AJE suspension coil over conversion kit for a-body

So I am building a 69 Barracuda and trying to install a AJE K Member and suspension package.

Has anyone here had any experience with installing the coil over conversion brackets? They have to be bolted thru the chassis and it looks like I have to cut off a bracket which is in the way. The instructions are not very helpful and I dont want to just start grinding away at the spot welds till I have confirmed a few things.

John

Anyone?

Sorry, this is the first time I've heard about them.

SGBARRACUDA said:

Sorry, this is the first time I've heard about them.

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Thanks for the response.

Many on this forum warned me about AJE. I have finally found someone to fix the lower control arms they built, but I seem to have pissed them off where they wont return my calls or email.

Now I need to find someone who has installed this kit and seek the answer to the question I have.

All I found was for Mustangs.

I found the Mopar kit. Sorry Can't help. I installed the RMS front suspension on my 68 Barracuda.

JohnFM3 said:

Thanks for the response.

Many on this forum warned me about AJE. I have finally found someone to fix the lower control arms they built, but I seem to have pissed them off where they wont return my calls or email.

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Uhhh....Many warned you but for whatever reason, you went ahead and did it anyway?

Why ask advice then ignore what people suggest?
What was so bad about the tried and proven stock suspension ?

Kern Dog said:

Uhhh....Many warned you but for whatever reason, you went ahead and did it anyway?

Why ask advice then ignore what people suggest?
What was so bad about the tried and proven stock suspension ?

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First off, I did not ignore what people suggested. I took what they said in consideration, the issue with the kit as it was explained to me was that it would bind up while traveling. I am a Trail ready jeep owner (92 Wrangler for me, 94 wrangler for my wife, and a 97 cherokee for kids) all lifted, and felt confident I had the fabrication skill to resolve the binding issue after i saw the arms (before I bought the kit). And after a bit of time to find a welder (I dont do structural welds) who was willing to weld on lower control arms (A Jeep Fabricator and shop owner to the rescue ~ Go Figure), I am in business and will have resolved the binding issue with the kit.

As too why I bought the kit anyway.... Even after the additional $1k to fix the lower control arms, I am still under the cost of the next available kit. And that comes with a coil over conversion and mustang 2 steering rack. Another thing is AJE was the ONLY company willing to not weld in the motor mounts on the tubed K-Member. And most companies offered V8 mount locations only. This last point is really important for my next part of my explanation.

More importantly, if you look at threads under me, you will see a long going thread about installing a Jeep 4.0 in a Barracuda. Thats My project. And why I wanted no engine mounts on the K-Member so I could locate the engine as I needed.

Why not use the original stock setup like my 72 Duster had???? I built a mid 13 second slant six. No one has done a 4.0L A body. And I wanted too. Partially due to my love for Jeep... The need for the tubed k-member is increased by the fact that the engine wont fit under the stock hood with a stock K-Member. Already tried. And I dont want a Pro Stock hood.

The theme of your response is not what this thread is about. I am asking about having to remove some pieces off the chassis of my car. And I want to make sure i do it correctly. Which is why I am asking the question here. To make sure I dont weaken the chassis.

Feel free to contribute useful information at any time and hope you subscribe to my 4.0 in barracuda thread. As this year it will start seeing traction. Hopefully as soon as July when I hope to have the lower control arms back.

John

SGBARRACUDA said:

I found the Mopar kit. Sorry Can't help. I installed the RMS front suspension on my 68 Barracuda.

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I wander if there is another coil over kit which will allow me to not remove any parts from my chassis and still work with my new suspension. I really just need the upper coil over brackets, as I have Viking coilover shocks and coils (single rate).

SGBARRACUDA said:

All I found was for Mustangs.

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yeah, their site is not the best... :-(

JohnFM3 said:

Another thing is AJE was the ONLY company willing to not weld in the motor mounts on the tubed K-Member. And most companies offered V8 mount locations only

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you talk to bill at RMS? i know for a fact he sends them out without mounts welded to them. have a friend that bought one from him like that.

from everything i have read over the years when AJE comes up is that they are ok for a straight line car but not so much for a street car. sometimes it better to spend a bit more and its more for a reason. but hey whats done is done...

pictures of what you have and what you may or may not have to cut off would be a huge help here.

JohnFM3 said:

First off, I did not ignore what people suggested. I took what they said in consideration, the issue with the kit as it was explained to me was that it would bind up while traveling. I am a Trail ready jeep owner (92 Wrangler for me, 94 wrangler for my wife, and a 97 cherokee for kids) all lifted, and felt confident I had the fabrication skill to resolve the binding issue after i saw the arms (before I bought the kit). And after a bit of time to find a welder (I dont do structural welds) who was willing to weld on lower control arms (A Jeep Fabricator and shop owner to the rescue ~ Go Figure), I am in business and will have resolved the binding issue with the kit.

