One of the main advantages...
One of the main advantages of the MagnumForce tubular upper control arms is the ability to replace the torsion-bar suspension with coilover shocks. The billet adapter at the left is used in the upper shock-mount location to make it all possible.
What Really Happened That Fateful Day
This car was acquired for the use of my betrothed, Nina, a genuine soccer mom with two preteen boys. Nina is a Norwegian who has driven various types of foreign cars almost exclusively throughout the years, finding most of them quite efficient but also pretty boring. So when this one-owner, mostly garaged Dart recently became available, she ran her hands all along its contours, proclaimed it to be a car with great soul, and heartily agreed it should be ours (you gotta love it).
However, her first behind-the-wheel experience in it was brief. "The brakes are horrible, and I'm not driving it until they're fixed," she said.
The shoes were checked, the brakes adjusted, the hydraulics checked out, and her verdict was the same. "The brakes are still awful, but you can drive it if you want."
Although we declined MagnumForce's...
Although we declined MagnumForce's generous offer to install the coilovers in this street-only Dart, we couldn't resist showing how it's installed (also clearly visible is the modified rubber snubber for the upper control arm).
And so it came to pass that, on the rain-slickened roads of California's coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, I was nearing the end of an extended, crowded, curving, steep, two-lane downhill run that required heavy brake application, even with the automatic tranny in Second gear and the brakes sizzling. Coming around a tight right-hand curve, I saw a line of stopped cars not very far ahead of me. I stomped on the brake pedal, which had virtually no effect. I was going only about 20 mph at that time, so I pulled it down into Low, hoping for the best.
Yep, running into the cars in front of me was no longer a problem. Instead, the rear tires instantly broke loose and, given the wet road; the downhill, weight-on-the-nose attitude of the car; and the sideways momentum of going around the curve the back end made a quick swing out to the left.
The good news is there were no cars coming the other way as I momentarily took up both lanes. The bad news is the curve was so sharp, I was sliding off the road and onto the embankment before I could do anything about it. More good news: The Dart slid right in between the large oak tree on the left and the telephone pole on the right and, being at a right angle to the road I didn't barrel roll down the embankment. It almost stopped after sliding along sideways in the damp dirt, and I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but then bad news again: The tires dug in and it ever so gently tipped up onto its left side. Good news: It stayed there and didn't roll over onto its roof.
The Dart was rather precariously balanced, though, and a bunch of folks materialized seemingly out of nowhere to hold it up while I got out. Gas was slowly dripping out of the gas cap, while these folks were frantically hollering at me to get out before it exploded (too many action movies, I guess), but I was intent on finding out where my little point-and-shoot camera had ended up. After all, I knew I would tell this tale for a long time to come, and for a photojournalist not to have photos of such an event was unthinkable.
I also wanted to find my plastic film container that was filled with 93-percent nitro, courtesy of the crew of the hemi-powered, Foothill Flyer front-engine dragster. Assuming the police would probably check things out, that was one conversation this long-haired writer figured would be better to avoid. But the police, paramedics, and fire-department personnel who came along were friendly, understanding, glad no one was hurt, and just interested in pulling the car back onto its wheels and getting it out of there.

After installing new KYB shocks...

After installing new KYB shocks instead of the coilovers, the caliper mounting brackets were installed on the spindles (which were already drilled out and tapped for the larger Wilwood bolts, as seen last month). One side fit perfectly, while the other required a slight enlarging of the holes on the bracket to compensate for the OEM manufacturing tolerances in the spindle.

Assembling the rotors and...

Assembling the rotors and hubs, along with greasing the bearings and installing the seals, was the next order of business. The 10 3/4-inch drilled and slotted racing rotors originally provided by Wilwood were replaced with these solid, vented ones, courtesy of MagnumForce's extensive stock of Wilwood parts. This was then bolted to the spindle. Decker was diligent in following the explicit Wilwood torquing specs throughout the assembly process.

Both sides of the four-piston...

Both sides of the four-piston Wilwood calipers squeeze against the rotor, meaning extra care must be taken to center the rotor in the caliper. A micrometer was used to check the spacing and these provided washers were added as shims between the caliper and the bracket to line everything up.

After properly aligning the...

After properly aligning the caliper, the pads were slipped into place and secured with long cotter pins. Wilwood can provide various pads with different friction material, depending on the intended usage.

Proving once again that I...

Proving once again that I chose the right place to get this installed, MagnumForce stepped in with braided-steel brake lines after I neglected to order them from Wilwood. If you're going to update braking equipment, you might as well do it right.

Then it was time to get under...

Then it was time to get under the hood to install the new Wilwood master cylinder. Its two-bolt mounting flange fits right inside the four studs used with the OEM version, so the new bolt locations were simply marked and drilled.

The master cylinder then bolted...

The master cylinder then bolted right up, but the factory brake-line fittings no longer worked; Wilwood provides the correct fittings in the kit. With the material provided by the extra loop in the stock brake lines and the use of a flaring tool, installing the new fittings was a snap.

The conceptually simple job...

The conceptually simple job of installing the new linkage between the brake pedal and the master cylinder actually took quite a while to get the geometry right and left the brake pedal significantly higher. Adjusting the brake-light switch for the new pedal position also took some time.

With the change to front discs...

With the change to front discs from drum brakes, the use of a proportioning valve becomes a necessity. Wilwood provided one, and it was bolted to the bottom of the car, right under the driver seat. Again, plenty of stock brake line and the flaring tool (along with a couple of angled fittings from MagnumForce's amazing stock of Earl's products) kept the installation easy.