Top 10 things I hate about A Bodies

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Bill Dedman

Bill Dedman

bill dedman
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1. Working under the dash on wiring, instrument panel back-side, heater controls, wiper motor connections, etc. You need to be a midget/contortionist with under-developed hands to do this without ending up at a chiropractor the next day! WHY didn't they just make the top of the dash removeable, or hinged???

2. Trying to design and build a decent set of headers without spending a fortune on avoiding the myriad things in the way on the driver's side? Good grief!


3. What in God's name ever caused them to use that SBP 4", 5-lug system, anyway? I can't believe that having two separate bolt patterns ever saved them a nickle... and it costs a fortune to "corect" it... That one was a candidate for the Darwin Awards... and, it went on for YEARS (1960-1975???)

4. The early ('63-'66) A Bodies had ONE K-Member for both 6 and 8-cylinder cars... GOOD IDEA!!!! Did they continue that GOOD IDEA when they widened the front enf in 1967?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! "Let's fix it so it's way difficult to swap a V8 into a Slant 6 car.... that'll give them someting to chew on for years...." What, if anything GOOD, did this accomplish???

5. Making the small block front engine cover without dowel pins to line up the front seal on the balancer hub was a stroke of genius... probably saved them ten cents a car... and, lots of folks don't know that you have to put the balancer on BEFORE you tighten up the cover bolts, or it will leak like a seive... (mine does; I didn't know.)

6. Bell housing bolt accessibility when removing or installing an automatic transmission is horrible. I ended up putting a 2" hole saw in my drill and cutting an access hole in the floor, behind each bolt head; now, I can access those bolts with a socket on an extension, straight-on... Why didn't the car come with those holes, and cover plates for each one?

7. The firewall electrical block connector has been problematic on every A Body car I have ever owned. Surely, there could have been a better way to get this done, than to have this time bomb on your car that, sooner-or-later, is going to require SOME kind of attention to keep the vehicle running.

8. The nuisance factor of having to replace all of the rear brake hardware (shoes, drums, etc) when switching over to the large bolt pattern axles seems like another one of those deals that they did that probably didn't save them a plugged nickle, because of all the costs associated with having to make two different sizes of everything.. cataloging them separately, then, inventory them separately, and, for what? Minimal differences in the size of the drums and shoes.... BFD... But a pain in the *** when you're trying to change over to a large bolt pattern setup.

9. Ma NEVER put a 15" wheel on an A-Body, which means if you want a good selection of tires from which to choose, you have to either get some wheels custom made, or change the bolt pattern to the large spec.... Shame on you Ma.... Not a lot available any more in 14" tires and wheels...

10..The 1969 6-Pack 440 "killer motor" should have gone into a '69 Barracuda, (or, a Valiant/Dart,2-door sedan) insted of the much hevier, larger B-Body. That would have dealt Chevrolet the decisive, killing blow.... but, no.... that was too good for an A-Body. That philosophy kept Mopars from ruling the streets when they HAD all the necessary hardware to do it.... they juist wouldn't put the right parts in the right cars. (A Bodys.)

That's my own, personal TOP TEN things I Hate about A Bodys...

What are yours???????
 
Bill Dedman said:
1. Working under the dash on wiring, instrument panel back-side, heater controls, wiper motor connections, etc. You need to be a midget/contortionist with under-developed hands to do this without ending up at a chiropractor the next day! WHY didn't they just make the top of the dash removeable, or hinged???
Click to expand...

This is the worst design ever. Diagnosing an under dash electrical problem is so, so frustrating!!!!!!!!! :banghead:
 
You covered some good area there Bill, The trans bolt thing is a must and I am not surprised they did not do a hump cover for the tec's on the in side like you did. :cheers:


3. What in God's name ever caused them to use that SBP 4", 5-lug system, anyway? I can't believe that having two separate bolt patterns ever saved them a nickle... and it costs a fortune to "corect" it... That one was a candidate for the Darwin Awards... and, it went on for YEARS (1960-1975???)
This wheel pattern also fit allot of trailers back in the day.
Chebby guys had to learn what the hell kind of wheel fits my new trailers in the 70des.8)
 
How about right hand lug nuts on the right side and left hand on the left? WTF??? And how long did they do that?
C
 
danielb927 said:
This is the worst design ever. Diagnosing an under dash electrical problem is so, so frustrating!!!!!!!!! :banghead:
Click to expand...

