k-member removal

[74duster]

I'm working on a 74 Dart Swinger, originally a 318 car, now has 440 w/727. I would like to unbolt everything from under the car, and lift the car off of the engine/trans/k-member assembly, but I'm not sure of the procedure. Is there a specific order in which things need to come loose? Also, once the separation is about to happen, will it be better to have the front tires on or off?
Obviously, I've never done this before. If someone could step me through the process, I sure would appreciate it.

 

[RedFish]

You can't drop the K-member and still have a rolling chassis since the lower arms are mounted to the K-member. I guess the part about tires on or off got me puzzled.
You can jack the car up high enough to drag all that out from under at once but you will have a hand full.
Exhaust manifolds have to be removed, radiater too. Drive one pin out of the steering at box coupling. Drill the brads out of splash shields and K-member will slide forward and off torsion bars.
Sounds easy ? Wait till you try and put all that back together in one go. LOL

 

[74duster]

I guess I was thinking that if the tires were still mounted, then it might be easier to pull the thing around the floor. I realize that they would not be with the car any longer.
As far as easy goes, I was told that this is easier than the normal way of pulling the motor/trans out from the top. I'm not convinced either way. This is the first time I've had to remove an rb from an a-body, and it doesn't look like it's going to be easy no matter which way its done.:-k

 

[mopar_1974]

i plan on doing that too with my car, now a /6 soon to be 360. i got a donor car and ripped all the goodies off of that, k member, disc brakes, torsion bars and rear end, but it was a little easier without the engine in the way. i plan on ripping the /6 k member out and having the newly rebuilt front end and brakes ready to put in right with the new 360 on top. ive got a friend with a shop and a lift so i'll kind of cheat and drop it down slowly. as for wheels, i plan to keep them off and just build a stand to hold the k member and engine off the ground about where they should be. good luck with your project!

 

[GTXperience]

Without going into detail on what needs to happen in chronological order before you can pull the frontend out, I will say this. It is definitely the easiest and most efficient way if you are doing a complete resto or at least if you are completely going through the frontend, motor and maybe trans. With this being said, the deciding factor for me would be if I had the tools and facilities to do this. It does take the right equipment and the space. If you have access to a 2-post lift, it works. If you think you can use a cherry picker to support and get the the frontend up high enough to roll the entire assembly out, that will work. I like to keep the wheels/tires on the assembly. Sometimes you have to deflate the tires a bit to get it out depending on the method you are using.

Also, I have always fabricated a rolling cart to bolt to the existing k-member mounts to keep the car mobile. Also, I use a cradle that bolts to the trans support which keeps the frontend/motr/trans mobile as well. You can probably get away with a wheel/tire dolly or something of the sort. Good luck with your project.

 

[yellowdartdave]

What are you plans after you get the engine and tranny out?
My friend that built the 440 Long Ram Swinger has a side post lift and just reversed the factory method.
Remove radiator and heater hoses, fuel lines, tranny lines, shift and throttle linkages, driveshaft and torsion bars. disconnect the exhaust at the headers.
Unplug engine wiring harness from bulkhead connector and lay on top of motor.
Disconnect the steering shaft and the upper ball joints as well as the flexible brake hoses.
He made a wheeled cart that the K-member and transmission sat on.
With everything ready, he would lower the car down till the K frame was resting on the cart, take out the K frame bolts and the trans crossmember
He would then lift the car up and wheel the whole thing away.
He would then wheel in a old spare K frame fitted to a rubber tired gardeners cart like you see people hauling parts with at swap meets.
4 bolts later he could then wheel the car anywhere he wants.
He also made a wheeled cradle for the engine only. It was made out of wood that supported the engine from the oil pan rails.
The whole process worked like a charm. The only thing that he had to remove was the fan shroud. Everything else came out with the motor.
Even the long tube headers!! And you don't have to worry about scratching the paint or crushing the radiator yoke.
If I missed any details, please forgive me.
We used this process when I broke the crank on my Dart. We had the whole thing on the cart in less than 2 hours.

 

[74duster]

I don't have a plan for this car yet. The trans is getting replaced with a fresh rebuilt 727 w/lockup convertor. The 440 runs great (don't know specs as it was done before I got the car). I'm told the 8-3/4 is out of a 70 Dart, it needs complete break job.The car has welded in frame ties and needs lower quarters (which I have). The rest of the body has little dents, spot rust, and the factory seams are showing on the sail panels. The interior is average, mostly it needs front seat recovered, and a dash pad.
So, if I keep the car, everything has to come out so I can do a complete resto. And if I sell the car, everything needs to come out because I can get more money parting it out than I can selling as a unit.
The info you gave me about how your friend did this removal is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for the info.
By the way, any chance of pics of his long ram dart?

 

[dgc333]

I guess I was thinking that if the tires were still mounted, then it might be easier to pull the thing around the floor. I realize that they would not be with the car any longer.

The upper control arms are connectd to the body and the lower to the k-member. You won't be able to roll either the car or the k-member/engine combo on the wheels.

 

[abodyjoe]

its pretty easy and straight forward.. you just have to really look at it before you do it and you will see how it comes out.
i left my motor in when i did it. i also pulled the column out since i had to do that anyway.

 

[abodyjoe]

when everything was unbolted. i lifted the motor an inch or two, lowered the k-frame an inch or so and banged the k-frame forward to get the lower arms off the torsion bars...

 

[RedFish]

I dropped it all out the bottom once to transplant from on car to another. The 22 inch radiater out the bottom too (the fan was removed).
Supported the engine and removed K-member alone once too.
This is just food for thought ... there is no similar proceedure or even torque specs for those 4 K-member bolts in any service manuals that I've seen.

 

[2 Darts]

This is how I did it, except I bolted the engine and transmission to the K-frame. Engine was LA with stock exhausts and the right angle oil filter adapter installed. The K-frame was a 75 with a cop car power steering box on it. Removed dipsticks and plugged tubes. Radiator was not installed. Lowered body down until I could just barely start the 4 bolts (let me move dolly around to make sure they all lined up). Suppose you could do two diagonally as well. Lowered til all weight was on the dolly. It was a sweet, one-man job that did not put a scratch in the engine compartment paint. It's the way the factory did it, and it works!

 

[mopar1962]

a slant 6 k member is just as strong as a hemi k member

 

[mopar1962]

ask the guys at schumacher