help needed

[benatiya]

Hi
need some help please,
i'm from israel , in the 70' we had a lot of darts/valiants but now its very difficult to find mopar parts or cars here
i found 71 swinger that original eas 3 speed with slant 6 and 8.75 rear. the man that i bought the car from tried to swap to gm engine with 5 speed trans(nv3500)
he cut the k frame and swap to front rack and pinion from 940 volvo ......lol
now i want to change it back to the original steering setup
i found 318 engine
my question is - does 75 k member fit 71?
if i will use a833 from truck is the tail housing is the only thing that i need to replace?
thank you for the help

 

[omahamoparguy]

yes the 1975 K will fit. be careful matching the steering components as the design changed in 1975. the ball joints and center link are different, also the pitman arm and the idler. I guess if it were me id just match the steering to whatever gearbox/pitman you have. {this only applies to the disc setup} Not sure on the tranny though.

 

[benatiya]

yes the 1975 K will fit. be careful matching the steering components as the design changed in 1975. the ball joints and center link are different, also the pitman arm and the idler. I guess if it were me id just match the steering to whatever gearbox/pitman you have. {this only applies to the disc setup} Not sure on the tranny though.

thanks for the comment
i have donor 75 dart with all the front suspension
i just think to take it all the front from the 75 and put it in my 71

 

[airgrabber]

thanks for the comment
i have donor 75 dart with all the front suspension
i just think to take it all the front from the 75 and put it in my 71

A few things you have to keep in mind. The 75 could be a large bolt pattern car whereas your 71 is probably a small bolt pattern car. If you do not want to change from the rims/tires you are using now I would recommend only using the K frame. BUT - if the 75 is a disc brake car this would be a good time to swap over to the later disc brakes. And make sure to get all the disc brake related hardware from the 75 - prop valve, etc. Make sure you also swap in the 75 rear end too so the bolt pattern matches all the way around the car and the v8 radiator.
The 71 K uses the rubber biscuit type of motor mount - the 75 uses the spool mount. The mounts are very different and have to be used with the correct K frame. Make sure you get the correct v8 spool mounts to put the 318 in the car. Also, you have to change more than the trans tailhousing - you'd have to change the output shaft too. Some guys have used the longer tailshaft housing trans but had to make an adapter for the shifter mechanism. And you will have to cut/shorten the driveshaft for the longer tailhousing.
See this link here...
B/E body four-speed in an A-body

 

[dodgetexan]

If the 71 has an 8.75 rear end you should definitely keep that. It's much better than the one in the 75. If you need to change it to the larger bolt pattern you could just get new axles for it, or have the ones in it drilled for the larger bolt pattern.

On the front suspension and steering I would recommend just taking everything off of the 75. It should all bolt right up as long as you keep all the parts from the same year.

 

[AJ/FormS]

swapping out the mainshaft in the tranny is not a big deal. Fabbing up a new shifter mount and shift rods and perhaps moving the floor hole is. Having said that, I really like my moved-back shifter location, and would never go back.....to the front location.
In Canada the A-bodies went to the F-body front suspension in about 75/76. I have seen 75 Dusters with bent bars. I much prefer the earlier set-up, but I can see the later working for some.