I found one, out of a 73 Duster with a 318 that fits through the k-frame. Will this work on my 71 duster with the /6 k-frame? I think the holes are already there for it.

Nope. IN 73 they changed the k-frame and the track width when they went to disc brakes. If you got 73 lower control arms and a 73-76 k-frame it would all bolt right up to your 71, but you need to swap the whole thing to make it work.

Reed

I'll vouch for Reed on this one. I did this swap on my '71 Swinger (to get swaybar, front disc brakes and spool type engine mounts). Donor car was a '74 Dart. Used LCAs, UCAs, knuckles, and K-frame from donor car (as well as torsion bars, calipers, hats, prop valve, wheels and 8-1/4" rear end [to get bigger rear drums and BCs]). Used PST polygraphite balljoints and bushings. Also upgraded to electronic ign. All worth the work.


---Red

So if I get a 73+ /6 kframe, a 73 318 swaybar will fit fine?

I didn't realize 73 had a different /6 kframe, I was worried about it coming from a 318 car making things completely different.

So even though the k-frame is different in 73, I can still use all the steering and suspension parts from it on a 71 correct?

My donor was a slant car. Pretty sure that the only difference between the V8 and slant swaybars is the diameter of the bar itself (if anybody else knows different---speak!). Obviously, you'll want the LCAs from the car the swaybar came off because the swaybar bolts to the welded-on tabs on them (unless it's an aftermarket bar that somebody added).

PST will ask you to specify swaybar diameter when you order the kit so that they can supply correct swaybar bushings for your bar. There are at least three different diameters that I know of (7/8", 1", 1-1/8")

The K-frame has to come from a slant car, because the motor mount brackets are different from the V8s (thus creating a market for Schumacher who makes special motor mounts that allow you to drop a V8 into a slant car w/o changing the K-frame) and has to have the "slot" which, as you noted above, the swaybar passes through when mounted.

Your '71 probably uses "bisquit" motor mounts, while the '74-'76 ones I've seen are "spool" type. New spool inserts are still available at the parts store.


---Red

A-bodies had three generations of front suspensions/k-frames:
(1) 63-66 (and some of the frog-mobiles too)- slant sixes and 273s shared the same k-frame, just had different motor mounts. Narrowest front track (don't know what it was offhand)

(2) 67-72- Front track was widened to accomodate big block motors. This necessitated a wider k-frame. Slant sixes and V-8s had different k-frames. Through 72 the disc brakes on a-bodies had the calipers in therear. The factory sway bars are very short in length and mount far inboard on the lower control arms. Also, the bar itself was hung in front of the k-frame in a very exposed psoition. Check out a factory 67-72 sway bar and you will see what I mean.

(3) 73-76- Factory redesigned the k-frame for spool-type motor mounts, disc brakes had the calipers moved to the front of the rotor, and the sway bare was moved to a spot inside the k-frame. However, the width of the k-frame stayed the same, so you can bolt a 73-76 k-frame to any 67-76 a-body, and take advantage of the spool motor mounts, protected sway bar, and disc brakes.

You cannot mount a 67-76 k-frame on a 63-66 a-body, the frame rails are the wrong width apart. However, if you are lucky enough to have a 63-66 a-body with a factory sway bar, you CAN upgrade to arge bolt pattern disc brakes by swapping the spindles left-for right and mounting the calipers on the rear of the rotors. Justmake sure to use the brake hoses for a 1980 Volare.

Reed

Thanks for the info. So unless I find me a 73+ k-frame that sway bar won't do me any good. Rats. Too bad that car wasn't a 72 with the 4piston/sbp discs, I would have snatched it in a heartbeat. I really don't want to use the 73+ discs because of the BBP, I'd have to get my rubber mounted on new wheels and then get new axles for the future 8 3/4" thats going in there. Either that or just bite the bullet and carry two spares.

From the same 72 duster 340 I got the 8 3/4" from, I have the front end but it is just 10" drums. Although, the LCA's do have the swaybar tabs. So I'm thinking I'll upgrade to 10" drums in the front, 10" in the back with the new rear, and that will leave my options open for the future for a factory sway bar. Its wierd that a 73 318 got disc front brakes but a 72 340 got drums. Go figure.

I have a spare 1976 K-frame out of my parts Feather Duster, it's just taking up room in my car port. If I knew someone heading down your direction I'd send it with them. I think the packaging alone would kill the transaction (probably cost oversize pricing...). I'm going to be busy this weekend, if I remember, I'll fish it out and snap some pics to see if you might be interested...

-D.Idiot

Thanks for the offer DI but I think I will pass. I don't want to put in a new k-frame just for a sway bar. I wonder what my chances of finding a 67-72 factory sway bar are.

The suspension mounting points are the same from '63-'76. The frame rails, upper shock mounts and inner fenders were widen in '67 to acomodate the 383. It is really nice that chrysler used the same basic floor pan for 13 years.

The disk brake setup came from the '66-'70 B-bodies, used B-body spindles and B-body UCAs. This same setup was also used on the E-bodies. This is why you can use '73-'76 disk brake A-body spindles on B-bodies and E-bodies.

The drum brake suspension was the same from '63 to '76. With slight differances in the UCAs and drums.

This is why disk brakes cars have a "pigeon toed" look, while the drum brake cars do not. The disk brake spindles pushes the wheels out about 1" per side.

Little known FYI:
1962 was the first year for the revised A-Body front suspension so all the stuff from 62-66 is the same.
60 & 61 "road toads" (Lancer and Valiant) use a very different front suspension but again, the later 62-66 K-frame and 62-76 parts will "swap-on".
DD

So the only reason a 73 sway bar won't fit a 71 is because the sway bar was designed to go in the kframe instead of outside, other then that the mounting points are the same? Looks like it still comes down to swapping the kframes.

I found a factory swaybar on a '74 Dart, so I swapped k-frames when I swapped the '74 front disc brakes onto my '71 Swinger. My '71 k-frame lacked the slot that the swaybar passes through. The swaybar attaches to a welded-on tab on each LCA and also to 2 brackets that bolt to the K-frame.

So unless the LCAs currently on your car have the factory tabs, you'll have to either find some that do and swap them in, or weld some tabs onto yours to use the factory swaybar.


---Red

Hey Red, any chance I can get a picture of your k-frame where the factory sway bar passes through it? I'd like to see what this slot looks like.

What part of Cali are you in? I just so happen to also have a spare 73-76 slant 6 K-frame.