Amen. I just came out from under the dash trying to put some of it together in the dark and heat and I can't even open my doors all the way due to space constraints.

I'm not touching this P.O.S. car for another week.
 
A friend of my gets pretty hot after working on some of his cars that have seen better days. He was trying to remove a gas tank one time and it was attached with a speed nut. Well the speed nut being in Michigans salty roads rotted off and you've got nothing to grab and it just spin and spins. His comment was "WHY THE HELL DO WE SPENT BILLIONS TRYING TO SEND PEOPLE TO THE MOON WHEN WE CAN'T EVEN DESIGN A CAR SO THAT IT COULD BE EASY WORKED ON" It was pretty funny if you were there. Jayson
 
My favorite is that you must remove the windshield to remove the dash. Genius.... The sad part is that when I went to remove the heater core from my 01 Ram I found out that you have to remove the dash and to remove the dash you have to remove the windshield. For a stupid heater core! I traded it in a week later.
 
kcoyle said:
Amen. I just came out from under the dash trying to put some of it together in the dark and heat and I can't even open my doors all the way due to space constraints.

I'm not touching this P.O.S. car for another week.
Click to expand...

I know the feeling exactly. I would get all inspired to go work on it and after about 20 minutes I just felt like ignoring it for a week!

I guess if your mopar is your babe, the dash is her mother in law.
 
I hate working under any dashes, although the scamp doesnt have much under it, I just take the cluster out.

I hate the lay out of the dash though, reaching under the gear selector or through the steering wheel to turn the wipers on.

SBP is one of mine too.

Stock steering wheel is too big,

Kinda wish the engine slanted the other way, how the heck do you set points without taking the distributer out and re-timing?

i think thats it.
 
Bill Dedman said:
1. Working under the dash on wiring, instrument panel back-side, heater controls, wiper motor connections, etc. You need to be a midget/contortionist with under-developed hands to do this without ending up at a chiropractor the next day! WHY didn't they just make the top of the dash removeable, or hinged???

2. Trying to design and build a decent set of headers without spending a fortune on avoiding the myriad things in the way on the driver's side? Good grief!


3. What in God's name ever caused them to use that SBP 4", 5-lug system, anyway? I can't believe that having two separate bolt patterns ever saved them a nickle... and it costs a fortune to "corect" it... That one was a candidate for the Darwin Awards... and, it went on for YEARS (1960-1975???)

4. The early ('63-'66) A Bodies had ONE K-Member for both 6 and 8-cylinder cars... GOOD IDEA!!!! Did they continue that GOOD IDEA when they widened the front enf in 1967?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! "Let's fix it so it's way difficult to swap a V8 into a Slant 6 car.... that'll give them someting to chew on for years...." What, if anything GOOD, did this accomplish???

5. Making the small block front engine cover without dowel pins to line up the front seal on the balancer hub was a stroke of genius... probably saved them ten cents a car... and, lots of folks don't know that you have to put the balancer on BEFORE you tighten up the cover bolts, or it will leak like a seive... (mine does; I didn't know.)

6. Bell housing bolt accessibility when removing or installing an automatic transmission is horrible. I ended up putting a 2" hole saw in my drill and cutting an access hole in the floor, behind each bolt head; now, I can access those bolts with a socket on an extension, straight-on... Why didn't the car come with those holes, and cover plates for each one?

7. The firewall electrical block connector has been problematic on every A Body car I have ever owned. Surely, there could have been a better way to get this done, than to have this time bomb on your car that, sooner-or-later, is going to require SOME kind of attention to keep the vehicle running.

