ragtopfury
Well-Known Member
I already sourced the upper arms/spindles/etc for the disc brake swap from a 73 Dart to my 68 B'cuda.... The Dart is a factory sway bar car. Would the Lower control arms and sway bar be a direct swap into my 68?
Front Sway Bar Interchange Question
- Thread starter ragtopfury
- Start date
-
autoxcuda
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2007
- Messages
- 8,837
- Reaction score
- 3,791
No.
The 73-76 A-body sway bar is narrower than the 67-72 sway bar and the 73-76 goes through the K-member. The 73-76 sway bar tabs on the lower control arm are in the middle of the lower control arm.
You would have to swap the whole k-member to use the 73-76 sway bar and lower control arms.
The 67-72 sway bar attaches to the front of the K-member the lower control arm tabs are next to the end of the lower control arm between the strut rod hole and the ball joint hole.
ragtopfury
Well-Known Member
cool. Thanks for the info. I'm still learning A bodies.... lol
autoxcuda
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2007
- Messages
- 8,837
- Reaction score
- 3,791
BTW, when you put your 73-76 Dart disks on your 68 Barracuda swap the spindles side to side and put the calipers in the back. They way if you run a stock 67-72 sway bar the calipers won't hit them. (if you shorten the sway bar end links a bunch, you can run the calipers in the front though)
nerd racing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 453
- Reaction score
- 11
What about with an Early A body sway bar? Should the calipers be on the front or the back? I'm working with a 64.
ragtopfury
Well-Known Member
Most likely gonna do a PST bar... I'll swap the spindles just to be sure to clear them... Thanks Steve.
autoxcuda
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2007
- Messages
- 8,837
- Reaction score
- 3,791
Does the sway bar attaches to the front of the K-member the lower control arm tabs are next to the end of the lower control arm between the strut rod hole and the ball joint hole?
I thought 66 LCA's with sway bar tabs are the same as 67-72. Not sure about 64-65?
nerd racing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
- Messages
- 453
- Reaction score
- 11
That's the thing I don't know, my car didn't have a sway bar from the factory. I've seen ones on ebay that some say mount up without tabs?
They are.
Same for 64-65 also.
But, I'm pretty sure sway bars started with the 65 model year.
3 different style sway bars for the A body cars.
65-66
67-72
73-76
If a car is stock, with all factory Kelsey Hayes 4 piston caliper, disc brakes, they All are mounted towards the rear, with or without a sway bar.
If your doing an changeover, upgrade, to more modern 73-76 A body disc brakes, (or other body disc brakes) you should also mount them to the rear if your using a sway bar, for caliper clearance.
Without a sway bar, makes no difference which way you hang the calipers.
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
I agree. The only downside I can find to swapping calipers side to side is that they don't use factory hoses. You need longer hoses, and that is easily remedied. Be certain that you get the calipers "on right" so that the bleeders are UP
wafastr
Active Member
To autoxcuda- I am doing the 73-76 disc brake upgrade to a 70 dart. I am learning about the interference with the calipers to the sway bar, in my case it will be a Hotchkis bar. This kit comes with tabs for the end links which, per instructions, will be welded to the top outer end of the LCA. This takes away the option of shortening the end links as the relationship of caliper to sway bar would still be the same. IN YOUR OPINION, if the tabs were welded to the bottom of the LCA as factory, do you think the bar would still orient the same and work, allowing me to shorten the end links? If not, I suppose swapping the spindles side to side will be my only option. Thanks for your input. JIM
-
