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  #1  
Old 12-20-2000, 02:30 PM
daveashsr daveashsr is offline
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hi guys !! its that time of year again !! has anyone set the eng back in a dodge dart ?? it looks like by our rules i can set the eng back about 3" !! it looks like alot of things will have to be changed and i'd like to know if anyone has done it and what kind of % change they got by doing it ?? also what did they have to fabricate in the process ?? thanks for any help !!
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!
thanks david
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  #2  
Old 12-21-2000, 06:12 PM
Rich33 Rich33 is offline
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In my experience about the only setback you can get away with on an "A" body is to mount the brackets to the motor mounts on the front side of the block bosses rather than the rear. That equates to maybe an inch of setback. The stock firewall really prevents getting the engine significantly further back(and I'm assuming you have to retain the stock firewall).

Too bad, too, 'cause the rear weight percentage sucks in Dusters and Darts. I'm running close to 300 pounds of rear ballast along with the radiator in the back window to get the car to hook good off the corners on a dirt track. And, yes, I have as soft rear leafs as I can get away with.
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  #3  
Old 12-30-2000, 08:53 PM
340king 340king is offline
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I would look into moving the front suspension forward. (Don't you always like the no-holds barred thinking I bring to this place?) All kidding aside, there may be a way to slide the K-member forward slightly, keep the stock firewall and gain a bunch of rear weight. This will have the consequence of adding wheelbase, and making some addjustments to the steering column and other things. Just a crazy thought. The wheelbase increase is usually offset some with the typical caster that is run in circle track applications, as it effectively shortens the car.
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  #4  
Old 12-31-2000, 04:13 AM
Rich33 Rich33 is offline
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I've done this...Not so much to gain engine setback as to get more positive caster. I slotted the holes a bit in the "K" member, slid it forward, and then bolted it back up. Didn't gain much.

Of course, I get a lot of caster by taping down the threads on the struts from the lower control arms to the K member and then adjusting down more on the nuts (with a couple of backing nuts in place on the other side). This pulls the lower control arm forward resulting in mucho positive caster. But slotting the K member and bringing the whole thing forward doesn't put anything in a bind like the strut thing can if you crank down too much.

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  #5  
Old 12-31-2000, 04:17 AM
sanborn sanborn is offline
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Or, what about cutting the frame directly behind the upper control mounts and adding a 3" frame section. You can make up for part of the wheelbase increase by using offset spring mounts on the rear end to move it forward. Years ago, Marty Robbins showed up at Nashville with a Mopar that looked like an A/FX drag car from the 60's. The wheelbase was altered that much.
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  #6  
Old 12-31-2000, 05:45 AM
AVENGER29 AVENGER29 is offline
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how much work are you willing to do??
our rules which im sure are similar to many,is that the #1 plug cannot be any further rear ward than the center of the upper ball joint,we dont have to have stock firewall. we move engine back almost 8 inches. ya 8 inches,gain 2% or rear weight,was significant too us. speedway has a engine plate. a must for this type of modification. we use the stock motor mount with the rubber biscuit removed. welded a 2x3 riser on the left side,fabricated 2 new motor mounts,added a small platform on back of k frame. you will have to relocate power steering pump up,we use original bracket and extended them upward,and attach it to alternator mounting boss.we use stock pump with 73 duster gear box,you will also need to reduce by using march pulleys,if you dont you will never keep belt on,major issue on a dirt stock car.you will also have to cut away some of the transmission crossmember. you will need to add a new one about 6 inches back,we fabricated a removeable one to help in quick transmission removal which we have never really needed.i can go into a great deal more detail,let me know if you need to.
racemethan@aol.com
i hope this help.
luke
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  #7  
Old 01-02-2001, 04:12 AM
340king 340king is offline
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I think I had better elaborate on my comment. The idea was to move the K member ahead so that more engine setback could occur without cutting up the firewall if the rules didn't allow it. This would also help run a rear sump oil pan. This should net more of a rear wieght gain than just sliding the engine back, as you are moving everything back, engine, trans, body, cage, etc. except the K member with respect to the front wheels.

As for the power steering belt problem, this is what I did. I took a small 3" solid hub pulley used for electric motors and such, reamed out the center hole on a lathe, and built a spacer to allow for a longer crankshaft balancer bolt. This cost about $25 and reduced the power steering belt speed by more than 50%. I ran this with a single groove pulley to run the water pump, with this setup sticking out the center of the pulley. It worked well until I switched cars and built a new setup with a race pump.
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  #8  
Old 01-02-2001, 01:53 PM
daveashsr daveashsr is offline
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hi again ! 340king my thinking would be that a longer wheel base would not be as good as a short !! i can see what your talking about though !! our rules do allow us to move the firewall and the eng setback rule is no futher back than #1 plug to ball joint ! i'm trying to get more rear % and cut down total wt if possible ! i always seem to have front end pushes and my thinking is to get the wt futher back to possibly help this prob !!
thanks for the suggestion !!
david
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  #9  
Old 01-03-2001, 04:47 PM
Rich33 Rich33 is offline
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The K member would have to go far enough forward and the engine far enough back to allow a rear sump pan to clear behind the drag link, right? I think the only way to do that and retain the stock firewall would be to lengthen the frame like Sanborn said. How did you work around the oil pan/drag link issue in your setup, Avenger29?
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  #10  
Old 01-08-2001, 03:57 AM
AVENGER29 AVENGER29 is offline
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rich33, we use nascar spindles which came indirectly from petty ent., we move engine nearly 8 inches, i dont know what stock spindles are like however??
moving the engine so far back,was not much of an issue. we use mid-80's truck rear sump pan that we modify using chevy pan kit from speedway and we notch the front of the addition to the base of the pan.at the time we could not afford ram racing pans, so we build our own, we like what we ended up with so much,that we have been building our own ever since.
most track official dont little to nothing on mopars,we have use that to our advantage.
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  #11  
Old 01-08-2001, 04:01 AM
AVENGER29 AVENGER29 is offline
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oops, what i meant to say is most track officials,know little or nothing about mopars,we have use this to our advantage.
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