69 Roadrunner Protouring

[cfwjr1974]

I have completely gotten out of my element and purchased a 69 Plymouth Roadrunner. Just an itch I have always wanted to scratch!

It seems that the only 3 companies I can find that make PT suspensions for it are, RMS (Alter-k-Tion), XV motorsports, and Hotchkis. I fully realize there are not nearly as many available products as there are for a Chevrolet, but I wanted to make sure that I did not leave anyone out of my search.

Thanks,
Chuck

[blown9746]

magnum force also

[Bakaruda]

I hope this will help. I will start with what in my opion is the worst system out there. Magnum Force. This system uses your stock shock mounts and this will cause the inner fenders to move in and close the hood gap. If not keeping the hood from opening. There are plenty of guys you can find on the web that have had and removed these.
Now XV. looks like a very good system. The only down side I can think of is it takes alot of work to install. This would be my second choice.
RMS (Alterkation), I am a little partial to this system. I own one. This system is a complete bolt in system. Very easy to install and lots of adjustment. You can find plenty of very fast and highend cars using this. Most of the Mopars on the Powertour that have a aftermarket suspenion came from RMS. This is just my two cents.

[autoxcuda]

A stock type system like Hotchkis is very capable.

The fabbed K-members show a lot of extra benefit to someone doing motor swaps in an smaller A-body like a big block or a modern Gen3 hemi. Even a Gen3 Hemi in B-body (Road Runner) my be an issue with a stock K-member, beyond just motor mount adapters.

[wedged]

A stock type system like Hotchkis is very capable.


+1 . Set up right, it can run with the best of them.

[rjsjea]

Upgrade the stock or go with the AlterK. I went AlterK for ease of fitting headers etc....as well as some weight savings (95lbs ish)

Look around and you may find pics of failed aftermarket systems out there, BUT I have never seen or heard of an AlterK failing

[deuce_454]

I have one major beef with the alterk.. and that is their solution to bumpsteer correction, and to a lesser degree their choice of non greasable, non sealed heim for suspension bushings..

The issue i have is that instead of using a tall steering joint they went the cheap and unsafe route of elimination the conical steering joint/spindle and replaces it with a spacer tube and a single sheer joint.. and its only held together by the friction from tightenig the thru-bolt... once it slips once it will rattle loose

you just dont use single sheer conections and nylock bolts in a critical application like that, atleast not on a road car that doesnt get inspected every weekend before a race.....

and i dont care what pictures you have or havent seen.. its not a roadworthy solution especially since they could have steering jounts made from howe in the height they needed and done away with that all thoegter

The Heims as suspension joints are awesome the first time you take them out.. but they are non sealed and wear fast... so for a street car its not my cup of tea, but atleast its double sheer mounted.. its just a cheap solution that is inferior to so much else available at fractionally higher cost...

enough with the rambling, check the pic below to see what im talking about

http://www.reillymotorsports.com/store/product_image.php?imageid=112

[Bakaruda]

Deuce,

I challenge you to find a failed Alterkation. These are on Autocross, Street, and Drag cars all over the wold. They are very strong and yes they are greaseable. I have had one for over 8 years. They have been on every powertour sence 2003.

[rjsjea]

I have one major beef with the alterk.. and that is their solution to bumpsteer correction, and to a lesser degree their choice of non greasable, non sealed heim for suspension bushings..

The issue i have is that instead of using a tall steering joint they went the cheap and unsafe route of elimination the conical steering joint/spindle and replaces it with a spacer tube and a single sheer joint.. and its only held together by the friction from tightenig the thru-bolt... once it slips once it will rattle loose

you just dont use single sheer conections and nylock bolts in a critical application like that, atleast not on a road car that doesnt get inspected every weekend before a race.....

and i dont care what pictures you have or havent seen.. its not a roadworthy solution especially since they could have steering jounts made from howe in the height they needed and done away with that all thoegter

The Heims as suspension joints are awesome the first time you take them out.. but they are non sealed and wear fast... so for a street car its not my cup of tea, but atleast its double sheer mounted.. its just a cheap solution that is inferior to so much else available at fractionally higher cost...

enough with the rambling, check the pic below to see what im talking about

http://www.reillymotorsports.com/store/product_image.php?imageid=112

My uppers are polybushed, not heims..........from RMS

AlterK's have been mentioned with over 60,000 street miles on them now without reported issues. On this forum pics of OTHER companies system's have been posted showing catastrophic failures and we are not on one of the crazy "mopar or no car" sites

[deuce_454]

Deuce,

I challenge you to find a failed Alterkation. These are on Autocross, Street, and Drag cars all over the wold. They are very strong and yes they are greaseable. I have had one for over 8 years. They have been on every powertour sence 2003.

i have a bigger challenge.. read my post!

Ill admit i stand corrected in the greasability BUT im not talking about pictures of failed stuff.. im talking about the right and wrong way of engineering stuff.. and spacertubes, threadad rods with nylocks and single sheer joints have no place in the steering on a roadworthy car... It could have beed solved with a tall rebuildable howe steering joint

but it may however well be the best aftermarket suspension out there for a mopar, and im happy you like yours....

