The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Yet another update. I must be the leader when it comes to frequent updates NOT. No further comments.

A couple of months ago, I decided to buy a new pair of leaf springs. I was not at all pleased with the set I had on my car: It was a set of worn leaf springs with an extra reinforcement leaf on each side. It will really feel good to assemble the new ones. They are Mopar performance #4452984 and -85 (Made in Mexico.). I had expected that they would be fairly identical comparing the left-hand-side with the right-hand-side, but in real life they differ quite a lot. What puzzles me the most is that the shortest leaf (the half-leaf) is pointing in opposite directions when you compare the left leaf spring with the right leaf spring. I had not expected that. I assume that it shall be like that. Can anyone confirm that? The front bushings were pre-installed. The front bushings are regular rubber bushings who alredy have begun to crack (made in 2009 and not driven at all).

For the rear shackles, I have ordered a set of black urethane bushings (8 bushings; 2 bushings on each bolt - totally 4bolts).Any intresting comments out there? Was it a good buy or not?

I've heard some poor reports on the quality of the MP springs, but in all fairness I've never used em personally.
I think the comments were that they work reasonably well for a while but sag fairly quickly.
Poly bushings are a good idea front and rear of the leafs, the rear end feels much more in control.
Just make sure they are installed with plenty of silicone grease, or they'll squeak like hell

Adrian Worman wrote:I've heard some poor reports on the quality of the MP springs, but in all fairness I've never used em personally.
I think the comments were that they work reasonably well for a while but sag fairly quickly.
Poly bushings are a good idea front and rear of the leafs, the rear end feels much more in control.
Just make sure they are installed with plenty of silicone grease, or they'll squeak like hell

Ok. Thanks! Not exactly what I had hoped to hear. Let´s see if the rumour is true or not then.

I put a set in just like that and the leaf lengths are different on mine too,I think it is for axle wind up

I did it about 3 years ago and I dont notice any sag,


unless I put the gaffer in the trunk

drewcrane wrote:I put a set in just like that and the leaf lengths are different on mine too,I think it is for axle wind up

I did it about 3 years ago and I dont notice any sag,


unless I put the gaffer in the trunk

Ok. Thanks! That sounds promising.

drewcrane wrote: I did it about 3 years ago and I dont notice any sag,


unless I put the gaffer in the trunk

You shouldn't talk about your good lady wife like that.

dave-r wrote:

drewcrane wrote: I did it about 3 years ago and I dont notice any sag,


unless I put the gaffer in the trunk

You shouldn't talk about your good lady wife like that.

I was talking about you

I don't mind being locked in a trunk when it it also contains a large quantity of beer.

dave-r wrote:I don't mind being locked in a trunk when it it also contains a large quantity of beer.

Yea and then pee in the empties.... sorry for hijacking you thread Christor

Be nice to see what all the other guys are goin to say about the quality of these springs.
It was on this board a couple years back that I read about the poor reports from folks who had used the Mexican MP springs
I'd be inclined to just fit them on the car now you've got em Christer and see how they are

I have the same MoPar perf. springs on my 72,, last 3 numbers 984/985 they are the XHD springs that were used in 440's and Hemi cars. You have the biased set where the right side has a bit more spring rate than the left side. This aids in hard launches from a stop. I have the non-biased set which is better for handling. The lower short spring is configured in the same direction on the non-biased set. As far as quality, do you think Dick Ross owner of Firm Feel would stock and carry these springs if they were inferior? I have used 2 sets and a friend of mine has used also 2 sets on his MoPars. No problems! The rear spring shackle should be torqued to 25 FT. Lbs with Poly bushings,(Recommended), and a silicone or petrolatum lube used to control squeaking/ friction. The front bracket bolt is 125 FT. Lbs. The U-Bolts are 45 FT. Lbs. Although shocks do not carry any loads, they should be mentioned, a good set is really mandatory for dampening control and re-bound. I am using Bilsteins. The Edelbrock IAS shocks are also good but I think they have been discontinued.

If Edd says "ok" then I'd go for it Christer, there ain't much that bloke don't know

If I remembered correctly the factory leafs on mine have the reversed small leafs also. Probably for wrap-up as noted and it never gets wheel hop doing a burnout.

That beer in the trunk brings back memory's of having it poured down the roadside by a Sheriff officer, dam alcohol abuse in my opinion.

