Newbie 65 Dart suspension Question

[dart165]

pardon my ignorance on this, and feel free to direct me to a thread if there is already one covering this:

Does anyone ever upgrade to a 5"x4.5" lug pattern on their early a-bodies?
Do later components like volares/ later a bodies swap in?
Is there a beefier rear out there that drops right in with out having to have it narrowed?

I've heard that a 57 ford 9" fits right in to later a-bodies but i havent measured the width of mine to see what i'm working with.

A little background:
I have a 65 gt convertible that i have had for 17 years,but has sat for the better part of 5. The body work was mostly done and i dropped a 360 in it, and thats about as far as i got before life got in the way. i'm finally in a spot that i can start making headway again, but i wanted to see what, if anything, people were doing about bigger brakes, rear ends etc. Here's a picture:

Any advice/direction wuld be greatly appreciated!
thanks.
-Chris

 

[pettybludart]

All A-body rears are a bolt in,7 1/4,8 1/4,8 3/4 and a Dana.I have the 8 3/4 in my 66 Dart with 3.91 sure-grip with Moser axels 5x4.5 bbp.I have 2 1/2 x 10 inch brakes on rear.I also did the disc. brake swap up front.I dropped a 360 in the car useing Spitfire headers(cheapest $235).Hope this helps!

 

[dart165]

thanks for the response.

when you swapped the front brakes to discs, what components did you use? later a-body?
and the spitfire headers, did you have to cut the inner fenders to get them through?



thanks again

 

[OldVart]

You need the parts from a 73 or newer A Body to upgrade to disks and the 4.5" bolt pattern. Take everything including the Upper Control Arms, Spindles, Calipers, Rotors, Master Cylinder, and Proportining Valve. The Upper Control Arms have the larger ball joint needed for the swap. Good luck.

 

[dustoff440]

Hedman Hedders for A body small block are $153.00 at Summitt, no cutting required

 

[Optik]

Hedman Hedders for A body small block are $153.00 at Summitt, no cutting required

do NOT buy the hedman shorties unless you want to beat the crap out of them with a hammer to get them to fit around the steering box. whoever did the r&d on those messed up big time because they fit like crap in an early a. also they dump out right into the steering linkage making exhaust fabrication a major PITA. it was a lot of work to get those into my car and i almost don't want to swap them now because i have so much time invested in making them work. sure they are cheap but IMO not worth it at all.
-tim

 

[pettybludart]

thanks for the response.

when you swapped the front brakes to discs, what components did you use? later a-body?
and the spitfire headers, did you have to cut the inner fenders to get them through?



thanks again

I used all the parts from a donar car 73 318 Swinger,I also used the bigger lower ball joint 73-up for added strength for V8.The Spitfires were a bolt in with manual steering.Good Luck!

 

[Johnny Dart]

Go for the 73 up disc brake set-up from any A-body (as mentioned).
This will give you the big bolt pattern. Plus brake parts are waaay cheaper than the earlier A-body brake parts.

For the rear,get an A-body 8 3/4. This is a small bolt rear,so you will have to get big bolt axles.
It will bolt right in. Be prepaired for a new drive shaft.

Here is a pic of my 65 vert,which has none of the above. lol
I kept the small bolt pattern,and used the 72 and earlier A-body Kelsey hayes brakes.
With the slant I kept the 7 1/4" and installed a 3.55 gear.

 

[MadScientistMat]

pardon my ignorance on this, and feel free to direct me to a thread if there is already one covering this:

Does anyone ever upgrade to a 5"x4.5" lug pattern on their early a-bodies?

I've done so. Up front, I'm running the Mopar Action junkyard 11.75" disc brake swap. Right now I have a late A-body 7 1/4" axle with the large bolt pattern for the back. I've got an A-body 8 3/4" axle that's been modified for 11" drums ready to swap in, with new Moser LBP axles.

Do later components like volares/ later a bodies swap in?

F-body (Aspen / Volare) stuff does not directly swap over, though you could probably get their axle in by welding on non-Isoclamp spring perches. The F-body front disc spindles will bolt in if you use '73-'76 A-body upper control arms and ball joints. F-body control arms don't fit though. Same goes for M-bodies (Diplomats, etc), which are a continuation of the same platform. Any later A-body suspension will bolt in.

Is there a beefier rear out there that drops right in with out having to have it narrowed?

I've heard that a 57 ford 9" fits right in to later a-bodies but i havent measured the width of mine to see what i'm working with.

Besides A-body rear axles, Ford 9" rear ends from a Mustang (or Maverick or Granada) are the right width. I think you need a U-joint conversion. But there are all in the Mopar family options.

 

[dart165]

Wow! thanks for all the info guys! I'm gonna start hunting!.

in the mean time, here's some more pics of the car... they don't have much to do with the questions I've been asking, but whatever!

 

[dart165]

Ok, so I'm well into the chase for the BBP disc brake front, and i think i know if some rear ends around too.

I looked into Spitfire headers, and i was pretty surprised to find that the dude who runs it has a track roecord that is ...less than stellar to say the least! I figured i'd contact him anyway see what the deal would be to get some made, but I couldn't find a website, or a contact number thats still in operation. Any other suggestions? (or spare sets of spitfires that you wanna offload )