How much trouble will it be to rebuild the front end?!

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Do your research before you buy. A kit from one vendor is not always the best buy in the long run. My iron parts like ball joints and tie rod ends are Moog or TRW only.
 
RedFish said:
Do your research before you buy. A kit from one vendor is not always the best buy in the long run. My iron parts like ball joints and tie rod ends are Moog or TRW only.
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and what made you decide to go with moog or TRW?
this is all new to me. so thanks for the info
 
fredsmedina said:
yes, but this is only the kit price for the rubber ones.

pollygraphite super kit costs $459.00. i know it'll be money well spent though. well we should hope so at least!
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I`ve used both (poly/B`cuda) (rubber/Dart) and I actually like the rubber. Most polygraphite kits have rubber LCA bushings anyway because the poly`s have a tendency to squeak. Either way you go you`ll be very pleased, it makes a huge difference when everything`s new.
 
Longgone said:
I`ve used both (poly/B`cuda) (rubber/Dart) and I actually like the rubber. Most polygraphite kits have rubber LCA bushings anyway because the poly`s have a tendency to squeak. Either way you go you`ll be very pleased, it makes a huge difference when everything`s new.
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thats what i'm thinking too. i have only driven this car for about 5 mins until the tranny went out, so i'll keep in mind. thanks.

i might consideer doing the rubber ones now
 
From your original post I got the impression that money savings was at or near the top of your list, so that is why I sent you the info on the rubber (factory) type kit.

I run rubber on everything BUT the Addco sway bar end link bushings and I am quite happy with the results BTW, but it's a personal decision.

As to the P-S-T parts I quoted - just a note in case it's not perfectly clear - I have no connection with or to the company and I was neither recommending not advising against using their stuff. The reason I posted that stuff was:

I. I was curious about the idler arm pricing in particular that another poster spoke about;
II. The kit is a very popular way to do this.

I've seen much talk about where to get parts and where they come from. In a Thread(topic) of my own I was interested in how folks here felt about China brake parts - in particular soft brake hoses, and I got mixed replies ... or rather replies with mixed opinions. Both Advance Auto Parts and a local wholesale/retail parts supplier sell China parts in different packaging, one specifying Taiwan. Here I see one recommending Moog and another poster in this thread or another thread stating that Moog contracts off-shore as well.

I don't know what the safe bet is on this stuff anymore. :(
 
dartley said:
From your original post I got the impression that money savings was at or near the top of your list, so that is why I sent you the info on the rubber (factory) type kit.

I run rubber on everything BUT the Addco sway bar end link bushings and I am quite happy with the results BTW, but it's a personal decision.

As to the P-S-T parts I quoted - just a note in case it's not perfectly clear - I have no connection with or to the company and I was neither recommending not advising against using their stuff. The reason I posted that stuff was:

I. I was curious about the idler arm pricing in particular that another poster spoke about;
II. The kit is a very popular way to do this.

I've seen much talk about where to get parts and where they come from. In a Thread(topic) of my own I was interested in how folks here felt about China brake parts - in particular soft brake hoses, and I got mixed replies ... or rather replies with mixed opinions. Both Advance Auto Parts and a local wholesale/retail parts supplier sell China parts in different packaging, one specifying Taiwan. Here I see one recommending Moog and another poster in this thread or another thread stating that Moog contracts off-shore as well.

I don't know what the safe bet is on this stuff anymore. :(
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same with me!

some of this stuff is confusing. but i think that anything is gonna be better than the stock ones which are on there now. i'm driving a 74 charger with the same stock front end as when it was purchased, and the car has 110xxx miles on it. it still feels fine to me though.

this is making me lean towards just going with the rubber ones. although at the beginning, i was set on getting poly-graphite, i don't see ant great advantages.

so i believe i'll just go ahead and get a ribber super kit from PST.
 
A good friend of mine did his 73 Cuda in poly and hates it. He is restoring a Dart for his wife and is installing all Moog parts. I saw the old Moog boxes ... lol!