Eddie wrote:I have the same MoPar perf. springs on my 72,, last 3 numbers 984/985 they are the XHD springs that were used in 440's and Hemi cars. You have the biased set where the right side has a bit more spring rate than the left side. This aids in hard launches from a stop. I have the non-biased set which is better for handling. The lower short spring is configured in the same direction on the non-biased set. As far as quality, do you think Dick Ross owner of Firm Feel would stock and carry these springs if they were inferior? I have used 2 sets and a friend of mine has used also 2 sets on his MoPars. No problems! The rear spring shackle should be torqued to 25 FT. Lbs with Poly bushings,(Recommended), and a silicone or petrolatum lube used to control squeaking/ friction. The front bracket bolt is 125 FT. Lbs. The U-Bolts are 45 FT. Lbs.

Thanks a lot for your input, Eddie! I really appreciate it.

Jon wrote:If I remembered correctly the factory leafs on mine have the reversed small leafs also. Probably for wrap-up as noted and it never gets wheel hop doing a burnout.

It seems like my leaf springs are built the way they should. Thanks, Jon!

Eddie wrote:Although shocks do not carry any loads, they should be mentioned, a good set is really mandatory for dampening control and re-bound. I am using Bilsteins. The Edelbrock IAS shocks are also good but I think they have been discontinued.

I was just about to write about my newly bought shocks when you wrote that comment, Eddie. Talk about timing.

For a long time, Koni dampers have been my favourite pick. Discussing shocks with a mate who is into car racing, led me to think that Bilstein shocks would be a good choise ($399 at ebay). Then, all of a sudden, I found a set of USED adjustable Konis for only $60 (FOR A COMPLETE SET!). In my world, this was a bargain. The set of Konis had been used for 10 years on a ´69 b-body (1 of 2 true A12 here in Sweden. A12 info: http://mapleleafmopars.homestead.com/a12mopar.html ). The guy did not sell them because thay were worn or anything. Since they were doing a ground up restoration on the A12, they simply switched EVERYTHING for new parts.

How do you adjust the Konis? You press the shocks to the end position, and then you adjust the stiffness by rotating the lower part of the shock while the upper part of the shock is fixed. There are about 2,5 turns from one end position to the other. The stiffest setting is REALLY stiff, I can gurantee that. I plan to use a fairly soft setting to begin with.

I miss the upper bushings on the front shocks. If anyone knows where to buy these, then I am intrested. Thanks!

You're very welcome Chris! I have to admit, I have no experience with the Koni's. I would have absolutely no reservations about using them however, they are simply one of the best dampers in the world and are used on many different types of Motorsport machines,(Bikes, Off-Road trucks, drag cars and roadracers), for information on the adjustability I would ask Drew McCraner or Dave the Gaffer! I think Drew uses either Koni's or some type of adjustable premium damper on his Challenger. When I went for a triple speed run in the Denver Mountains, his car hooked like it was on rails! Either way good luck and killer deal on those Koni's!!!

Eddie wrote:You're very welcome Chris! I have to admit, I have no experience with the Koni's. I would have absolutely no reservations about using them however, they are simply one of the best dampers in the world and are used on many different types of Motorsport machines,(Bikes, Off-Road trucks, drag cars and roadracers), for information on the adjustability I would ask Drew McCraner or Dave the Gaffer! I think Drew uses either Koni's or some type of adjustable premium damper on his Challenger. When I went for a triple speed run in the Denver Mountains, his car hooked like it was on rails! Either way good luck and killer deal on those Koni's!!!

I did not think that you would have any doubts about the Koni´s. Maybe they sometimes are overlooked due that they more expensive compared to (for instance) Bilsteins. I ask myself if you really get value for the money if you buy them new? Well, it is up to all of us if we are ready to spend that kind of money ore not. In my case ($60 for a set), the choise was easy.

New Koni´s at ebay. ($500 + $380 = $880):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koni-Plymouth-B ... 416984f8fe

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koni-Plymouth-B ... 3f1b0f8605

christer wrote:

Eddie wrote:You're very welcome Chris! I have to admit, I have no experience with the Koni's. I would have absolutely no reservations about using them however, they are simply one of the best dampers in the world and are used on many different types of Motorsport machines,(Bikes, Off-Road trucks, drag cars and roadracers), for information on the adjustability I would ask Drew McCraner or Dave the Gaffer! I think Drew uses either Koni's or some type of adjustable premium damper on his Challenger. When I went for a triple speed run in the Denver Mountains, his car hooked like it was on rails! Either way good luck and killer deal on those Koni's!!!

I did not think that you would have any doubts about the Koni´s. Maybe they sometimes are overlooked due that they more expensive compared to (for instance) Bilsteins. I ask myself if you really get value for the money if you buy them new? Well, it is up to all of us if we are ready to spend that kind of money ore not. In my case ($60 for a set), the choise was easy.