As too why I bought the kit anyway.... Even after the additional $1k to fix the lower control arms, I am still under the cost of the next available kit. And that comes with a coil over conversion and mustang 2 steering rack. Another thing is AJE was the ONLY company willing to not weld in the motor mounts on the tubed K-Member. And most companies offered V8 mount locations only. This last point is really important for my next part of my explanation.

More importantly, if you look at threads under me, you will see a long going thread about installing a Jeep 4.0 in a Barracuda. Thats My project. And why I wanted no engine mounts on the K-Member so I could locate the engine as I needed.

Why not use the original stock setup like my 72 Duster had???? I built a mid 13 second slant six. No one has done a 4.0L A body. And I wanted too. Partially due to my love for Jeep... The need for the tubed k-member is increased by the fact that the engine wont fit under the stock hood with a stock K-Member. Already tried. And I dont want a Pro Stock hood.

The theme of your response is not what this thread is about. I am asking about having to remove some pieces off the chassis of my car. And I want to make sure i do it correctly. Which is why I am asking the question here. To make sure I dont weaken the chassis.

Feel free to contribute useful information at any time and hope you subscribe to my 4.0 in barracuda thread. As this year it will start seeing traction. Hopefully as soon as July when I hope to have the lower control arms back.

John

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my aftermarket magnum force front end doesn`t have the motor mounts on it , I`m using a front plate.
Its about the only reason I trust it ______________
definitly not a corner carver , seems ok for cruising and dragstrip use.

well i guess he didn't contact

JohnFM3 said:

Another thing is AJE was the ONLY company willing to not weld in the motor mounts on the tubed K-Member.

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well that has been proven wrong...

famous bob said:

my aftermarket magnum force front end doesn`t have the motor mounts on it

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abodyjoe said:

you talk to bill at RMS? i know for a fact he sends them out without mounts welded to them. have a friend that bought one from him like that.

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5 yrs ago when I bought the kit, I only knew of Magnum Force, HDK, and AJE. At the time, AJE was the only kit in my price range with the most complete package at $4k. Thats all i had after buying my house. And since buying my house, its taken this long to get a welder who would do the work for a price I could afford. And keep in mind, at the time I bought this, even the additional $1K was cheaper than the next setup. Please dont show me current prices as price comparisons will have changed over 5 yrs and there is no way to prove the financial reason I did what I did at that time with what cash I had.

K Member
Upper Control Arms with Heim Joints and ball joints
Lower Control Arms with Heim Joints and ball joints
Mustang 2 high ratio power steering rack with tie rod ends
Viking Coilover shocks and coil along with the installation kit
Steering Knuckle steering arm conversion to relocate it forward for steering rack

All I needed was knuckles and brake components. And those are 70's Big Piston brakes components.

Back to the topic of this thread. Please no more about why I bought or what I should buy unless someone has a complete aftermarket setup to donate. As to the topic, it took me time to get these pictures on this thread. The bracket between the bump stop and the brake line is what needs to be removed. I am not sure if I can leave the tabs which are held on by the spot welds and just cut to that point, or if I have to completely remove the bracket to the chassis. If completely remove, I need some guidance. The coilover brackets are a bolt on item which fasten to the upper shock location and have 4 bolts which go thru the chassis. With what looks like a crush sleeve but is nothing more than a piece of mild steel.

I need to drill the 4 3/8 holes in the chassis, then drill 2 opposing holes to .5 in on the outside of chassis, and drill the other 2 on the inside of the chassis so that the sleeves go thru the .5 in hole and stop on the other side of the chassis at the 3/8 hole.

If there is a better coil over conversion option I could use that would work with my kit, I would consider it. My other option is to see if I can pay a body guy to come to my house and pull this off.

Yes I know about all the rust. Once the fabrication work is done, I will be breaking down the car for blasting and paint work. Hopefully at that time I will have paid down (or off) enough of the IVF medical bill to afford to take a $10k loan out to get that portion of the restore done. I bought the car as a rolling chassis for $2k which is in really great shape. I have 100% perfect floor boards. The car as a whole is in really good shape except for a bad rust spot where the battery is. Complete pictures are on my other thread if your interested.

