what suspension?

[DustinsDuster]

so i have been looking into collecting parts for restoring my Duster in the (hopefully) not too far future. well the delima comes in here: my rear framerails on my car are more rotted than id feel comfortable running much faster on. i have found solid replacement framerails, and they'll cost probably around $500-$600. the thing is, thats almost halfway to a back-half kit. heres my opitons(that i have thought of so far):

1: Get replacement frame rails, run stock suspension with Super Stock leafsprings -
i think my favorite part about this option is the cost, and the simplicity. with this set up, if something were to fail or wear out, replacements would be much cheaper and easier to come by, not to mention i am already running the Super Stock leaf springs, so theres some money i wouldnt have to spend. i have seen Mopars run well into the 9's on these leafsprings with stock-style suspension, and i dont know how much faster than that i plan on running. not to mention its always kinda neat when you can say your stock-type suspension car hooks hard, especially if its on leafsprings.

2: Ladder bar back half kit
i havent had any expirience with ladder bar suspension, and other than the basic layout, i dont know a lot about it. i know the set up has been around for a long time, and it works (i know Scott's Mustang hooks VERY hard), and that ladder bar suspension seems to be just a little cheaper than 4 link.

3: 4 link back half kit
like the ladder bar, i havent had any expirience with this set up, but i know its reputation. am i right in assuming the 4 link is more adjustable than the ladderbars?

so what do you guys think? pros and cons of all the suspensions. i will admit im kinda looking for Scott and Rich to pop up in here because they have dealt with this stuff; but i welcome any opinions at all.

[Scott]

souund like any of those options would work good for ya, is leaf springs the most effecient way hooking and going straight? probably not, look at the wagon for example there..you can get it too work good but in the end you still have leaf springs... I really like the ladder bars, very simple set-up, fairly "easy" to install and obviously works well with minimal tuning, I pulled a 1.34 60' and the only setting I changed was some shock valving. probably the most expensive part of this set-up is the coil-overs and labor time, you dont need a anti-roll bar. I dont know what the duster looks like on the underside but usually you dont have to hack up the entire back half of your car to fit it in.
I would shy away from a 4-link in your application just because of the complexity of it, alot of moving parts to wear out, 8 large rod ends, sway bar, diagonal link or some type of lateral locator. takes up alot more space in the back of the car. but if you the ultimate in tunability and potentially the most effecient rear suspension this would be the way to go. just make sure your not looking at the hot-rod version of the 4 link called the 4-bar where all the bars are parellel and not adjustable, good ride but not designed for drag racing. bottom line I would go either stock or ladder bar, more partial toward the ladder bar myself

[snickerlicker]

Stick with the leaf springs, stock style suspension all the way!! Thats what it came with, so use them..

[Scott]

I agree with snicker licker, as long as you have a fox body mustang and dont want real wide tires..

[Rollin on Dubs]

Stock style suspensions will give you more flexibilty as far as softening the ride for the street and with a cal-tracs give you some tuning at the track. A 4 link is the ultmate in tuneabilty 432 different options for your instant center. (8 front uppers, 6 front lowers, 3 rear upper 3 rear lowers) and you still have spring and shock adjustments you can make. But a ladder bar setup would be good for you too, since your car is relativly heavy, it will prob work great right out of the box, Heavy cars are slow to adjust so minor adjustments do not always yeild big car response ( Double edge sward) In the end, running good on stock suspension is cool, Ladder bars will give you good consistancy with awsome reliabilty and ability to put more tire under the car. A 4 link is probably going to be more than what you want to deal with.

My biggest suggestion is to scale the car to dial in the suspension (you prob have access to scales due to your stock car background) but that right there will get you in the ball park. ( I have a set of scales but one of the digital pads is not working properly and getting intercomp to repair them is next to impossible) Otherwise let me know and we might be able to throw your car on them.

[DustinsDuster]

whats wide tires? i pretty much CANT break my tires loose at the strip on 10.5" wide tires. with the mini-tubs and the right backspacing, i could easily fit 12.5" under my car and inside the wheel well.

im kindof leaning towards staying stock and just getting new frame rails. my car hooks as well as it does now on the same $9 generic shocks i originally put on it 5 years ago and theres not even a pinion snubber. i figure with good drag shocks and an adjustable pinion snubber, i should still be set pretty well. worst case scenario, if i still have problems hooking up, i could go with a cal-trec set up of some kind.

now, does anyone have any expirience replacing uni-body frame rails? hahahahaha

[68nova]

stick with the leafs they can work....I have gone 1.35 60's @3350lbs and there are leaf cars that go much faster. For a street car stick with the leafs for a race car change it to ladder/4link that is what more than one good chassis shop told me (I was also looking into changing). Look at stock elim cars running 1.2x 60's with low 11 high 10 et's (yea those numbers are correct) they are making the leafs work better than we ever will but that is race only.

[DustinsDuster]

yeah, thats pretty much been the same advice across the board with people who actually have expirience. plus, its only the very back of my framerails that are bad, maybe i could just get replacements for the very back of the framerails instead and save as much of the original metal as possible.

i also had a guy suggest i ditch the S/S springs and go with a mono leaf/cal-trec combo, but until i start having problems with what i have, i'll stick with it. i suppose its always another avenue i could try later...

[Mike@Salkowski-Motorsport]

I would have to say run stock leafs with Cal-Tracs and mini tub the rear. That way you can run the car in a stock suspension class and have great drivability. I have built stock leaf sprung cars with Cal Tracs, that have run well into the 8s with no problems. Ladder bars are great if you want to go straight but when you start turning corners you have a chance to break or bind rod ends.