Getting Shafted
The car was safe to drive, but the '67-styled suspension could benefit from a few aftermarket parts. The call went to Stainless Steel Brake Company (SSBC) for their Force 10 front disc brake kit. Next on the list was Coker Tire for a new set of radial Redlines. Magnumforce received a request for their adjustable tubular control arms, and Firm Feel Inc. (FFI) got the call for their greaseable lower control arm shafts and adjustable strut rods. Summit Racing hooked us up with a pair of 15x7 Weld Draglites, 14x7 Magnum 500s, and .960-inch Mopar Performance torsion bars. Adding to our previously purchased front-end kit, Just Suspension sent us poly bushings for our front sway bar and heavy-duty 1-1/16-inch tie-rod ends with adjusting sleeves. Just Suspension also sent us the American Muscle tools to ease the front suspension buildup.
This shot is after bolting on SSBC's turbo slotted rotors and Force 10 four-piston caliper. The rotors are vented and turbo slotted to help cool the rotors to prevent brake fade. We opted to have the calipers powdercoated, and the rotors received the Xtra Life Plating. We wanted our brake components to maintain that "new look" for years to come. | 
Be sure to follow SSBC's instructions when installing their brake kit. The proportioning valve must be installed after the distribution block. We made a short two-inch line after the distribution block and reused the original line going to the back brakes. Once we adjusted the prop valve to eliminate lock-up, stopping distances were reduced an additional 10-plus feet. |
Time and money is well spent preparing the suspension and brakes towards the demands of today's traffic. We replaced the stock .920-inch diameter torsion bars with Mopar Performance pieces. Summit Racing had our PN DCC-5249158 T-bars and PN DCC-5249609 lock and seal set in stock and shipped them out on the same day. We elected not to use the 1-inch torsion bars considering ride quality for our street driver. | |
Once the front end was rebuilt with the new disc brakes, we headed to see our friends up the road at Shore Wheels, where the R/T would receive a mandatory front-end alignment. Naturally the new wheels and tires would be mounted and balanced. we drove our local road-test loop through the Pine Barrens (located in southern New Jersey). Right away we noticed much better road holding, high-speed stability, and stopping ability. After that ride we couldn't wait to go and test all this new stuff!
The radial Redlines mounted on the original 14x5.5 wheels would be used on the front, while out back Redlines were mounted on wider 14x7 wheels. We had to replace the rear tires because the old, beat-up, rear Redlines suffered from flat spots acquired during brake testing.
When we arrived at E-town, it was a typical hot and humid summer day with the temperature in the 90s. On the pit-side parking area, we set up a 200-foot skidpad area, arranging the trashcans instead of safety cones. We began testing with the Coker Classic Radial Redlines (215/75R-14 front, 225/75R-14 rear) mounted on Magnum 500 wheels. In this configuration we were amazed that the lateral road holding was an average .88g clockwise and .88g counter-clockwise. B-Bodies have good road holding potential, and the Coronet has a 51/49 front-to-rear weight ratio due to aluminum engine components and a lightweight battery. Frame connectors have been a part of the package for over 10 years. From only simple bolt-ons, we were amazed how the new and improved suspension components vastly improved our skidpad numbers. Next, we would swap to a wider and lighter set of wheels and tires seeking to improve cornering ability.
Up front, new BFG 235/60R-15 T/A Radials on 15x7 Weld Superlite rims would prove to be competent performers. Mounted on the back again for more torture testing were the same Nittos used from the tire strip test on 15x8 Welds. The wider rolling stock with more tire contact patch netted us an astounding .92g average!
We were surprised to surpass our goal of .85g with Redlines and .88g with wider meats.