8. The nuisance factor of having to replace all of the rear brake hardware (shoes, drums, etc) when switching over to the large bolt pattern axles seems like another one of those deals that they did that probably didn't save them a plugged nickle, because of all the costs associated with having to make two different sizes of everything.. cataloging them separately, then, inventory them separately, and, for what? Minimal differences in the size of the drums and shoes.... BFD... But a pain in the *** when you're trying to change over to a large bolt pattern setup.

9. Ma NEVER put a 15" wheel on an A-Body, which means if you want a good selection of tires from which to choose, you have to either get some wheels custom made, or change the bolt pattern to the large spec.... Shame on you Ma.... Not a lot available any more in 14" tires and wheels...

10..The 1969 6-Pack 440 "killer motor" should have gone into a '69 Barracuda, (or, a Valiant/Dart,2-door sedan) insted of the much hevier, larger B-Body. That would have dealt Chevrolet the decisive, killing blow.... but, no.... that was too good for an A-Body. That philosophy kept Mopars from ruling the streets when they HAD all the necessary hardware to do it.... they juist wouldn't put the right parts in the right cars. (A Bodys.)

That's my own, personal TOP TEN things I Hate about A Bodys...

What are yours???????
Click to expand...

My response in the following order...

1. Todays cars are worse, I'd rather go under an a body dash than a fords

2. Valid, but ever install headers in a 70's firebird?, 41'chevy?, BBC belair's?

3. Don't bother me that much, I see where they were going with that when I look at some import compacts & sports cars like datsun's with the 'more lamer' 4 lug wheels, But Valid cause of limited wheel selection.

4. Yeah it was cool when brackets was all it took, though with schumaker it still is, to put a v8 in place of a 6. Did you know that the drivers side tower is the same between v8/6? and all it takes is cutting the pass side off raising it and moving it forward?
Did you know that b/rb with easily fabbed/modified brackets bolts to a sb k real nice, better than the 67 factory version? and a lil dinging on a center sump pan and it clears the center link?
Now you do, cool!:cheers:

5. Never happened to me before, I've done it both ways, that sux I guess.
I had a friend that forgot the oil slinger on his slant and it pissed lots, though it makes no diff on a sb, I've run with and with out before.

6. If I wanna use a socket on the bell bolts I lower the trans and cross member some 1st and use a really long extension with a ball swivel, other wise a box/closed end works good and I have plenty of time to drink my beer.:cheers:

7. These cars are lasting way longer than the factory or anyone for that matter expected, it took over 30 yrs for my valiant to need bulk head attention, but thats just my car I guess.
90's seabrings make nice bombfires electrically if u know what I mean.

8.I thought all the hardware and shoes still fit and that the diff lied in the backing plate/drum? but I'm no brake expert, oh well didn't matter a whole lot to chrysler being that they snuffed the 8 3/4 & went 8 1/4 exclusively after they worked out the bugs in the early experiment with them in/around 1970 and the 7 1/4 changed as well [dimensionally] .

9. It's only been 49yrs, Now you can get 17''s & 20''s stock!
Besides I remember certain cars coming out in the 80's/90's with 12''&13'' rims, ?daihastu/chevy compacts etc.

10. Definitely a preference thing cause if I was offered a 440/6 or 426Hemi, well I take the hemi an abody, but yeah why the heck didn't they do that?
=insurance reasons probably.

Cool man, now what are the top 10 things you like?

Here's mine, for now that is.

1. There tuff lookin

2. They are fairly light weight

3. The curved inward back windows, bubbled cuda too

4. almost everything swaps between'em with the exception of 'some' body panels/trim & such, but like front glass & trim for a valiant 67-76, door handles mechanical parts,suspension,electrical, etc....too much to sit and think of.

5. torsion bar suspension that handles great.

6. solid unibody unlike the others with there bolted together inner
fender/clip crap.

7. The feel in general, the wheel base is perfect for me I could almost drive & park blind folded.

8. awsome dash lay out, especially in the performance models, vary simple clean styling, some even having the lower dash lip option, map light etc...

9. With the exception of 75 & up there isn't an abody I wouldn't want to drive or own, I like most all of the body styles!

