new front end parts

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famous bob

mopar misfit
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to you guys that are well versed in rebuilding an A body front end , what brand of parts should a guy look for to rebuild a 1968 form S front end ?
I havent paid much attention to the past posts , all opinions from the experts appreciated .
-------------------------------------------thanks , bob

72blunblu----yellow rose-----rrr-----mopar official-----Andy F.----------------???
 
Stock rebuild for a driver?
 
Moog. stay away from all in one kits unless you know they have metal ball joint cups and tie rod cups. Also use OEM style factory bushings. 68 PN# for strut rod bushings is Moog K7040. otherwise you will get one piece style. Upper poly bushings are OK to use. Lower poly bushings and greasable pins are not any good at all.
I buy my parts at NAPA. Moog Moog Moog. Nothing else
 
Moog has been having problems with their lower bushings lately. The inner metal sleeve is too large a diameter for the pin. Typical import crap that they should be ashamed of.
 
I bought some Delco suspension components lately that look good. Not USA made though.
 
to you guys that are well versed in rebuilding an A body front end , what brand of parts should a guy look for to rebuild a 1968 form S front end ?
I havent paid much attention to the past posts , all opinions from the experts appreciated .
-------------------------------------------thanks , bob

72blunblu----yellow rose-----rrr-----mopar official-----Andy F.----------------???

Proforged is the company I have had the best luck with recently. Their ball joints and tie rod ends are better quality than Moog has been making lately. The last set of Moog ball joints I got were junk right out of the box, loose and sloppy or ridiculously tight. The Proforged stuff was spot on. Same for their LCA bushings, they sell the rubber bushings as well. They don't make everything though.

You can see some of the info on the LCA bushings here in this thread, @RealWing was nice enough to buy a bunch of different bushings and brands and do a comparison for what actually fit like it's supposed to. Moog did not do well.
LCA pin loose in bushing

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Moog has been having problems with their lower bushings lately. The inner metal sleeve is too large a diameter for the pin. Typical import crap that they should be ashamed of.

Exactly. Moog has had a couple of recalls of their bushings, and some of their parts are not currently available as they're probably re-tooling for the lines that have had issues.

I bought some Delco suspension components lately that look good. Not USA made though.

Delco in most cases is just re-boxed Moog parts
 
Proforged is the company I have had the best luck with recently. Their ball joints and tie rod ends are better quality than Moog has been making lately. The last set of Moog ball joints I got were junk right out of the box, loose and sloppy or ridiculously tight. The Proforged stuff was spot on. Same for their LCA bushings, they sell the rubber bushings as well. They don't make everything though.

You can see some of the info on the LCA bushings here in this thread, @RealWing was nice enough to buy a bunch of different bushings and brands and do a comparison for what actually fit like it's supposed to. Moog did not do well.
LCA pin loose in bushing

View attachment 1715578079




Exactly. Moog has had a couple of recalls of their bushings, and some of their parts are not currently available as they're probably re-tooling for the lines that have had issues.



Delco in most cases is just re-boxed Moog parts


Thanks guys , will look into proforged to start with .
 
Moog has been having problems with their lower bushings lately. The inner metal sleeve is too large a diameter for the pin. Typical import crap that they should be ashamed of.
The Moog K7040 bushings pre 73 don't take and inner sleeve they don't even come with them. The Moog K7068 For 73 up come with sleeves they fit perfect

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Stock rebuild for a driver?

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER -----I missed ur post/question .
Trying to make more of a driver out of my 68 fastback , have an aftermarket front end , works well on smooth roads , and dragracing , but we dont have all smooth roads around here .
 
what about it doesn't work right?

Not the smoothest riding , a little road walk on uneven / slanting back and forth roads , definitly not a corner carver , its fairly lite , looks good and has held up well, been running it for about 9-10 yrs., altho it doesnt have a hell of a bunch of miles on it . Doesn`t have motor mounts on it , running a motor plate .
 
