73' to 74' Coronet and Charger front ends???

Has anyone heard that some of the suspension parts on 73' -74' Coronets and Chargers ie: Sway bar bushings, lower control arm bushings and ball joints are hard to replace/service during a front end rebuild?
I'm about to rebuild my entire front end and just want to be aware of all the gremlins that may surface during such a job.

Only thing I know of is the 73 should of had threaded lower ball joints and 74 started using press in lower ball joints. So make sure you have the correct lower ball joints. Also heard the threads can come out when removing the srcew in ball joints on the upper and lower. Mine came out fine but I have heard of issues. Nothing else that I can recall when I did my 73 Charger. BTW, I have a set of nos lower control arm shafts with bushings.

I have heard the same about the threads coming out when replacing ball joints. My 74 still got factory pieces and I'm affraid when times come.

In Vzla is not uncommon to find weld points ( 2 or 3 ) to keep ball joint and UCA safely in place. Not just on 73 and lates B bodies, but on any Mopar. Need to note, Venezuelan cars are tipically abused.

On my LCA ( press kind ) i had to make a weld seam on the new ball joint to make it larger diameter and make it fit tight again into the LCA hole. They were moog problem solver ball joints ( which I think are around .002 larger ) and still fit loose.

NOS LCA are anyway ready to get in to my car soon, with ball joins and bushing already installed from factory.

About the rest parts of suspension... nothing worst or better than any other Mopar.

Love the car.

Thank you.
It has a solid under chassis and the body is clean with just a few pen dents and fewer surface rust to scuff off and repaint.
A 72' 360 I have laying around will find its way into the bay for some motivation next summer in full stock form.
Just have to find a good competent upholsterer to rebuild the springs and foam on the front split bucket bench.

This would be a good time to do the k-frame bushings as well. You can use poly or go solid. There are also bushings on the t-bar cross member.

Yes, ham in the process of finding K-member bushings. Preferably original rubber types. Anyone know where to find 'em?
Does Just suspension or places like that make good ones to last?

GO SOLID!!! It will ride no harsher than a '72-back B-body but track so, SO much better with the K mounted solid.

I mounted the K solid in my wagon. If you actually drive the car and not just on and off a trailer, you'll notice the difference especially on pot holed roads or washboard kind of roads.

I used the (now) discontinued DC kit, but I believe Firm Feel now offers a kit.

Nice '73 Coronet!

NOS frame mounts will be hard to find and if you do find them they are big $$. There are eight rubber pieces total upper and lower. Also there are crossmember rubber mounts also. I can give you the part numbers for them if you want. You can get poly for them also. Personally I have the solid mounts in another car and they are too harsh IMO. It does handle better but I don`t like the trade off. I will be taking them out one day when I get some time.

Ok, you would need for the frame 4-3642851 and 4-3642852 isolator mounts. Arizona parts has 4 of the 3642851 for $55 each. I didn`t see the other number available from him.

Not a slam, but, how is the ride too harsh compared to a '72 -back? Having owned a '72 wagon and a '78 at the same time yrs ago, not once did I find the '72 offensive compared to the '78 (which was stock).

I guess it was for people like you that Chrysler went to the iso-K.

Me, I can live with the 'harshness' of a '72-back B-body.

Hmmm.....maybe you can swap out your solids and sell them to the OP to try out?

LINKY

(just having fun, don't get bent)

Your entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. What you like and what I like and being different is still allowed in this country, correct? Nothing bent here.

BTW, He did ask this? (Preferably original rubber types. Anyone know where to find 'em?)

Thank you guys. Thank you Mopars4ever.
I was thinking that solid ones would ride harsh and I really don't want that for a daily driver. Besides, my 65' rides like a WWII jeep already.
I'll look into the Arizona parts.

It looks like after reading what Satellite sent that it all comes down to what people really like for themselves.
I don't mind the harshness of my 65' because its a purpose built animal, but I guess if I could not find originals (strange being that these particular cars are not really that old) I would settle for the aluminum types.
I will admit that at this point, this car does wander a little and it makes me nervous on these crowded highways of New York. Perhaps it may be because it needs a complete overhaul of the front and rear suspensions (which I do with any car after a purchase) or it can just be a design imperfection of that era car.

I've since ordered the rear leaf springs, Isolators, shackles and bushings and U-bolts. The only items I am on the fence about are the shocks. I hear that the Bilsteins are the ticket but that the KYB's can be a bit hard.
Thanks guys since I am new to this breed and year. I've always loved the 71' 73' Chargers and Satellites.

Is your Coronet a big block or small block car?

