http://www.reillymotorsports.com/store/ ... 265&page=1

"Uses 73-up style big balljoint, 72-older A-body spindles will not work
or can be machined to the larger taper - CALL for details"

machined for larger taper? i put a call in and am waiting to hear back. but i'm wondering if any of you guys have done this to your spindle and if there are any things i should watch out for? can i drill this at home with a power drill and proper bit? or do i have to remove the spindle and take it to a machine shop? i prefer these arms over the Magnum Force arms and am thinking about going with the rod end style.

i've replaced all tie rods, pitman arm, idler arm, and lower ball joints. wheel bearings and 9" drums are new as well. 1.00 torsion bars and replaced strut rod bushings... this is the last piece of the puzzle.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

You need a tapered reamer. I reamed some spindles to accept larger tie rod ends. Why the heck are you worried about handling so much when the car won't even stop from speed with those 9" drums. Get some real brakes! Please!

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Joshua

i live in glendale, ca. and work in downtown los angeles. top speeds out here don't go above 60mph on the freeway if you're lucky. i've driven the 9" drums for about 7 years now. i feel that if they're properly assembled, serviced and adjusted, they work fine. i'm looking for better steering response, smoother ride, and better cornering mostly. being a younger kid, my inclination is to drive fast ,:twisted:
but it's just not worth it. after 3 front end accidents and finally having the money to do the suspension properly, i rather drive slow and let people pass me than tailing some schmuck who will slam on his brakes any second.

that being said. thank you for your concern

tapered reamer? time to consult my father the plumber.

does this weaken the spindle at all?

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

I did 9" drums for a number of years and never rear ended anyone, but that doesn't mean they even approach 'good'. 9" drums were marginal when the cars were new and the disc brakes of the era are far superior. Sticking with 9" drums is nearly as short sighted as using bias ply tires and driving without a seat belt. I even had bad dreams where I couldn't stop the car. Late A-body disc brakes stopped the car much, much better and the bad dreams went away.

The very first thing to improve on a good stock A-body is the tires. Once the wheels and tires are brought closer to modern standards you find the stock suspension is mush and the brakes are poor. Adjustable upper control arms aren't going to get you any improvement if the geometry and alignment settings don't change.

You have to do quite a bit to a slant six A-body before the power and handling surpass that of a stock Neon. Those control arms cost fully half of what I have into my Neon.

Yes, a tapered reamer. http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Tapered-B ... ,2918.html

Yes, removing metal from a part can weaken the part especially if it's in a high stress area.

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Joshua

Can't you just use '73-76 spindles? And I agree with Joshua about the brakes. Barely adequate. I'm getting ready to upgrade to '73-76 discs right now.

I had to use a pair of tubular upper control arms on my Dart due to a caster problem that eccentric bushings would not correct. They came with a threaded bushing that allowed the use of the old stile small upper ball joint.

The way CAP designed this part caused the grease cup to not seal, and brake off after jacking the car up. I reamed the eye with a 7* tapered ream using a half inch drill motor, removed the threaded reducing bushing that the small joint used, and installed the large ball joint.

I don’t recommend using these UCA unless there is an alignment issue that can’t be corrected.

Like Josh said, spend your money on disk brakes & tires, and new front end bushings. If needed, the next step would be stiffer torsion bars, better shocks, and a front anti sway bar.

40 years ago I drove a 1967 273 Dart with 9â€￾ drums as a daily driver, that thing didn’t stop too well the first time, and after the second hard stop, forget it, putting in the clutch provided as much stopping power. But, in those days, nobody knew the difference, as only a few models had disk brakes as optional equipment.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

I live in LA too, and used to commute from Atwater Village to Redondo in my Valiant, and before that to Hollywood in a '64 Dart with stock drums. The 9" drums are a safety hazard, period. Even with every new part available they are no good. Modern traffic moves too fast when it's moving and slows down too suddenly for those brakes.

When EVERY car around you can stop in 1/2 the distance you can or less, you are endangering yourself and people ahead of you by driving with them.

I drove the dart that way because i was young and stupid, the Valiant I switched over to discs within a few months of driving it regularly.

Modern 14-inch tires and the single-piston disc brakes are the best things I have done to the car.

well said gentleman.

i'll hold back on the uca's until i get the brakes nice.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

Definitely brakes first, then UCAs.

Personally, I have these tubular UCAs on two cars now, and notice no difference. If you have stock UCAs in good shape, just put offset Moog bushings in and be done with it. The flexibility and weight penalties are minimal (1-2 lbs total for both sides). Don't believe the ads on how much weight you save.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Upgrade the brakes first, you'll be very glad you did.

I used to race my '66 with 9" front drums and 11" rears. As soon as it started running over 90 in the 1/4 it became spooky to stop.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Zilla:
[quote]I used to race my '66 with 9" front drums and 11" rears. As soon as it started running over 90 in the 1/4 it became spooky to stop. [/quote]


Mr. moderator, I need the /6 identity changer due to stupid youth activity:

XXX Files:

Ahhh, 90 mph with 9â€￾ vibrators… LOL I recall the first time I cranked up my first Dart with a 273 on a back road to 90 plus mph, double the limit. Hit the brakes hard to make a corner, all they did was make a lot of vibration, and not a lot of stopping. Rather unnerving; after that I respected the fact that that car wouldn’t stop at speeds over 45 mph.

Remember the two second rule, and both hands at 10 & 2 from Driver’s Ed? There was a reason, both hands on the wheel gave one extra leverage to push the brake peddle. In those days, pre 73, most every car on the road had crappy brakes, so long stopping distances were not a big deal when in traffic; nobody could stop.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

My two cents here. I've got a 61 Cadillac 2dr HT as well as my 63 Valiant convt. I almost totalled my Caddy in downtown Charleston SC. I waited for the red light to clear, then proceeded my left hand turn to clear the lane. A lady ran the red light and almost t boned my car. I had such bad brake fade due to stop and go traffic I could not stop. When all cars have brake shoes we are all on the same page, when the majority of cars have disc and way half of my car, I had to swap. It's a safety thing with me, if I wreck I gotta fix it, and extra few hundred dollars and not worrying. That's called Piece of Mind.

Actually it's called "Peace" of Mind

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

When I did the disc brake conversion on my '63 Dart I used the upper control arms & spindles off of a '73. I used the original lower control arms. The angle of the lower ball joint arm that connects to the tie rod is quite different. I remember when I took the car in for alignment, the mechanic said "What the heck did you do to this thing?' because he had to make large adjustments on the tie-rod lengths. He had no clue I had changed to discs. Guess he hadn't been around when these cars were on the road a lot or he would have known that they didn't come with discs!

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Firm Feel sells SBJ UCA's, just ordered mine Monday. I am running the '72 KH 4 pistin disk brakes.

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'72 4 dr Dart
'63 4 dr Dart