10. That no worthless crud pushing chevy looks as good or can go as fast and can still take a corner like my A Body.

11. wth=P~, everything about them rules, It's what I know as a 'car', I've driven them since I was 15 yrs old.

Cool, have fun with this, it's friendly.:cheers:
 
clhyer said:
How about right hand lug nuts on the right side and left hand on the left? WTF??? And how long did they do that?
C
Click to expand...

How many of us middle age (1960's) drag race spectators remember laughing our tails off when a Ford or GM would centrifically spin off five lugs nuts during a dry hop?
 
danielb927 said:
This is the worst design ever. Diagnosing an under dash electrical problem is so, so frustrating!!!!!!!!! :banghead:
Click to expand...


Tell me about it.... This is the shredded remains of a Inifiniti G-35 dash. Nothing but fun here....

Inifinitidash-vi.jpg
 
FASTBACK340 said:
Tell me about it.... This is the shredded remains of a Inifiniti G-35 dash. Nothing but fun here....

Inifinitidash-vi.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats bad. I just had to cut a hole in a BMW then weld it back up to fix a ripped wiring harness. I hate BMWs by the way.
 
Motopsycho said:
go buy chevys then
Click to expand...

By a chevy and start a new top 10 list. Buy a Ford and start a new top 10 list. Then Honda, then Toyota...
Owners that just fll up and drive dont have these gripes. Mechanics that work on all off them dislike ( hate is such a harsh word ) all of them.
I'm sure if I spoke of 10 things I dislike about my wife she would send me packing. I'm sure there are forums that would too. LOL
This is FABO so bash away .
 
How about that right angle oil filter! Can't get it from the bottom have to be a contortionist from the top!
 
dogpro said:
How about that right angle oil filter! Can't get it from the bottom have to be a contortionist from the top!
Click to expand...


I remember looking at that thing like it was a rubik's cube the first time I did an oil change on my car. If the T bars were not in the way it would be easy to get to from the bottom.
 
Burntorange70 said:
I remember looking at that thing like it was a rubik's cube the first time I did an oil change on my car. If the T bars were not in the way it would be easy to get to from the bottom.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you'll never over tighten it from now on though. I snug mine by hand only anymore.
 
Thanks for the tip on the balancer and tightening the front cover. Hope that doesn't happen to mine..... I doubt it saved them even ten cents a car.

Dago Red said:
How many of us middle age (1960's) drag race spectators remember laughing our tails off when a Ford or GM would centrifically spin off five lugs nuts during a dry hop?
Click to expand...

So, did this ever happen to Mopars in the 70s then?

For some magical reason this doesn't happen now when all cars have rh thread on both sides. DId the laws of physics change in the intervening period?

The small bolt pattern isn't that bad. I probably only spent $1200 changing over...... :protest:

I used Schumacher mounts on my 5.9 swap. They moved the engine forward maybe 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch. Made the bellhousing bolts easier to get too. However I need a new driveshaft.....

Here's my current toppers on the hate list:

Why the hell is the crank pulley bolt pattern offset so you can only put the pulley on one way?

Ammeter in the dash. (My '66 Ford had a voltmeter for crying out loud)

Torsion bars.

Why the hell do the pistons have to be so far in the hole? what the hell?

Things I like:

The neutral safety switch is IN the transmission, rather than under the dash. Makes moving the shifter, setting up a T-brake a lot easier.

The back seat is easy to get out.
 
megajoltman said:
HEADERS! don't get me started about a decent cheap set for big blocks
Click to expand...
My expensive Big Block headers fit like crap. You would think after all these years of making them, the flanges would face straight back and fit in the cutouts in the cross member, instead they lay on the cross member and one faces down and to the center of the car.
 
FASTBACK340 said:
Tell me about it.... This is the shredded remains of a Inifiniti G-35 dash. Nothing but fun here....

Inifinitidash-vi.jpg
Click to expand...

Ouch! I was thinking compared to dashes with a removable top panel they are hard to get at. But modern cars are so full of electrical crap it is like driving a computer that happens to have an engine in there!
 
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