New Koni´s at ebay. ($500 + $380 = $880):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koni-Plymouth-B ... 416984f8fe

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Koni-Plymouth-B ... 3f1b0f8605

Yea 60 bucks for a set of konis is a great deal.and any adjustable shock for these cars is a very welcome addition to having the car handle well and adjust to road conditions............

These QA1,s are what I have and the nice thing is they are completely rebuildable ,and now have a feature to adjust the shocks remotely from inside the car as you are moving, I DON'T have that feature but kind of cool any way,have fun with those Konis they are very nice shocks

I am really happy and pleased now. Why? Some time ago, I decided to search for a used drivers door and after a couple of weeks I found a door that seems to be in great condition. A funny thing is that I found it only a couple of miles from my garage. The guy in the shop told me that they have one drivers door (according to thier paperwork), but I got a bit worried when we had found two passanger doors but no drivers door. Finally he managed to find a drivers door and I am very happy that I bought it. I should have done this ages ago. The door on my car today is welded, bondo:ed, twisted and only god knows what it has been going through over the years. To get a nicely looking gap- and flush to the front fender just wasn´t possible, at least I was not capable of doing that. And guess what? It was a complete door I found with doorpanel, door panel insert, rallye mirror (with one torn wire), door handle (cracked handle) and a tinted side glass!!! All for the same price as an empty door. I can hardly understand how lucky I was when I found this? How often do you stumble across a COMPLETE door in great condition with only minor rust issues (It only has got surface rust). The door even had a visit card inside from Rubens garage in California. Is Rubens garge familiar to anyone? The door seems to have the original paint on it. I do not see any signs of that it ever has been repainted. A good buy, eh?

It was marked as beeing 1) a Mustang door, 2) a Cuda door and 3) a Challenger door. Maybe the Mustang and cuda marks have fooled some of the customers? I am glad these marks didn´t fool me.

A good used panel is still far better than a repro, they just don't have the ability to stamp just like the originals.
Plus, you got all that hardware, trim, glass etc, bet you can't wait to get it prepped and painted

I told you to remind me (exactly one year ago) to post those hood letters to you!

I knew I would forget.

Still got them for when you need them Christer mate. But I will try to remember to post them once the Christmas rush is over.

Adrian Worman wrote:A good used panel is still far better than a repro, they just don't have the ability to stamp just like the originals.

I ask myself how they manufacture and develop a repro door panel (for instance). Do they just send an original, good looking original door panel to China and hope that the finished result will be adequate? It would not surprise me if they do like that (but I hope not....). A basic viewpoint is that it is impossible to manufacture "perfect" parts. It all depends on how accurate you measure. No process is free from variation. You will always find some variation in every process. In real life, no parts are "prefect". All parts will have more or less defects built into them. If you send an original, good looking door panel to China, it will by default have some minor defects. It will be useable in a car, but it can´t be considered as "perfect". If the manufacturer decide to use this non-perfect door panel as a template, then you will have some built-in defects from the beginning. That is not a good start.

To manufacture a door panel that is all made of plastic seems like an easy task, right? All you need to have is a mould, right? Thanks to that, all of the manufactured parts will look the same and be "perfect", right? The truth is that you cannot be more wrong, if you believe that. In a process like that, there are several crucial factors to consider: The plastic itself (there are a number of different plastics, all with different carachteristics), how well the plastic is mixed (in case the plastic is a mixture), time, temperature, pressure, where the injection poins are located and the number of injection points.

In a nutshell: I doubt that the guys who are making repro parts knows what it takes to manufacture and develop products. They seem to be more intrested in earning money. The loosers are the enthusiasts who gets products that does not fit (work) very well. Sad. This is a quite intresting topic to discuss. Thanks to my work, I have become more aware of the issues mentioned above.

Adrian Worman wrote:Plus, you got all that hardware, trim, glass etc, bet you can't wait to get it prepped and painted

Yup. I am already working on it. it feels soooo good.

dave-r wrote:I told you to remind me (exactly one year ago) to post those hood letters to you!

I knew I would forget.

Still got them for when you need them Christer mate. But I will try to remember to post them once the Christmas rush is over.

I thought a reminder would be unnecessary, but I guess I was wrong. The missing hood letters have been a huge stopper in my project......NOT. I am joking, of course. Yes, I am still intrested in the hood letters. It is very generous of you to send me them. No hurry though. My project will not be ready in years.... (I hope not )

They have at least got a bit closer to you Christer because now they have at least made their way into a Jiffy bag.

Still the same address as you gave me last year yes?