[cfwjr1974]

Thanks for all of the input. Mopar stuff is completely new to me. What about XV's bolt in level 2 suspension and k-member? It seems to be the "DSE subframe" of the bunch. I am thinking I either want to go with bolt-on, or to the high-end Alterk or XV. It really depends on whether I build a driver or a more high-end car. Am I missing anyone worth looking at? Minimal modifications and ease of motor fitment, etc is important to me.

Chuck

[DRJDVM's '69]

The XV stuff is very nice...alot of engineering went into the system. Its not really what I would call a "bolt in" system....it does require some mods and welding in some of the components. The downside is the cost...

The RMS system is alittle more "basic"....not engineered nearly as much but very reputible and will suite the needs of 90% of the guys out there.

I have the RMS Alterkations in my Cuda....it hasnt hit the street yet, but I have no doubt that I wont be disappointed.

[deuce_454]

If i were you id go with what people who actually use the stuff recomend... if somone has driven 8 years with AlterK and they arent faliure prone... then id go with that.. just be sure to grease it regularly.. find some seals for the heims.. and be really anal about making sure the steering linkage is tight... and check it whenever you do work to the car....

Roadstershop is building a cuda with an aftermarket front end and this post in the the thread shows that you need to be carefull with what you buy

.. http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=18789&page=9

[californiacuda]

Call RMS, nicest, most dedicated guy you'll ever meet. He's been doing the k member swap for a long time.

[DRJDVM's '69]

Wow.... I hadnt seen the post with the Magnumforce front end failure. I had heard of ALOT of issues with that unit, but mostly with fitment etc...

Another reason why I went with the Alterkations

[Hotchkis]

Chuck

Welcome to Mopar stuff! If you have a look at our e-max challenger, you'll see how well your mopar can handle while still maintaining the soul of the original design. Using bolt on parts (http://www.hotchkis.net/dodge_b_e_body_geometry_corrected_tubular_upper_aa rms.html) gives you the option of changing things back to stock at another time, which can be a big plus should you decide to sell or show your car in the future.

All of our components are U.S made and tested as a system, so you won't have to worry about metal quality or mismatched parts.

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[cfwjr1974]

This site is the best. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Chuck

[gionni]

the cuda with the broken suspension has a magnumforce suspension...

buy an alterKtion suspension for you road runner....is a very nice setup, and in same time the cheepest one! but the system is a blast to drive...i have an alterKtion with airride on my 71 road runner and i'm very happy... i drove it many times on limit...without problems!

i think...when you want a good streetable setup with the option to go meantime on racetrack, is the alterKtion a good solution for you!

...otherwise upgrade your stock-system...

[J-440]

The solution to Magnumforce's supposedly faulty engineering is to weld in some shock tower braces. Basically all of your best handling cars have this setup anyway. I bought a complete setup from them 3 years ago and it is indeed a true bolt-in setup. They even have an updated version with sway bar and motor mounts. I bought the older one with a motor plate for header and oilpan clearnace.
Another thing with Mopars...the stock shock towers will fail over time on a pro-touring car. Drag racing is no big deal. This is why M-force recommends you weld in the braces. Good quality parts and you will NOT be disappointed.

[rjsjea]

The solution to Magnumforce's supposedly faulty engineering is to weld in some shock tower braces. Basically all of your best handling cars have this setup anyway. I bought a complete setup from them 3 years ago and it is indeed a true bolt-in setup. They even have an updated version with sway bar and motor mounts. I bought the older one with a motor plate for header and oilpan clearnace.
Another thing with Mopars...the stock shock towers will fail over time on a pro-touring car. Drag racing is no big deal. This is why M-force recommends you weld in the braces. Good quality parts and you will NOT be disappointed.

Uuuuhhhmmmm.....

[customcam]

If i had a Mopar id Ring AME and order a Performance Engineered Tested product and weld it in. 5 of the best use Ame! :)

[Bakaruda]

?????

[autoxcuda]

?????

Same here. What's AME ??

And 5 of the best of what??

[J-440]

RJSJEA, what is that in the second pic? Did the lower A-arm separate from the K-member? I see that the eye bolt is still there, although it looks as if the bolt holding it might have snapped off. Lemme know exactly what happened and I can fix my ****. Maybe some good ARP stuff will remedy the problem.:D

[DRJDVM's '69]

AME I believe is that Art Morrision full frame set -up....very nice, but nowhere close to a "bolt in".

If you were doing a complete floor and trunk etc etc, that would be a great choice.

[rjsjea]

RJSJEA, what is that in the second pic? Did the lower A-arm separate from the K-member? I see that the eye bolt is still there, although it looks as if the bolt holding it might have snapped off. Lemme know exactly what happened and I can fix my ****. Maybe some good ARP stuff will remedy the problem.:D

I did not see that in person, it was a pic posted here in an earlier thread. It's the lower control arm and Kmember bolt I think. Hard to see in the pic if there was any other probs.....where the bolt goes into the Kframe looks questionable. Could have been catastrophic if the car was being driven at any speeds.

I have bought uppers from MForce and thought they were pretty good.

[customcam]

AME have a 'front clip' that you could weld in. :thumbsup: