By David Belau

dartslantsix

Last week I talked about all the little details that make this thing go and stop. If you’ve been waiting to see if all this nonsense actually performs, this is your week. I’ll show you the good, the bad and the ugly.

Before I get into this week’s post, a couple people have asked what the weight difference is between this set up and the live axle. I gained about 100 lbs, but I also upgraded from a wimpy 7.25 rear end to a stronger 8.8 Ford. If I redesigned the structure, I think I could lighten it up by at least 25 lbs.

My family has a long history of going to car shows. One in particular I have always enjoyed more than the rest. It’s a Father’s Day show at the Yreka, CA fairgrounds put on by the Siskiyou Cruisers. It’s in the shade, under the trees. Everyone drives down early in the morning and has breakfast. In short, it’s a great time. I had a goal to finish the car about a week before the show-to work out any bugs. (Murphy loves me for some reason.) I met that goal. Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dart GT IRS Project Journal Part 5" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

Last week I bored you with a math lesson and preached about proper suspension geometry. I also showed pictures of my sexy control arms. You can’t have one without the other, unfortunately. This week, I’m going to talk about all the little things that make this whole system work. Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dart GT IRS Project Journal Part 4" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

Last week I wrote about how I picked a donor car for my independent rear suspension (IRS) project. I scored an IRS out of a 1993 Thunderbird Supercoupe, which included an 8.8 differential and disc brakes. This rear end is strong and has plenty of after-market support. So this week I’m going to talk about how I built my subframe. Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dart GT IRS Project Journal Part 2" »

By David Belau

dartslantsix

About three years ago, I got this crazy idea to try and outfit my 1966 Dodge Dart with an independent rear suspension (IRS). I had been looking at a sales brochure for one of the new Chargers and it showed the IRS in those cars. It was contained in its own subframe, so it couldn’t possibly be hard to just take that and swap it into my Dart, right? Continue reading…

Continue reading "1966 Dodge Dart IRS Project Journal" »