5 on 5.5 on a 73 dart sport

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D

DBrown

hold my beer...
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ok, I have an off the wall question that I have been thinking about for a few days now....

does anyone know the bearing spread on the front of a 73 dart with disk brakes?

I am wanting to change my lug pattern to 5 on 5.5 so it will match the 9" I am planning to install in the rear.

I have already cross referenced the bearings and I know which ones will work with the parts I plan to use but this is the last measurement I need...

please if anyone has a spindle laying around or a hub/rotor that they can measure it would be great!
 
Sorry no parts laying around to measure but 5 on 5.5 is the big Ford truck wheel pattern. What the heck kind of wheels you gonna run on that thing? Wouldn't it be easier/better to have the rear axles re-drilled to match the front hubs that way you could have a much better choice of wheels for it. Our local machine shop only charges $75 to redrill them. Time you buy new bearings, races, and rotors you'll have more than that in it and have an oddball pattern on it. Just something to think about.
 
yeah, I know it will cost about that much. the problem is then I got custom axles and no way for brakes unless I go disk then that adds another $200. the idea hit me the other day when I was rebuilding the front end on the dart. it has the same style front hub as my 86 f100. so I started doing some comparisons on the bearings and have found that I can use the ford inner bearing and the dodge outer bearing and the hub should work. the only measurement I am missing is the measurements off the dodge hub. I was just hopping I could find someone who has one laying around instead of tearing down the front of the dodge again.

the ford hub/rotor only cost $36 and if it is a direct bolt on then around $90 for hubs and bearings is alot better then the money I would have to spend to get all the custom stuff. plus I can get bigger drums in the back. my point is I don't want to have to custom machine axles everytime I need to replace or change my setup. this way it is all just plain order stuff from different venders. wheels are my last concern bacause I plan to run a set of custom in the long run anyway.

I know alot of y'all are going to look down on this but I am a person who likes to build cars and trucks a certain way. I am a big fan of off the shelf performance for as cheap as possible. if I can find parts that work and work well that bolt on then I will go that rought because of the price of aftermarket stuff.
 
Ok. But as far as the problem with rear brakes that's as simple as re-drilling the drums too. We've even done that on a drill press although it's better to drill them with a jig to make sure their properly centered.

At one time I was doing a 9" install in a 93 Dakota and even cross referenced a Ford brake drum that utilized the correct 5 on 4.5 inch bolt circle with the correct 11"X2-1/2" brakes the rear had. It's been awhile so I don't remember what the application was for now. They ended up being cheap too. $36 each at NAPA. Rather than re-drill we went that way.
 
You local machine shop if worth a hoot,
can redrill the axels, and the drums.

4.5 pattern, is much more common, heck you can find
aluminum mags from a Crown Vic,
or Mercury Grand Marquis.
 
You'll end up with some beeeeutiful wheels on that thar thing. Pickup truck wheels on a car. boy howdy.
 
What's wrong with using an 8 3/4 Mopar rear end?
A '65-'67 B body rear end fits fine under an A body like a '67-'69 Barracuda, Duster, Demon or Dart Sport.
Moving the spring perches is about the worst part of the swap, though some people have put them in there with the B body perches and fudged the springs over.

The only "FORD" part I'd put in a Mopar is a DANA 60 from the late '60s Ford Pick-ups, then it'd be narrowed and unrecognizable as such.

Mark.
 
You'll end up with some beeeeutiful wheels on that thar thing. Pickup truck wheels on a car. boy howdy.
Click to expand...

realy? think I can fit 35's?

I planned on running black steel wheels with chrome dog dishes or a set of custom rims anyway...it's just a lug pattern. you can get any type of rim you realy want...

the reason I am wanting to do the 9" swap is because I have the rear and it was free. the 8 3/4 or 60 would be cool but the cost of getting one is way to much IMO. I would look at even an 8 1/4 if I could find one, but that is another issue. I can't find any dodge stuff around here. this is already being dicussed in another topic though...

I did some research on some new parts from autozone and I think I can get it to work with a small shim to space out the inner wheel bearing to increase the bearing spread. I am going to do some more investigaton and I will post up with what I come up with.
 
D, I know some guys are adamat about not using anything but Mopar parts in their Mope but I understand your reasoning for running the 9" rear if it's free. I also understand the custom wheel isn't an issue that's hard to come up with BUT they are very expensive compared to the normal wheels available and you did say cost is an issue didn't you? That being said I can't understand why you don't just spend $125 to have the axles and drums redrilled and then you'd have a stock wheel pattern that the car came with and you'd have plenty of CHEAP wheels to choose from. Not custom wheels that you'd have to pay alot more for.
 
honestly, I am looking at the total situation. wheels are a one time buy for me, I never saw a point in changing the wheels over and over. I know what wheels I want and have wanted them for a long time so I can justify the purchase. I don't like having to get parts then altering them to use them. I would rather get parts that are usable with no machine work, right off the shelf. cost is a big factor, and right now this might be a cheap way to make it work. think about it, if I need to do a break job I can't just run to autozone and pick up the parts. I got to go and get the drums and have them machined. however I can run and pick up a hub/rotor for a 76 f100 and bolt it on. and still use the big drums from a 76-77 EB or big drum for the same 76 f100. these parts are always in stock and evenly priced with the dodge stuff. see what I am getting at?

I know that some people are very against swapping parts back and forth from different brands, but I am ok with it. I have built a few 4x4's and the first thing you will learn is it is all nuts and bolts...bottom line is if it works and it solves the problem then use it.

I think I might have it all worked out so I will post back up when I tear it down again. I am probably going to wait untill I need another brake job so I can use up what is left of the pads and rotors. I already got new perches for the rear so it is just a matter of grinding off the other brackets and prepping the housing for the swap.
 
You can't find an 8.25 rear axle?

Good grief, people almost give them away around here.
 
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