74 to 70 Dart parts swap

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Calipag

Calipag

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We just bought the 1970 Dart with the slant 6 and manual drum brakes set up. I have an opportunity to purchase a 1974 4 door Dart with the 318 and power disc brake set up for less than what I'm finding disc brake conversions for($1000). Will this swap go as easy as I believe? I would like to take the 318, the transmission, the power disc brakes and the rear and put it in the 70. Am I over simplifying this whole process?

If I'm posting this in the wrong thread, I'm sorry. I'm still new to FABO and I could only find a general discussion for early A's.

Thank you all for your patience.
 
Calipag said:
We just bought the 1970 Dart with the slant 6 and manual drum brakes set up. I have an opportunity to purchase a 1974 4 door Dart with the 318 and power disc brake set up for less than what I'm finding disc brake conversions for($1000). Will this swap go as easy as I believe? I would like to take the 318, the transmission, the power disc brakes and the rear and put it in the 70. Am I over simplifying this whole process?

If I'm posting this in the wrong thread, I'm sorry. I'm still new to FABO and I could only find a general discussion for early A's.

Thank you all for your patience.
Click to expand...
all of that is pretty much a direct bolt in with exception of the engine. The 70 K frame uses a different type of mount than the 74 k frame does. That said, schumacher industries makes a conversion mount to to convert the 70 from slant 6 to 318 LA for a decent price. The other option would be to swap the entire K frame and front suspension over from the 74 to the 70. It'll bolt right in and the only big con is the time involved. I would recommend switching the entire K frame and suspension, including the torsion bars over. Especially if the 74 has a sway bar. The rear of the car bolts right in, should be a 8.25 rear.
 
diymirage said:
the real no brainer is swapping the 70 nose onto the 74
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@diymirage Our Dart already has an identity situation! It's a 70 with a 72 front clip. I didn't know when I purchased it but it all lines up pretty nicely.

Oh, and the 74 is a 4 door.

Now, I need to find space to do the swap! I wish I had access to a lift for a weekned!
 
Allright
Do they have the same transmission?
If not you may need to massage the driveshaft to make it all work
 
diymirage said:
Allright
Do they have the same transmission?
If not you may need to massage the driveshaft to make it all work
Click to expand...
No. The slant 6 transmission while a 904 is entirely different than a v8 904. That said, the driveshaft from the 74 will fit just fine.
 
Well, we found our donor car. Now, we will be doing as suggested and drop the K member and swap everything. We will go through the engine and freshen it up and selling off what is left of the 73 Dart. It is actually a pretty nice car and I was lucky to find what I was looking for. I'm going to be taking a ton of pictures and try to document it as I go along. This is going to be a learning process for both my son and I. My son and I are having a great time so far.

It has the front sway bar and the AC is blowing cold. Can the AC/heater box be move into the 70?

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Can the AC/heater box be move into the 70?

That's a big NO! Firewall and complete AC/heater box changed in '73.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
No. The slant 6 transmission while a 904 is entirely different than a v8 904. That said, the driveshaft from the 74 will fit just fine.
Click to expand...

Are the universals on the drive shaft to the rear end the same? I need to put the rear from the 73 (I ended up with a 73 not the 74) into the 70 with the 6 cylinder drive train and still have it drive? I just need to be able to move it in and out of the drive way until I get the donor car out of the garage.
 
Calipag said:
Are the universals on the drive shaft to the rear end the same? I need to put the rear from the 73 (I ended up with a 73 not the 74) into the 70 with the 6 cylinder drive train and still have it drive? I just need to be able to move it in and out of the drive way until I get the donor car out of the garage.
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it would depend on which rearend you're going too. Assuming the 70 has a 7.25 and that the 73 has a the 8.25, then you'd be fine. But if either of those two cars were to have the 8.75, you could run into issues. to my knowledge, there were two u joint sizes used in A bodies, a small yoke and a large yoke. the 8.25 and 7.25 both use the same small yoke u joint. The 8.75 used both sizes depending on which yoke and carrier.
 
dukeboy_318 said:
it would depend on which rearend you're going too. Assuming the 70 has a 7.25 and that the 73 has a the 8.25, then you'd be fine. But if either of those two cars were to have the 8.75, you could run into issues. to my knowledge, there were two u joint sizes used in A bodies, a small yoke and a large yoke. the 8.25 and 7.25 both use the same small yoke u joint. The 8.75 used both sizes depending on which yoke and carrier.
Click to expand...

I checked the data tag info and there was nothing about the rear. Here are pics of what I have coming out of the 73. And pic of the progress of tear down.
Thank you

I'll search the web to see the way to identify the 8.25 verse the 8.75.

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I'd do the entire K frame swap to the earlier dart. Undo the upper control arms and drop it all out.

A couple of large furniture dollies from Harbor Freight with some plywood on top work great for rolling the engine/trans around.

That's an 8.25 rear. Check/replace the fluid, clean it up and install it in the 70. I hope you don't like the wheels (small bolt pattern) on your 70, they won't work on the 74 rear/disc (BBP).
 
crackedback said:
I'd do the entire K frame swap to the earlier dart. Undo the upper control arms and drop it all out.

A couple of large furniture dollies from Harbor Freight with some plywood on top work great for rolling the engine/trans around.

That's an 8.25 rear. Check/replace the fluid, clean it up and install it in the 70. I hope you don't like the wheels (small bolt pattern) on your 70, they won't work on the 74 rear/disc (BBP).
Click to expand...

I was planning on dropping everything out the bottom but just don't have the space. But I am taking the K member and suspension (including the sway bar).Plus I want to put the engine on a stand and go thru it and clean it up before installing it; it has a lot of surface rust. They both have steelies on them so the rims are no factor but I just put new tires on the SBP wheels so they will be switched over to the BBP wheels.
 
Good plan. Might as well replace all the freeze plugs while you have it on the stand. Never fails, one of the rears will pop right after you get it up and running! Murphy's law!
 
So the transfer of parts from the 74 to the 70 is taking me much longer than I had expected but we are moving forward. I want to replace the motor mounts and transmission mounts while it's on our terms. I've seen stock mounts from Autozone for less than $10 and other mounts up to $150. This is a completely stock 318, is there any reason to not go with the off the shelf less expensive mounts?

Also, I sold the interior out of the 74 and while loading the back seat into the new owners truck I noticed the build sheet. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned that had a build sheet and I'm parting it out...........
In the end I know the 70 will benefit from all the parts.

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