Top 10 things I hate about A Bodies

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???????