*Rant ON* Why is it so hard to give people my money??? I tried calling various body shops today looking for someone who would be willing to remove the brackets. A few turned me down and a few tried to tell me how to use a spot weld cutter to do it. One guy wanted to use a plazma torch who I turned down. *Rant Off*

After doing more research today on this task ahead of me. I really dont want to do this work on the chassis as if I go too deep, I then have to pay the vary same person to weld it. Its better for me to just pay the very person to remove the brackets the first time correctly and if they go too deep feel safe in the knowledge that its being filed and repaired correctly. $300 would be worth the less than 1hr it would take to safely remove 6 spot welds per bracket.

JohnFM3 said:

*Rant ON* Why is it so hard to give people my money??? I tried calling various body shops today looking for someone who would be willing to remove the brackets. A few turned me down and a few tried to tell me how to use a spot weld cutter to do it. One guy wanted to use a plazma torch who I turned down. *Rant Off*

After doing more research today on this task ahead of me. I really dont want to do this work on the chassis as if I go too deep, I then have to pay the vary same person to weld it. Its better for me to just pay the very person to remove the brackets the first time correctly and if they go too deep feel safe in the knowledge that its being filed and repaired correctly. $300 would be worth the less than 1hr it would take to safely remove 6 spot welds per bracket.

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I aint the sharpest tack in the box, but if U need to remove those brackets, why dont u get a sawzall and cut them at a steep angle from the outside down , even w/ the frame ? you could even then cut straight up and down from under it to remove the sides that are sticking out, just leaving the frame intact/clean the cuts up w/ a side grinder ------------------?
I only gave $1900 for my complete front end, already assembled and just dropped out , willwood brakes/rack and pinion/non power tho. The guy was afraid of it "he said" of coming down hard from wheelies , and he said it had 9 runs on it on a 9 second duster.
I think all the bad press about magnum force scared him. It was tight and had no play in anything , and it didn`t have the engine mounts on it , I would be afraid of it if it did , it still seems to be tite to this day, but doesn`t have heim joints on the upper control arms, which makes it a little stiffer . I have had no problems w/ it , except for getting it loosened up for some front end rise/travel --------------
Hang in there u can eventually make urs work .

famous bob said:

....you could even then cut straight up and down from under it to remove the sides that are sticking out, just leaving the frame intact/clean the cuts up w/ a side grinder ------------------?

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Well as AJE is not responding to my attempts to ask that very question, and I am here hoping someone here has installed the kit and can tell me. I have reason to believe that the kit was not intended to be installed over the mounting tabs and I need to find a way to safely get them off without harming the chassis before drilling thru it. And grinding the tabs after the bracket has been cut off will transfer alot of heat and I still risk negatively impacting the chassis.

I am being very careful with this. And would much rather just pay a body person to use the correct tools to pull it. I can even supply 220v for a tig welder to fill any impact to the chassis. Would even be willing to pay $500 for someone to remove the old brackets and install the new ones. Sadly, the car can not be moved as it has no K-Member or front end suspension as such I need someone to come to my garage.

I'm a little familiar with the AJE front end. Being a fan of all suspension set ups, I like to see what is out there.

If you are simply looking to remove the factory bump stop bracket.....removing it is SOP when installing a RMS and a few others. The HDK does not, but only because HDK wants the conversion to as reversible as possible for the H-code and specialty cars..... other than a couple of holes.

I would have them off in a few minutes with a grinder / cut-off wheel. About the only way to hurt anything is actually cutting into the frame rail, but even if you did, nothing a little weld and sander can't make new again.
My question would be....if removed, what are you going to use for a bump stop?

If you called me / HDK, there must have been some confusion. I have sold dozens of assorted front end packages with the motor perches that are normally tigg welded in place, simply zip tied on.....especially with the Gen III Hemi builds, customer placement is often needed.

I thought I read where you were looking for a upper coil over mount........HDK sells their tried and proven (for over two decades) piece ala-cart @ 299 plus shipping.
HDK 67 to 76 A Body Upper Shock Mount Support Hoops

I like to see builders following their own path on how they want to do things....it is Hot Roddin' 101

that bracket it cake to get off with a spot weld cutter. you can easily see how thick the bracket is. drill about halfway through it then go little by little till you can smack it with a hammer and it falls off..

Drill spot welds...hit with hammer...there my be a couple on the bottom as well.

This might help some.

JohnFM3 said:

So I am building a 69 Barracuda and trying to install a AJE K Member and suspension package.

Has anyone here had any experience with installing the coil over conversion brackets? They have to be bolted thru the chassis and it looks like I have to cut off a bracket which is in the way. The instructions are not very helpful and I dont want to just start grinding away at the spot welds till I have confirmed a few things.

John

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