Small block.

why miss the comfort with the rubber mounts ? is Coronet to drive it pleasuring, not a race car!!

rubber píeces were being on reproducing process what told were to be ready by january this year BUT never head back from the guy working on them ( 69bfan at dodgecharger dot com board ). I was waiting for them.

( csroll down this thread http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,125484.25.html

Poly and solid aluminium are available for a while... poly from Prothane and Energy suspension... rockauto, summit, ebay all around in red and black.

solid several others. Firm feel offers them

Thank you for the info.

And on that same note, are 73' power bulge Charger hoods interchangeable with 73' Coronet flat hoods? Just curious.

I was going to get into rear suspension but you were only asking about front suspension. The rear suffers from the "iso-k" changes as much as the front does. There is a large bushing that mounts in between the leaf and the shock plate. If you had not ordered the parts already, I would have told you to swap out to the 71-72 style. They make that bushing in poly to firm things up, otherwise the car can almost "crab walk" because the axle is not located properly.

Original rubber k-frame biscuits are not available. As Nacho said someone was working on producing them in small batches but we haven't heard anything since. You can go solid or poly - there are two brands of poly bushings out there. I prefer the ones with the integral steel sleeve.

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforu...rothane.142366/

On shocks, KYBs are crap. They ride like a hay cart and are way too harsh.

Energy Suspension 56105G for the rear. Rock Auto lists it as a leaf insulator:

Agree on the shocks. I will either go with Bilsteins on the high end or Monroe-matics on the low end.
I'll look into the steel sleeved Poly isolators for the front and Poly's for the rear as I hate the crab walk especially over bumps and pot holes.

I glad someone is stepping up to the plate and wants to make the iso-mounts. I know some of NOS ones are still available if you search for them. I put a NOS set on my 73 Charger a few years back. They pop up on ebay too once in a while. I just hope whomever makes them they don`t use the same rubber that they make new motors mounts from. India and China rubber is horrible from my experiences. I bought a trans mount (made in india) and it lasted for only a short time before failing. BTW, I agree on the KYB`s. Too bad I didn`t know before hand.

fullmetal, one other thing to look out for. The car looks really nice and rust free but the rubber iso-mount seem to keep moisture between the rubber and the k frame. They have a tendency to rust there so check them out and also lube the bolts up well as they can be tough to remove if rusty.

Yes, I've heard of the rust built-up in those areas after so many years. I'll be sure to have all the Murhpy's law tools handy when I dive into the job.
I'm gonna try and find OEM/NOS types.
What a shame for the moment that there seems to be a shortage of original parts for these cool cars being that they made so many of them in production. Possibly the most amount of Chargers of any generation.
Oh, thank you. The car has grown on me and as I said, I love the 71'-74' Chargers and Sats. They just scream out MOPAR and look fast sitting still. I opted for the four door so that I could have family and friends aboard and also to keep me from falling for yet another Hot Rod project. LOL.

My vote is for Monroe matics. They are similar to OE police shocks, and allow the suspension to work properly (unlike kybs). Nothing wrong with them if you aren't trying to compensate for weak t-bars or leafs. They will undoubtedly need to be replaced faster, but they are also far cheaper.

Yeah this car will get the full on both the front and rear suspensions.

BTW, I have the Monroe-matics on all four corners of my 83' Diplomat police car and they ride real nice. Firm, but not teeth shattering.

just if a bit the front end to match with fenders shape

I doubt it. I have a 73 Satellite sedan hood and it's several inches shorter than the 72 Charger hood I have stacked behind it. The only scoop I have seen that looks half decent on a Coronet is the T/A style, but to be honest the front end is already pretty aggressive looking for a four door.

The part numbers are different and the front edge of the hood looks a different shape as said.

Something else to worry about:

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforu...coupler.147177/

Yes, I was trying to have a good look at my steering joints and such.
Man, these cars are a challenge aren't they?

One thing or headache at a time I guess. LOL.

3575303 mopar rubber steering coupler for a 73 B body
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Satellite-...co/142583107232


YIKES!

Yes and no. I have a 73 column in my basement that I've been meaning to check, hopefully the triumph rag joint will fit. Did you upgrade to the C-body tie rods?

No I have not upgraded to the C-body tie rods yet. In fact the only NOS part that I have so far through a friend is the pitman arm.
My friend Special K, is good at tracking down all NOS parts if they are out there because he knows all the part numbers and lets me know.

Once again, why upgrade to the C body tie rods end speciall on a regular base 73 Coronet? Damn! They could be somehow nice to be installed on a car wich will be abused, but, on a regular pleasured driven 73 small block Coronet ?

I still haven't seen a damaged stock A and B body tie rod ends system damaged and needing to take advantage of the bigger C body setup, on all these years! And cars down here are REALLY ABUSED.