I'll be using strictly rubber on mine.
 
mullinax95 said:
A good friend of mine did his 73 Cuda in poly and hates it. He is restoring a Dart for his wife and is installing all Moog parts. I saw the old Moog boxes ... lol!

I'll be using strictly rubber on mine.
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ya. i think i'll be doing rubber. why moog though? do u know why some people might prefer moog? besides where it was made?
 
I need to get in on this thread. fredsmedina- i'm feeling your pain, i have a 67 Dart that needs a front end rebuild to, so all of this discussion is great, I was dead set on the poly bushings to, thinking they were worlds better now it seems rubber is cheaper and in some cases preferred. Also, I just moved down from the North Sac area in March (my avatar pic was taken on my buddy's ranch in elk grove) and we both have the same car with the same problem, kinda wish I was still up there so we could work this out together, cause I'm about as nervous as they come when it comes to this. Please let me know what you end up doing and how it all works. Also, I have the 9in. drums all around on my car, wanna do discs when I do the rebuild. Figure why tear it apart twice, anyone have suggestions on doing the conversion? I found some F-Body parts, will they fit?

Like the OP said, I'm just trying to get educated, this is my driver, so I cant afford to screw this up.
 
heyitruns said:
I need to get in on this thread. fredsmedina- i'm feeling your pain, i have a 67 Dart that needs a front end rebuild to, so all of this discussion is great, I was dead set on the poly bushings to, thinking they were worlds better now it seems rubber is cheaper and in some cases preferred. Also, I just moved down from the North Sac area in March (my avatar pic was taken on my buddy's ranch in elk grove) and we both have the same car with the same problem, kinda wish I was still up there so we could work this out together, cause I'm about as nervous as they come when it comes to this. Please let me know what you end up doing and how it all works. Also, I have the 9in. drums all around on my car, wanna do discs when I do the rebuild. Figure why tear it apart twice, anyone have suggestions on doing the conversion? I found some F-Body parts, will they fit?

Like the OP said, I'm just trying to get educated, this is my driver, so I cant afford to screw this up.
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I'd advise you to read this article. As another poster pointed out, it was written some time ago, so some info might be a little dated.

http://www.moparaction.com/Tech/archive/disc-main.html
 
thanks dartley, almost the first thing it said is not to use F Body spindles, that just saved me what could have been tons of frustration and trouble
 
If I'm gonna rebuild a front end , I wnat to do it right. A kit wont suit me.
I want offset upper arm bushngs for increasing camber. I want C-body tierod ends and adjusting sleeves because they are stronger. Same reason applies to the idler arm upgrade on a 67. I dont plan on banging curbs but sht happens. The 67 idler arm support would move and screw up the alignment.
I think poly lower arm bushings could be a good thing if greasable pivot shafts are added.
I've read posts about lower ball joints worn out in 2 years. Off brands , made in china, purchased online. There is to much labor involved in that for me. Beside that, what if such a ball joint needed replaced, do I let the car sit a month while waiting for replacement to arrive or just go to napa and buy another.
 
Well fellows I'm getting a little bit myself. LOL!

I haven't had time to get the bushings press in the upper and lower control arms, screw in the ball joints, paint etc....

But I have all the control arms free of old parts and cleaned. LCA bushings are history... that's the hard part.

I went with the rubber PST kit which was $400 including idler arm. Most of the parts have Federal Mogul wrote on them. Keep in mind I have a 67 barracuda with the very expensive idler arm.

NAPA quoted me $683 not including the idler arm which would have been addition $163. I know because I have already bought the idler arm from them less than a year ago.

