by Duane Phillips » 25 Jul 2001 12:25
Johnny-D, Yes I live in Frederick Maryland, about 45 min west of Baltimore and an hour north of DC. This is a great town for old cars; there are a number of engine rebuilders and other automotive services available, plus many old muscle cars. We also have a very active drag strip in the area. My car spent its life here; I bought it at one of the big summer car shows in Carlisle Pennsylvania in 95.
Dave-R - it is good to talk to you again; this forum is super and is the only all-Challenger site I've seen. Turns out my tires are 205 70R14s so they are not quite as wide as I thought. The tech guru in my Mopar car club told me he thinks they are too wide for easy manual steering though. When I bought them, I had little time to research the issue - it was just after I bought the car and the old tires were literally rotting off. I am sure they were very close to the original tires. The shocks were very old as well. Anyway, I plan to replace the wheels as the original magnums are pretty ratty; would 15 inch wheels be an improvement for handling if I keep the manual steering? I would think narrower wheels in front and wider in back (e.g., 15X6 front, 15X7 back). Something like this might be cheaper and easier than the full blown manual to power conversion.
Also, my car will not return to center so I know the caster is wrong for manual. I wonder what difference it will make when I get the realignment done.
Thanks,
Duane