I say "once again" because I constantly read some suggestions on upgrades ( not just on this area ) where are not really needed! Come on! Modern cars got even "weaker" suspension and steering parts than back in the days any stock piece, and they hold quite good!

Nacho, the cost for the stock parts vs the beefier C-body pieces is essentially the same in the US (same with the time to install). So if someone is replacing worn originals, it just makes sense to upgrade. And since dealers would routinely snap off the grease fittings, you probably need new tie rods.

My thought as to why you would want to upgrade on a non-performance car would be for added safety in the event of a collision or other road hazard. The biggest risk would probably come from the tie rod end ripping free of the sleeve. I am guessing you'd rather retain control of your car if at all possible - for me it's "cheap insurance."

I give you credit for tracking down NOS parts for a 73 sedan. You may actually have better luck than most since I am sure many parts are the same 73-79, and the number of people looking for that year range is lower than the 68-72s.

Since you seem to be committed to NOS, you may want to have your friend locate a set of cast iron K-member biscuits (4419942). These were used on 80s police cars and taxis. They will work on a 73 if you reverse them.

Montclaire
The only reason I usually go for NOS stuff is that they are/were made here in the USA back in the day. MOOG, TRW were made both here and in Canada and are not NOS obviously, but were/are made with quality materials. That blessing since has changed for the most part and I do not want any off shore junk inferior stuff neither under, on top or in my car if I can help it.
Now that being said, some rubber NOS stuff ( Upper control arm bushings, etc) even though they were made here in the US, have since deteriorated from age in bad environments or shelf life in general and turn up to be no good, so off shore or after market stuff is the only alternative.
Now on the C-body stuff, I see no reason to not take advantage in using a beefier part on a relatively heavy car on NYC streets. The more heavy duty, the less weight on my shoulders about reliability on a daily driver.

My eyes are wide open with this car. Learning a lot from all you guys. Thank you.

Looks like you may be in luck on the rubber isolators:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-1973-1974-P...6MD&vxp=mtr

Thank you Montclaire. The fab Gods must have heard our battle cry for these things through this board. LOL.

I'll take a closer look at them. They are a little pricey, but I understand the demand and especially the time and effort that such a complicated item takes to fabricate and distribute.

That`s actually not a bad deal on them. It looks like it comes with the crossmember iso mounts also. NOS would cost much more I`m sure.

We're looking into it. That's Frank Mitchels old company that is selling them I believe.

Since you guys know these parts and related cars much more than I do, are these bushings in the picture correct or at least close to original as it may come?

Two buyers of the product in the last two months have not commented on their fit and or quality. I ask because even though these theoretically are not high pressure load items, the welds seem a little shy as in tack welds. Perhaps the factory produced just as shy a weld on the originals also. LOL.

In either case, if these are indeed the correct types, I will add a small tag weld seam to the corners to make it that much more stronger.

Here are some OE ones to compare.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Magnum-Ch...ksid=m570.l1313

ONE matching NOS one on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-OEM-MOPAR-3...TitleDesc=0%7C0

If the K is mounted solid, you can do away with this.

I haven't done this to my wagon (yet) as I have a few good used ones available still.

For the OP, its best to leave it in place as it does lessen some of the harshness fed back up the column.

Way away from my budget... couldn't expect less from fmmopar, as any other Mopar repro around.

That's why I created this:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/149414152185365/

( yeah well, just somekind of rant )




One more to add to the expensive list I can't afford, like:
RCD ( bilstein ) shocks
Tuff stuff 100 amps alt
Bumper fillers ( except front center )
Headlight fillers and grilles ( not satisfied yet with headlight fillers repros yet thought )


Can't recall what else...

With eighteen pieces in the kit, it works out to less than $17 per piece. The bumper fillers are being produced on the same cottage industry scale so they are not cheap, either, but the quality seems to be there. I for one am glad they are being offered.

I finally got around to checking my column - 50mm center to center. So the triumph part will not work. Bummer.

A little off guide, but are the 73'-74' Charger front fenders compatible with 73' Coronets?

No, but you can swap bumpers.

So that means that the 73' Coronet and or perhaps the 74' Coronet fenders are a one to two year thingie only?

I think Coronet is 1972/1973, with 1974 being different. And I think that Satellite sedan is the same 1972-1974. My guess (and this is only a guess) is that there was an issue with the hoop bumper on the Dodge meeting 1974 crash standards.

Coronet and Charger are a diff monsters.

Between Coronets, and thinking they could be similar to Chargers all 71/73 should be somehow interchangeable from exterior ( aside 71 sidemarkers ) but actually every year is 1 year only setup because radiator core support differences due the frame rails changes and isolation systems... it seems ridiculous, but the isolation changed a bit the fenders too due the frame rail changes.