Idler Arm For 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 440 M-Code

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Lord Sparky

Lord Sparky

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A previous shop tried to replace the loose idler arm with the recommended MOG-K7042, but it wouldn’t fit so they heated/bent a MOG-K7041 to make it fit which failed at 1000 miles. Does anyone know the proper idler arm for this car and where to get it? At this point, I have to assume the k-member mount and center link placement is correct.

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Any chance you have quick ratio pitman arm?

Go to mymopar.com and download the 69 parts book.

Find the steering section and see if there is a unique part number for 440 vs the others.
 
Dana67Dart said:
Any chance you have quick ratio pitman arm?

Go to mymopar.com and download the 69 parts book.

Find the steering section and see if there is a unique part number for 440 vs the others.
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Thanks for that link. I have a printed book that does not list that year idler arm. It appears (in the screenshot) that there is a different steering arm/idler arm for 383 engines. I do have a Flaming River 16:1 manual steering box. I had questioned the shop the car is at if they thought that might be an issue and they said no. Will have to look further.

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Lord Sparky said:
I've been working with Firmfeel this week. Very helpful! He looked at the photos and told me my idler arm had been bent to fit. He has two '69 idler arms listed, one for 383 engine. I sent him an email this morning with this question. Will have to call on Monday. Firmfeel Mopar Suspension and Steering
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I have an original 68 383 Formula S. They are different, you can even run a Hemi Pan on an original big block car without mods, per DC help line back in the day.
 
Pretty sure i've a different part listing for the BB A's in '69 as stated in post #5..... had a bookmark somewhere for it.....
 
It's just the pitman, but I have no information on what is different. Every big block conversion that we've done used the small block pitman.
 
I sure hope you never go back to that "shop". That was an extremely stupid and dangerous thing for them to do.
 
Jim Lusk said:
It's just the pitman, but I have no information on what is different. Every big block conversion that we've done used the small block pitman.
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Yes, if the pitman and idler are both those regular small block and /6 numbers there should not be and centerlink alignment issue

Has this car been recently restored. Was it running and driving fine before the resto?

many M-code cars have had a VERY rough life as race cars. Something steering wise may have been moved by previous owner/racer.

moving the centerlink up and down is a way to change the bump steer to keep the wheels straight when the front end lift way up during a drag launch.
 
I’ve bough a few NOS A-body pitman arms over the years and they appear to be the same as small block ones so I’m not sure what the actual difference is.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I can certainly see why.
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Yes, but it's sad another hot rod shop is struggling to stay open in Southern California, an area once known for hot rods and classic cars. There is really only one other classic car shop in the San Diego area, and this one is 30 miles away from me instead of 10. This is my first visit to the new shop which employs about 35 people. Jay Leno did a segment on his car show about the hot rod shop that bent the idler arm where I have been going two for the last 2+ years. It is a pretty nice facility, but they have trouble with staffing and I think the owner isn't all that interested in turning a profit at this point in his life. I do a lot of the work that I can myself, but I don't have a big enough garage (or a lift and all the tools) and at this point in my life it's easier and faster to pay someone with experience to do the more heavy duty/complicated things.
 
autoxcuda said:
Yes, if the pitman and idler are both those regular small block and /6 numbers there should not be and centerlink alignment issue

Has this car been recently restored. Was it running and driving fine before the resto?

many M-code cars have had a VERY rough life as race cars. Something steering wise may have been moved by previous owner/racer.

moving the centerlink up and down is a way to change the bump steer to keep the wheels straight when the front end lift way up during a drag launch.
Click to expand...
It was a sponsored drag racer the first 5 years of it’s life in Syracuse, NY. The man who restored the car from a rusty wreck 10 years ago sadly passed away a year ago. It’s had a couple of flip-it owners since then, which I don’t plan to do.
 
Lord Sparky said:
Yes, but it's sad another hot rod shop is struggling to stay open in Southern California, an area once known for hot rods and classic cars. There is really only one other classic car shop in the San Diego area, and this one is 30 miles away from me instead of 10. This is my first visit to the new shop which employs about 35 people. Jay Leno did a segment on his car show about the hot rod shop that bent the idler arm where I have been going two for the last 2+ years. It is a pretty nice facility, but they have trouble with staffing and I think the owner isn't all that interested in turning a profit at this point in his life. I do a lot of the work that I can myself, but I don't have a big enough garage (or a lift and all the tools) and at this point in my life it's easier and faster to pay someone with experience to do the more heavy duty/complicated things.
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I'm sure it's their own fault though, doing work like that. I'm not sad for a shop like that, but I am for others trying to do it the right way.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I sure hope you never go back to that "shop". That was an extremely stupid and dangerous thing for them to do.
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Yes sir doing the old heat and beat (And Bend? Wtf?) on a high-stress steering component that could fail and send your *** into someone's Minivan and kill all of y'all ain't the most intelligent thing in the world
 
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