How to make a c-body "sporty"?

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BowerPower62

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I'm looking to modernized an older car. Subtle updates: drivetrain, suspension, etc to build myself a car I want to drive everyday. I'm quickly becoming a mopar or no car type of person. Haha, got two modern hemi vehicles at the house and I love them! The guys at the b body forum have pointed out that the C body is killer value for the money.

Of the research I have done, the b-body and c-body look like they have very similar suspension setups. The c-body being a foot longer and a couple inches wider shouldn't stop it from being able to be sporty. I know they did a Hurst version of the 300 so chrysler was thinking that too but the aftermarket completely forgets these cars exist so a lot of what I would do will have to be custom. I know it will never be like a corvette or Miata. I do love the bigger cars and the idea of having "grandpa's car" that has the ability to be a beastly streat machine.

What can be done to make a c-body more "sporty"? Recommendations for companies that upgraded suspension, steering, brakes, Gen 3 hemi swap. Any discussion or recommendations related are welcome. Does the c-body have any need/use for chassis stiffening like they do on the b-body with torque boxes and sub frame connectors?

If your curious, I'm eyeing fuselage year cars, 2 doors maybe 4 if no b pillar, especially those with hidden headlights like the 300s and Imperials.
 
Been thinking about that myself. My brother got me into auto cross. He's building a 79 Roadrunner and I'm working on my 66 Galaxie. But I really want a mopar to run. I'm trying to decide if I want to play with my 69 Newport or find another c body.

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Considering this build - Pure Vision | Big was one of my inspirations I would say definitely use your Newport.

MotorTrend article - 1970 Chrysler Newport - Mopar Muscle Magazine

If you search for "pro touring" and then a c-body model you might get some pics you can use for inspiration. I have frame connectors on my convertible but that is just to keep things respectable in terms of frame bend.


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I figured that was coming. Not popular unless it was a factory built sport model or trim. The Hurst is a good example. I don't disagree considering the memory of these cars is mostly stock. This site will be the hardest on those that add there own vision. Car shows, where only a few people have these memories, are more forgiving.

I have fond memories of my parents ugly green ford galaxy 500 with mismatched rear seat upholstery from the factory. If I had one now I would want it to be similar.

Those early Model-T drivers must have hated what was done to them.
 
commando1 said:
Leave the damn C-body alone and be "sporty" with your Metrics.
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^^^^What he said. The C will never be rock solid like a newer car, but you can tighten it up for more spirited driving. Bigger sway bar up front, and add a rear sway bar. Bigger torsion bars may help out too.

There is no real aftermarket support to turn a land barge into a slot car, we don't have that luxury. Firm Feel has some products for steering and suspension. We haven't confirmed that larger exhaust works with their rear sway bar, they claim it will.

Gen 3 swaps have been done, @Tobias74 has a thread on a car that had it done.

Good luck on making a corner carver, it can be done, but not by ordering from a catalog.
 
bnz84 said:
Considering this build - Pure Vision | Big was one of my inspirations I would say definitely use your Newport.

MotorTrend article - 1970 Chrysler Newport - Mopar Muscle Magazine

If you search for "pro touring" and then a c-body model you might get some pics you can use for inspiration. I have frame connectors on my convertible but that is just to keep things respectable in terms of frame bend.


View attachment 530620
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If properly set up, you can really piss off a bunch of BMW owners…
 
I assure you guys that whatever I do will be in good taste. It will look like a stock car, no excessive lowering or 22 inch wheels. I want a luxury ride without the excessive body roll, and old car sloppy steering. I was looking into firm feel, I have heard a lot about them. A gen 3 Hemi because its performance, efficiency, reliability, and ease of part access. I really like the t56 magnum because manual and .50 overdrive but that would involve cutting up the trans tunnel for room. Nag1 still isn't super swap friendly and neither is the newer 8 speed auto trans. It does look like some of the b-body engine swap pieces can be made to work with relative ease.
 
BowerPower62 said:
I assure you guys that whatever I do will be in good taste. It will look like a stock car, no excessive lowering or 22 inch wheels. I want a luxury ride without the excessive body roll, and old car sloppy steering. I was looking into firm feel, I have heard a lot about them. A gen 3 Hemi because its performance, efficiency, reliability, and ease of part access. I really like the t56 magnum because manual and .50 overdrive but that would involve cutting up the trans tunnel for room. Nag1 still isn't super swap friendly and neither is the newer 8 speed auto trans. It does look like some of the b-body engine swap pieces can be made to work with relative ease.
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I'm all for making a car what you want. I think stock is nice, but I like a hot rod just the same, if not more.
 
LocuMob said:
I'm all for making a car what you want. I think stock is nice, but I like a hot rod just the same, if not more.
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I appreciate that.

