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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

The cam bushings are aligning the front end. The shop wont want to do all the other work without doing an alignment.

For the cost and ease of cam bushing /upper control arm rebuild Id just do it now,,,,mebbe even first.

If you have to wait or postpone,,,,do the shocks and strut rod bushings later.

The cam bushing assembly is not as complicated as it looks.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

you will need to fix your cam bolt situation(as Sandy stated --they are needed for alignment)- & replace those other items-- are the upper bushings good? are the ball joints original? You will have a lot tore down for the lca (lower control arm) replacement-- do the strut bushing at that time as Lca -- as nice as your ride is -- it would be best to do it one time(bushings-- ball joints-- if anything is marginal)) & be done -- that way you won't replace a few pieces -- & and be back 2 months later replacing something next to it-

cool ride

Thanks VDART

Looks like we're gonna dive into the deep end and do the complete front end. Any "gotchas" we should be aware of. Don't want to get the complete front end apart and have to wait a week for that one part. Any prep work before starting, special tools beyond the ESPO tool kit? Anything you've thought, "if I do it again, don't forget..."?

Thanks,

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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

Take photos before, during, and after. Lots of photos, different angles and lighting. Each part, each bolted connection.
Keep the left and right parts separate. Tag them before taking them loose.
While you have the parts out, clean and paint them.
Be prepared for a bad brake bleeder screw or two.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

go to moparts.com they have a tech section read through it--

some other sites have good info(bigblockdart.com for 1)-- biggest pain is lca-- I use a large tap & it serves me well- others use a thick flat washer & welder---

a shop press is invaluable-- the big hammer method just distorts/destroys stuff

upper bushings a homemade press /air tool with some washers & all thread-- works well-- don't remember the site-- it's not too hard-- just cleaning up the parts is a pain-- take your time & you'll have a tight new ride!!;

Thanks VDART

Moparts.com tech articles are good! Led me to Tom Condran's book, Performance Handling for Classic Mopars. I'll order it tomorrow. Also liked the Moog offset upper A-arm bushings (#7103).

Thanks,

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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

if you dont have air take the ubj's out before removing the uca's
a breaker bar wirh a lca on the floor is no fun

if you have air still soak the bj in PB Blaster or similar then "bump" the air gun first befire you unload on it. the threads are easy to damage.

its a lot of work but worth it!
good luck
tophat

Watch out for the condron book -- many members have mis-givings on errors in the book.. SSDan has three books he always recommends ---- start with the FSM for your car(search this site-- it is posted)--. Since you have web access check out other web sites-(big block dart,all-par, etc) each one has something different to offer-- this site is by far the most helpful for slant related-- mostly "a" bodies --. The main theme is to enjoy your car & help out a fellow slanter if you can!!

Thanks for heads up on condron book. One of the first things we did after getting the Dart was to get the FSM and the High School shop class textbook recommended here. Very helpful but there's no substitute for "been there, done that". That's why this site is so helpful. I remember the first brake job (front pads only) I did on the little Honda we had a million years ago. First side took 1 hour. Second side took 7 minutes. And yes, we're having loads of fun learning something new.

Thanks,

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'72 Dart w/supersix, Grandfather, Father & Son project

Another pro "do it all" comment (which I did on my Dart last year)...

Once you do it all, you have a sense of completeness about the front-end, and you can "move on" with other projects. You likely won't have to touch the front suspension (except for greasing) for years to come.

Not only that... you'll feel like a pro when you finally have everything out from one side and all you see is the frame rail underneath the wheelwell!

Just have a machine shop press out the bushings... much easier than doing it yourself.

-Mac