Not the smoothest riding , a little road walk on uneven / slanting back and forth roads , definitly not a corner carver , its fairly lite , looks good and has held up well, been running it for about 9-10 yrs., altho it doesnt have a hell of a bunch of miles on it . Doesn`t have motor mounts on it , running a motor plate .
i don't remember what front end setup, or tire/wheels you have, but if you're running wide fronts and it's tramlining, you can try to dial some of it out with the alignment. have you tried checking what the front end is set at?
 
i don't remember what front end setup, or tire/wheels you have, but if you're running wide fronts and it's tramlining, you can try to dial some of it out with the alignment. have you tried checking what the front end is set at?

205 70- 15 front radials , 295 60 d15 bias in the rear , car just barely has a rake to it now, had the front end lined up by an old guy that was about retired , watched all of it , probly retired by now. Which does concern me about a new alignment when/if I change back to get better road manners . Dont trust the younger computer front end guys on a classic old car !
This tubular front end would be great for a drag car , I changed my mind mid build. The complete catrac rear set up dont help either , might end up going back to 002-003 rear springs -------------
 
Not the smoothest riding , a little road walk on uneven / slanting back and forth roads , definitly not a corner carver , its fairly lite , looks good and has held up well, been running it for about 9-10 yrs., altho it doesnt have a hell of a bunch of miles on it . Doesn`t have motor mounts on it , running a motor plate .

205 70- 15 front radials , 295 60 d15 bias in the rear , car just barely has a rake to it now, had the front end lined up by an old guy that was about retired , watched all of it , probly retired by now. Which does concern me about a new alignment when/if I change back to get better road manners . Dont trust the younger computer front end guys on a classic old car !
This tubular front end would be great for a drag car , I changed my mind mid build. The complete catrac rear set up dont help either , might end up going back to 002-003 rear springs -------------

Do you recall any of the alignment specs? Because if the "old guy" put a factory alignment on your car it could certainly cause or contribute to some of the issues you're describing. Factory alignment specs + radial tires = shopping cart handling

What is the front suspension conversion that you have? Some are definitely "drag race only" type gear, others can be made to handle decently.
 
Do you recall any of the alignment specs? Because if the "old guy" put a factory alignment on your car it could certainly cause or contribute to some of the issues you're describing. Factory alignment specs + radial tires = shopping cart handling

What is the front suspension conversion that you have? Some are definitely "drag race only" type gear, others can be made to handle decently.

He ask me about the specs I wanted as he quoted what the old cars had/took , I got a little better than what the factory and charts recommend , if I wanted , I could get about anything on the heim joints. I`ts a magnum force early tubular front end , the biggest problem w/ the handling is radial front and big bias ply rear , on caltracs. The other big problem is the rack and pinion has got quite a bit of play in it now , when/IF i DECIDE TO SELL IT , I`LL KNOCK ENOUGH OFF THE PRICE TO COVER IT , ON TOP OF ALMOST GIVING IT AWAY , BECAUSE OF SHIPPING COSTS. It doesnt have the engine setting on it/motor plate , ''my opinion of why its been a good one --------
excuse the caps , cant seem to keep my darn fingurs off the button , maybe my brain thinks it a nitrous button ! LOL
 
Man I wouldn’t touch an early magnum force front end with a 10 foot pole. I’m not sure you’ll be able to give that away. Be like trying to sell CAP made parts. Too many failures recorded for anyone to want to spend money on those.
 
Man I wouldn’t touch an early magnum force front end with a 10 foot pole. I’m not sure you’ll be able to give that away. Be like trying to sell CAP made parts. Too many failures recorded for anyone to want to spend money on those.

Has been a good one for me , I only know of one failure that isnt half b.s. , and it was a grade 8 bolt failure .
I do think not having the engine setting on it probly makes a big diff . .
I might even get a wild hair and just buy a new rack and pinion for it , I`m not concerned about it failing at all. I built a set of strut rods for it a long while back that reinforces the lower control arm bolts somewhat .
 
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