Holly cow, c-bodies are so a lot harder to find than I would have that. At any point in time you can find loads of "RARE" chargers, road runners, challengers, etc... but a simple "boring" c-body is no where to be found. I will be watching the for sale forum very closely.
 
69CoronetRT said:
I'm with him....


What can be done to make a c-body more "sporty"?

Trade it toward an E body.
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You're not wrong but for me the value is not there and I don't want something that small. I would like to point out that the Plymouth Sport Fury GT was part of Plymouth's Rapid Transit System (RTS) which is "more than just a big engine, wide tires, and a straight line".
 
I did the FirmFeel suspension. Replaced all of the bushings, torsion bars, leaf springs, Bilstien shocks, front and rear sway bars, tie rod ends, idler and pitman arms, and ball joints. The car now feels great going around corners. Although, that did point out how loose the steering box was, I am waiting on the new box I ordered from FirmFeel as I type.
The other issue I had was I did not like the brakes. Everyone will tell you that drum brakes work fine (those folks are correct), but the one time I got to the bottom of a twisty hill with no brake pedal left due to fade I decided I wanted 4 wheel disk. I did a Leed brakes kit on the back and... I wasn't satisfied. Drum brakes take less fluid volume and pressure to work than disks, so direct bolt on parts don't work great. I'm in the process of adding a new master cylinder and proportioning valve (Baer remaster) and hope to have the brake reliability, stopping power, and feel that I've been craving.
After I did wheels and tires I'm at about $7,000. I can let you know how close I got to being sporty once the master cylinder and power steering box are done.
Regarding engines, just get a big block and tune it well. My low power 440 (330hp) has enough torque to pull tree stumps. It will never be a race car (BTW, that last statement is not approved by the 12 year old who is still alive in my heart...) but it can get me some serious tickets!
 
There are some B-body susp bushings that swap into a C, but that's about where the similarity ends. The B-body is a full unibody, the C is a hybrid in that it has a bolt-in front subframe. Of the A-B-E, the C has the least aftermarket support, so if you want sporty, you'll always be disadvantaged behind those cars.

Based on my experience with a 70 SF vs earlier cars, IMO the Fuseys handle better and corner flatter from the factory, but they are heavier and that will be a disadvantage later on.
IMO a Slab is a better starting point as they are lighter and don't have the isolated front subframe. Yes, you could make solid biscuits to put in there, but it's still a heavier car.
Sometime in the Fusey era they installed ISO-mount leafsprings, where there is a rubber cushion between springs and axle - that will need eliminated.

I would avoid a 65 C-body as they have 1-year-only peculiarities everywhere, and some peculiarities are an obstacle for parts interchangeability when you're looking for aftermarket parts. Most vendors are not aware and you'll get disappointments.

Firmfeel is the best vendor IMO for performance suspension stuff. There are others, but IMO not quite as good. Their swaybars are the best, but they are pricey.

Avoid anything that endeavors to eliminate the torsion bars - the engineers did a top-notch job on that design.

If you put 'sporty' into your C-body you'll lose some of that luxury-car ride you want.
I have 1.12" Firmfeel torsion bars and 1-1/8" front swaybar in my 68 Fury, along with manual discs, a front suspension rebuild, and KYB shocks. It definitely handles significantly better than stock, and there's still room for improvement as I have no rear swaybar and my leafsprings are crap. But it does NOT ride as nice as it did before. The steering box is now the limiting factor. I travel through a city that has tons of circular roundabouts, and I can toss this car thru them as fast as I can steer it.

This thing will NOT fit from 65-73 as noted. Might bolt-in for some, but for others will require a bunch of mods. Might not even work at all for the Fusey subframes.
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fury fan said:
This thing will NOT fit from 65-73 as noted. Might bolt-in for some, but for others will require a bunch of mods. Might not even work at all for the Fusey subframes.
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This is the thing that really irks me with vendors.

The "one size fits all" really doesn't apply to C-bodies. It's probably lack of knowledge and experience with the cars... Or a "let's just sell to unexpecting hobbyists" and let them figure out it's not gonna work.

Of course, it goes the other way too.... Parts listings that don't include some of the cars that they will fit.
 
Big_John said:
This is the thing that really irks me with vendors.

The "one size fits all" really doesn't apply to C-bodies. It's probably lack of knowledge and experience with the cars... Or a "let's just sell to unexpecting hobbyists" and let them figure out it's not gonna work.

Of course, it goes the other way too.... Parts listings that don't include some of the cars that they will fit.
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I would bet lack of knowldege.
Look at the various subframe interchange peculiarities on 69-71 Fuseys. Most of us don't know all those details (myself included).
 
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