Pavement rushes under you as you bury the pedal and feel the horsepower glue your back to the seat. You push and pull the gears as you fly through the corners and the meticulously appointed chassis and suspension make child’s play of the twisties. Upgraded big brakes keep the horsepower in check, but the power under your right foot is calling to be released from the stables and you force the throttle southbound and feel the rush as the tach needle climbs and your heart starts to pound.
Driving all out asphalt-assaulting muscle cars is an experience that can’t be beat. The roar of the exhaust, the smell of heated rubber and brakes and the experience of being paralyzed by performance make you yearn for more. They are only fun if they are set up properly, though, and that’s where the suspension pros at Hotchkis come in. John Hotchkis, with years of experience in the driver seat of pavement-blistering performance cars, took his “R&D” knowledge from the professional driving circuit and poured it into performance suspension parts for many of yesterday and today’s prominent muscle cars. With a proven track record on the autocross course, Hotchkis components are sure to transform your tired suspension into a pavement-gripping underbelly making you more confident through the turns. This month we chose to focus on installing a Hotchkis suspension on blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s ’70 Plymouth Duster. Watch as we transform this former street cruiser into a street bruiser with Hotchkis sport suspension.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd hangs with John Hotchkis to get the low down on his Duster’s new capabilities before taking the wheel and heading for the hills.
Source
Hotchkis Sport Suspension
888.735.6425
www.hotchkis.net
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- Kenny Wayne Shepherd hangs with John Hotchkis to get the low down on his Duster’s new capabilities before taking the wheel and heading for the hills.
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- For this install we used the Hotchkis TVS (Total Vehicle System) suspension, utilizing front and rear sport sway bars, geometry-corrected tubular upper control arms, adjustable strut rods, adjustable steering rod kit, A-body subframe connectors and geometry-corrected leaf springs finished off with RCD shocks. All necessary hardware and brackets are included.
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- Corey starts the install by sliding the Hotchkis upper arm into the factory upper control arm ears and using the supplied shims to adjust the control arm’s position.
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- Once the control arm is positioned properly, Corey snugs the hardware down with a socket, ratchet and open-end wrench.
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- The jam nuts on the control arm are snugged.
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- The adjustable strut rods are installed next. They come off the factory mounts and slide into the front side of the control arm.
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- The adjustable strut rods are installed next. They come off the factory mounts and slide into the front side of the control arm.
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- The RCD shocks make their way onto the freshened suspension for proper dampening.
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- The adjustable Hotchkis tie rods are installed to firm up the steering. Hook the inside of the tie rods up at the center ink and the outside at the spindle.
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- The adjustable Hotchkis tie rods are installed to firm up the steering. Hook the inside of the tie rods up at the center ink and the outside at the spindle.
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- Here is the completed front suspension with the tubular upper control arm, adjustable strut rod, and adjustable tie rods.
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- The Hotchkis adjustable tie rods link up easily and should tighten up the steering when we throw this A-body into the corners.
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- Out back the factory rear shackle is joined with the geometry-correcting Hotchkis rear leaf springs.
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- Up front the supplied Hotchkis leaf spring mount is installed onto the leaf spring.
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- Corey navigates the leaf spring in place under the back of this A-body.
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- The hardware is cranked down securing the forward leaf mount to the subframe.
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- Corey moves back to the front and mocks up the sport sway bar. After using a grinding disc to remove paint off of the subframe, the supplied mounting brackets are welded up. A muffler jack was used to hold the bar firmly in place while Corey positioned the sway bar and welded the mounts up.
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- The brackets are welded and bolted to the suframe.
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- The sway bar is then bolted to the mounts installed on the subframe and prepped for the end links.
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- The end links brackets are tacked where instructed by Hotchkis on the lower control arm.
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- Satisfied with the positioning, Corey gives the welder a workout and fully tacks the bracket in place.
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- After being hit with a little black paint, the end link bracket is installed and the end link bolted in place.
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- The sport sway bar is installed and ready to carry this Mopar smoothly through the corners.
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- Corey grinds the paint off of the front and rear of the subframe connectors to get a clean weld, and then proceeds to do the same to the front and rear subframe mounts. Now he is ready to position the subframe connector and weld it in place.
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- Here are the Hotchkis subframe connectors installed and tying the front and rear subframes of the car firmly together.
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- The rear sway bar is lifted into place and the U-bolts and hardware are tightened into position.
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- The rear sway bar is lifted into place and the U-bolts and hardware are tightened into position.
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- The end links are tied to the sway bar and brackets on the rear subframe.
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- Back on the ground the sway bar axle brackets are cranked down further with a load on the suspension.
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- The rear shocks are cinched down to complete the install. Hotchkis has created a performance suspension that is simple to install and will make you’re A-body Mopar handle like a dream.
Tags: '70 Plymouth Duster, Hotchkis, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Suspension
