steering "feel" was strictly dependant on how your original box was built. Quite a few were delivered with very low-effort steering, with little road feel. Some were fine.
Today even stock suspension can handle and feel better than original. Start with good alignment,
ignore the factory camber and castor specs! Try for maximum castor you can get (the same) on both sides.
You should also set camber at 1/2-3/4 degee negative. This, along with radial tires, will feel far superior to "back in the day".One trick, not always mentioned is switching to a smaller diameter steering wheel, say 14" this makes a big difference at reasonable cost. You can always switch it back, for car shows.
Now if your steering box is of the "no feel" type, either buy a rebuilt one, or at less expense, try to reduce the pressure of your pump. Check with Mopar Action for all their handling and steering stories.
Beyond this,lower the front end,increase torsion bar and sway bar sizes, and switch to harder bushings.
Fixing what you've got first, is always a good plan.

[bruce]

Have a combination on mine--polygraphite everywhere except the lower control arm bushing. This is what John at US Car Tool recommended when we redid my k-frame/front suspension. He is of the opinion that most of the squeaking that gets the compliants generates from poly lower control arm bushings. I have NO complaints about how my car handles now, and no squeaks either. Next up is to replace the steering gear with a Firm Feel unit. Original Mopar power steering is way too sloppy, especially in comparison to modern stuff.

[pats71]

Are the firm feel units worth the cost? I've read the police units, which are firm feel's stage one units, are slightly stiffer than stock.

I would like to go with stage 3, but don't want to make the car feel like I have a manual gear box. Would prefer the feel of a rack and pinion. Bruce, which stage gearbox do you plan on going with?

[bruce]

When you drive a car with a Stage 3 or 4 Firm Feel unit you won't go back and settle for a cop car unit. That's what it's going to be for mine...

[71Beeper]

I used the poly bushings when I rebuilt the front end in my 76 Runner. If you use a sythetic grease with them, they will not squeak at all.