swapping K-frame questions

[freakoweirdo]

gang,
i picked up a real cheap 73 dart with a sweet running 318. got it as a parts car for my 67 cuda.
1) I was going to harvest the front discs from it for the cuda. but then somebody told me i should also swap in the k-frame as this year had better motor mounts. what does that mean?? does that sound like a good idea?
2) I was also told the T-bars might be bigger , because the dart was factory AC equipped, as opposed to the factory 273 2 bbl cuda t-bars. True/false?
3) BUT... i heard rumor that there was something differnet in the front steering linkage, like the center link or tie rods or something conected differently in the later a-bodies, so maybe i should just pull everything from under the dart and stick it in the cuda. does anybody know exactly what this difference is ?
sorry for the lengthy post, i have never owned an a-body so i am in the dark
PS, I already know about the bigger bolt patterns.
thanks in advance, neal

 

[Guitar Jones]

Yeah I know.

 

[Guitar Jones]

OK, sorry. I can't resist I'm a smart ***.

The steering linkage is different in how the pitman and idler arms bolt up, one year they go over, one year they go under, not a big deal if you are swapping everything.

Next the k frames aren't any better in my opinion. The 73 up cars use a spool mount and the 72 down cars use a flat insulator. You can buy solid mounts from Moroso for the 72 down cars so they get my vote. Your mileage may vary.

The T bars may indeed be bigger, you can use some dial calipers to measure them. Whether or not you want bigger bars depends on how you plan to use your car. Drag race, smaller bars. Cornering, larger bars.

 

[66dartgt]

I'd swap to the 73 stuff completely. Why ? Idler arm design is more stable and lots cheaper and easier to get, you get the disc brakes and larger wheel pattern, the spool mounts are a failsafe design, you can also mount any aftermarket sway bar on the 73 that you'd like with no caliper problems. If the rubber in the mounts fall apart - the mount is kept captive, no need for a torque strap either because of this design. No downsides to this swap in my opinion. The torsion bars may or may not be larger, you'd need to measure or look up the part numbers which are on the ends of the hexes. Go for it.

 

[dgc333]

If you swap in the 73 K-member to your 67 you will either have to get a 68-72 idler arm and still use your exisitng center link & steering box or use the 73+ idler along with the center link & the steering box from your 73 doner.

If your existing lower control arms have sway bar tabs they will not be compatable with the 73+ sway bar. Not sure if you could mount the pre-73 sway bar to the new k-member but as mentioned it will interfer with the calipers unless you mount the calipers to the rear by swaping the spindles side to side.

 

[AdamR]

Swap the entire front end over. The spool engine mounts are much stronger then your 67's biscuit type.