Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Quickor front sway bar fitted perfectly. Over in the corner was a set of spoke wheels that they'd made up as prototype models. Johnny was planning to put them on his truck to measure people's reaction. Once we saw them, there was nothing else worth getting, _ The idea was simple enough, But nobody else had done it. Wheels by Bart had inserted a painted eight-spoke center inside a chrome ring. They looked great , and people continue to confirm that initial reaction wherever the project van stops . The wheels are available in any size you want, the only restriction being whether the size you want will fit on your truck . Some disc -brake equipped models , for example, present a clearance problem. The Hoeks will build whatev er rim width , diameter , and amount of offset you wall t . The spokes are available in either black or primer paint. For the black project van , the black ones were perfect. Primered units can be.painted to match any paint job you may have on your truck -the possibilities are limitless. One feature in particular (in addition to the fact that the Hoeks build racing quality wheels) that sold us on their product was the fact that their spokes have a 360 degree weld attaching the center to the rim . Some other brands have the spokes welded only at the eight places at the spoke's tips. The all around weld in obviously stronger. The cen ters were also much thicker and stronger than the stock centers, Glad we didn't stick with the idea of having the stockers modified. The spokes are much , much better. Sway bars and shocks When choosing suspension parts to firm up a Detroit product,,it's pretty much an experimental ballgame. We started with brand name equipment: ADDCO anti -sway bars and Gabriel shock absorbers. We installed them and were immediately pleased with the results. Then, at a point where we were satisfied that the van article research was . done, we discovered a company .. Quickor Engineering " ,that offered both anti-sway bars and shocks designed especially for vans . To ignore them , we felt, would be to produce an incomplete article. But let's back up and start at .the beginning. Roland de Marcellus of ADDCO Industries was one of the first people we discussed the van suspen sion work with, and he had much to offer concerning everything from basic handling theory to ac tual recommendation of other products. It was through ADDCO , in fact , that we decided to ~o to Gabriel for shocks, ADDCO offers a booklet called "Handling: What it is .. and how to get ,it" that we found to be extremely informative. It ob viously contained too much information to include all of it in this article, but we applied knowledge gleaned from the booklet to effectively evaluate the handling problems (and im provement) in our test truck . It 's recommended reading. ADDCO anti-sway bars arrived with complete in struction and mounting hardware, although we did have to exchange the front bar mounting kit before it worked satisfactorily. When the new kit arrived and was installed, we still had a problem. The bar just barely cleared the exhaust pipes and appeared to be dangerously close to the aluminum automatic transmission housing, After trying it, it became ap parent that the pipes were hitting but the housing was safe, Still , we would recommend fabricating a thicker spacer to fit in the clamp that attaches the back edge of the bar to the truck , Not a difficult operation although it's one that should have been done at the factory, The rear bar went in with no problems whatsoever. Perfect. The people at Gabriel were also extremely helpful , referring us to PR man Dick Stahler. Stahler had some experience with the van scene and was happy to offer advice for our project. We enquired about the Gabriel Striders since 'we'd heard good things about them. He replied that while Striders were fine for standard suspension It's easy to see that the Gabrie l sh ocks are he avier-duty than the stock shoc k s. vehicles, Our 6100 gross vehicle weight Dodge would work better with a set of Gabriel Adjustable " E" shocks . The "E "s have a larger diameter piston ( I 5/8") than the Striders ( 1-3116" ) and are overall heavier duty units. We were very impressed with their sturdy appearance when first opening the package, an~ we've been pleased with their performance ever since. The Adjustable "E" shocks are three-way ad justable (as are the Striders) with regular, firm and extra firm settings. We were warned by a local car expe rt that they should be set on the regular or firm settings, He said the extra firm on the dial would result in the loosening of molars. We tried the _ lighter setting, then wound 'em up to extra firm, and that's where they've stayed ever since. One note on installing the "E"s: Dodges have their front shocks located inside the coil springs. Due to the larger diameter of the Gabriel Adjustable " E" shocks, the hole in the lower A arm must be enlarged to allow the body to fit. If you have access to one of those little carbide-tipped air grinders, no problem. If you don't, the installation could get to be a pain. Ford and Chevy owners should have no problems at all . It was almost by accident that we ran into the Quickor people. The Managing Editor had made one of his quarterly pilgrimages to the West office , and when he returned he brought a stack of press releases from various companies -- the Quickor In dustries one caught our attention. We contacted Glen Rissberger, found him very pleasant to talk with as well as being full of information , and arranged to have a look at a Quickor VanPak. We also learned that Quickor, after having been involved in sports cars and racing car . design for five years, has spent the last year working on vans . Their research is still going on , and they 're presently experimenting with such good things as different spring rates and shock absorber improvements. We plan to keep a close eye on this fast growing company, and we'll relay new findings to you through tests and product releases. We received a VanPak 111. It included two anti sway bars and a set of KYB shocks, The front bar was heavier ( I ~ ") than the ADDCO un it (I ") although the rear bar was the same, The overall quality of the Quickor kit was very impressive. They've studied ot her companies' kits and suc cessfully attempted to improve upon them. The Quickor kit is outstanding in quality .. it is, in fact, the best looking product and best engineered (of c any type: not just automotive parts) that we've acquired in some time . It's refreshing to discover a firm that places quality ahead of pinching pennies. And yet , the Quickor VanPak is priced lower than you can buy individual components to build your own system . Although we still felt that an even heavier front anti -sway bar would be good , perhaps Quicker's idea of increasing front spring rate would have a similar effect. We actually tried driving the turn with both bars (Quicker and ADDCO) installed and liked it. One more word of praise for theQuickor products. It wasn't necessary to drill or enlarge any holes . The kit was cleverl y designed to use existing bolts on the Dodge and was strictly a bolt-on operation, Beautiful. The KYB shocks , while not as visually impressive as the stocky Gabriels, did seem more responsive due to the fact that they 're gas shocks. Although they appeared to be more suited for Toyota's • pickup truck (judging by the size), they have very nearly the strength of the larger pistoned Gabriels. Rissberger reported that Quickor had experimented with both Bilstein and KYB shocks and found the KYBs to function as well as the more expensive , Bilsteins. The KYBs also carry a lifetime warranty, So...What did we accomplish? Were we able to convert a Dodge van into a quick handling race winning machine? Nope. A van with its large "sail area" (it gets blown around), its high center of . gravity , and its gross imbalance of weight front to rear, will never handle like a mid-engine racer. Bu t we did take a vehicle that has all of those faults and make into one that's fun to drive. Really , Now all it needs is a set of Hooker Headers, a good intake manifold with a four:barrel on top , and maybe a few extra odds and ends, and we'll have it all , Sounds like the rnakin's of another van article. We 'll work on that. 11

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