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I just finished this job, I went with Moog and TRW, you pay a premium, but quality costs. I bought most of the parts locally, no great savings buying this stuff online, that being said I did get the odd thing from Rockauto, and had a good experience with them. The job wasn't cheap, but I will say this, everything fit together beautifully, but thats why you pay up for a quality isn't. The only hick up was my uca ball joint was cross threaded, so it took a couple of hours to fix it, (I cut apart the old ball joint a threaded it up through the bottom of the control arm to fix the thread). I did the complete job in my gravel driveway using a good set of hand tools, so this is a very doable job, just do cheap out. By the way this is no knock against the kits, I was consider that option myself, but when saw the parts at my local they all said 'Made in the USA', so I felt I was getting the good stuff..thats my experience.
 
thanks guys. you're info is great and is helping me alot. currently i'm working on finishing up my rear end and tranny, and once thats all running goo i'll be doing my front end. i'm worried as to what i'll find when i start taking it apart because so far i've found some very weird stuff that the previoius owner has done.

but i will keep updated as i start my rebuild. any and all info and pictures will help me alot!

i'm just doing alot of reading and research so that way i will know what to expect when it comes time. i bought this car as my driver, and had it for over 2 months. and so far have only driven it for aprox. 5 minutes.

i can't wait til i get her running and reliable!

and "heyitruns", where are you located now? still in sac area? i actually live in elk grove. ha
 
i think i'm going to order my front end kit finally this weekendfrom PST. As of right now, i'm gonna go ahead and get the rubber front end kit for a 67. because modifying my k member doesn't seem worth saving a few dollars.

does anyone have any last minute comments or sugestions before i order it? thanks
 
The hardest part for me has always been getting the existing upper ball joints out of the control arm. I now have a six foot long cheater bar that I slip over the breaker bar and socket. This helps.

Even if you mark everything carefully, especially the UCA cam bolts, for re-assembly, plan on getting the front end aligned when you're done.

It is a do-able job, but one you don't want to screw up. I've learned a lot and gotten satisfaction knowing I did it myself. I've done two rebuilds with polygraphite and one with rubber. Each time, I enjoyed the improvement of the completed job for the way it made the car handle.
 
2 Darts said:
The hardest part for me has always been getting the existing upper ball joints out of the control arm. I now have a six foot long cheater bar that I slip over the breaker bar and socket. This helps.

Even if you mark everything carefully, especially the UCA cam bolts, for re-assembly, plan on getting the front end aligned when you're done.

It is a do-able job, but one you don't want to screw up. I've learned a lot and gotten satisfaction knowing I did it myself. I've done two rebuilds with polygraphite and one with rubber. Each time, I enjoyed the improvement of the completed job for the way it made the car handle.
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thanks. i'm looking forward to the satisfaction of doing it on my own too. i feel even more accomplished being only 18 and already having rebuilt an engine and now the suspension.
 
I did the rebuild using PST rubber kit. No problems whats so ever. I was lucky that my friend had a socket to fit the upper ball joint. He also had a 3ft breaker bar so it made it easy. Took everything to the friend who runs a transmission shop and borrowed his press. Press the pivot shaft into the LCA bushing first then press the LCA bushing into the LCA by pressing the bushing... not the shaft. I have not drove the car yet to get it aligned because I'm doing some stuff to the engine.
 
mullinax95 said:
I did the rebuild using PST rubber kit. No problems whats so ever. I was lucky that my friend had a socket to fit the upper ball joint. He also had a 3ft breaker bar so it made it easy. Took everything to the friend who runs a transmission shop and borrowed his press. Press the pivot shaft into the LCA bushing first then press the LCA bushing into the LCA by pressing the bushing... not the shaft. I have not drove the car yet to get it aligned because I'm doing so stuff to engine.
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thanks. and this is an FYI for everyone!

PST HAS ALL OF THEIR SUPER FRONT END REBUILD KITS FOR $100 OFF!!!

THIS MEANS THAT MY $399 KIT IS ONLY GOING TO COST ME $299. GREAT DEAL!!
AND NO SHIPPING THROUGH PST! SO ITS 299 SHIPPED
 
I will be replacing my LCA bushings and Strut Rod Bushings this weekend I was wondering if anyone had any words to the wise or short cuts? Are their any secrets to removing and reinstalling the torsion bars? I live in Connecticut is their anyone in the area I could borrow a torrison Bar remover and installer from?
Thank You
Bill
 
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