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Tips, Tricks And Tight Spots
| Here's a list of all the areas that may or may not need special
attention during an A-body big block conversion.
This is a basic "quick list". In the tech section, there are detailed
articles on most
of the items mentioned here, so have a look around there for the
details you may need. |
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Motor Mounts
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In all A,B,E bodies, the engine is offset to the passenger side 1.25". This is normal, and should be left this way - the transmission and rear pinion are both also offset - if you center the front of your engine, you'll have a crooked driveline, which may cause u-joint problems, and you'll definitely have header clearance issues because all the header companies build them to fit with the engine in the factory location. The only exception is the 62-66 A-body, which is actually offset closer to 1/2" at the crank snout, although this number can vary, and the engine is visibly crooked if you look closely - there isn't much room in the early A's, and you're usually stuck placing the engine however it will physically fit.
- Schumacher Conversion mounts - any engine to any K-frame - factory position. These require minor work on the driver side perch, depending on the year of your car.
- DC K - copy the old Direct Connection frame from the 70's. Uses stock
Mopar parts, new or from a junkyard. Factory postion.
- Directly bolt engine to 73-up frame with b-body mounts. This is similar
to the DC K idea, without welding. The engine installed this way will be
1" too far forward and 3/4" too high. Although it can be made to work by
flipping the trans crossmember, it causes various clearance problems which
have to be worked out yourself.
- A biscuit mount combination is also possible - 72-down b-body brackets,
with insulators from an 80's Dodge truck will allow the engine to bolt
in close to the stock height, although nearly 2 inches further forward
than stock. This solution requires a plate to be attached to the trans
crossmember, as the engine is too far forward for the trans to bolt directly
to the crossmember.
- Elephant ears/Motorplate - the is the well-known solution for most drag
cars. It's one of the strongest solutions for high horsepower cars. However,
since the plates interfere with the front of the engine, pulley alignment
has to be modified and brackets must be made to attach the plates to the
frame. This solution also induces alot of vibration to the passengers and
as such, isn't recommended for daily use.
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Oil Pans
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- The most recommended factory pan is the 67-up C-body pan. It has a stamping
of #699 or #187. This pan has a notch in it for idler arm clearance, which
can be a slight problem in the a-bodies.
- The standard street Hemi/440 HP pan works, as well as the deep pans
that are offered by most aftermarket companies. A possible exception MIGHT
be custom made deep pans. The standard pans with a deeper sump all work
ok...MP, Moroso,Milodon...
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Steering
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- A-bodies, depending on options, had either a straight or dropped centerlink.
Actually, these links are about in the same position, as the attaching
method switched from the top to the bottom. There should be minimal problems
here, save for the above mentioned oil pan/idler dent.
- Another item to think about is the 67-only idler arm. It's quite expensive,
being a one year only part. If it's feasible, it would be best to switch
to 68-up k-frame and parts to avoid the expensive idler.
- 73-up frames had many improvements over the 67-72 items, and is the
best factory starting point for a build-up.
- Also keep in mind that most underchassis headers will hit the steering
column. The #7 tube comes out of the head very close to the column. It
often requires that you remove the outer sleeve on the column up to the
firewall, to allow more room for the header tube. Although it sounds like
a pain, it can actually be done in about an hour.
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Transmission Mount
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- The standard trans mount works fine.
- Conversion mounts allow use of the stock trans mounting.
- The best way to mount any engine in a car is to first bolt it to the
factory trans mount to locate the engine properly in the car, and then
work out a way to mount the engine. Any custom application should be done
this way, as a properly located engine saves alot of future clearance problems
with accessories.
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Rear
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- Most people on a budget are inclined to skimp in this area. It's not
wise. A broken car is less fun than a half-finished one.
- The A-body 8.75 came with small drum brakes, and a 4" bolt pattern that
isn't very popular. As for width, once you move springs and wheelwells
to fit 10" rims, you'll find you need 7.5" of backspacing. There are only
2 wheels available with this much offset, so choices are limited. Notice
alot of a-bodies have Draglites of Centerlines? Now you know why.
- A good street performance recipe is as follows. Use a b-body housing
and have it narrowed "about" 5 inches less than an a-body width. B-body
housings are still very cheap to start with, and if you get the brake parts,
they have 2.5" wide drums vs. the a-body's 1.5" drums. You do at least
need the b-body backing plates to upgrade the brakes. Next, give Moser,
or your favorite axle place a call and get a set of heavy duty axles to
fit your length, having the 4.5" bolt pattern, non-adjustable bearings,
and the correct offset to compliment the b-body drum brakes. Doing all
of this will end up around $500 without a center. For that, you'll have
bullet-proof axles, bigger drum brakes, the more popular bolt pattern,
and need less backspacing, so you can use any style of wheel you want.
This isnt the cheapest way, but it will save you some headaches later on.
- Another excellent rear-end choice is by Ford...The 70's comets, mavericks,
granadas, monarchs, and versailles (possibly others), all have the exact
same dimensions as our a-bodies. They all came with 8" or 9" rears with
the 4 1/2" bolt pattern, parts are very vailable, e-brake cables are the
same, and they're plenty strong. They're only 1/4" wider on each side.
Identifying the 8" is easy as it has two dimples the back center, while
the 9" doesn't have the dimples, and also the 9" has a bulge to clear the
ring gear. Combo u-joints are commonly available at parts stores. Although
the Ford rear isnt a Mopar part, many people with small wallets will see
it as a god-send when money is tight.
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Driveshaft
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- As with most swaps, a custom length shaft is required. Instead of shortening
a stock one, spend the extra dollars on a bigger one with the bigger u-joints.
It's cheap insurance.
- As far as OEM shafts that fit, so far, I've been told that a shaft from
a two wheel drive 84-90 Ramcharger or short van with a 904 will work, and
you can just change the yoke to work with a 727.
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Cooling
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- This really isn't a very big deal. You can spend the bucks on one of
the custom rads now offered, or you can simply look through the junkyard
for a rad with similar dimensions and make your own mounting brackets.
In most cases, a flat piece of metal tacked on to the radiator frame will
work just fine. This is pretty much up to the builder and the rad chosen
though. Mine is from a fullsize Ford 4 wheel drive and works great for
less than half the cost of a custom one.
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Front Suspension
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- Torsion bars should be upgraded to bigblock versions. 0.890 bars or
better - strip only cars can use /6
- Upgrading to front disk brakes is a good idea. The cheapest method is
to use 73-up disk brakes from a donor car. This will also get you the 4.5" bolt pattern on the front, to match the rear you may have built from the
above information :)
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Exhaust
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- Schumacher Tri-Y
- Hooker Super Comp Fenderwell
- Hedman Fenderwell
- TTI 1.75" and 2" versions underchassis - 1.75 is for stock head 383/400
only and both require manual steering.
- Pro-Parts partial fenderwells
- Stahl fenderwell
- Factory A-body bigblock manifolds
- B-body HP manifolds
- Accurate LTD's custom casting
- B-body 1.75 underchassis - only fits with stock head 383/400 and manual
steering.
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Tire Clearance
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- Rear tire clearance varies depending on the year, as the coupe style
cars have much bigger wells. Currently I only have specific info on the
sedan/hardtop style.
- You can fit a 9.5" total width tire in the stock well.
- If you just move the springs inboard it will allow an 11" total width.
- If you move the springs in and the wheelwells into the frame you have
13.5" total width to play with.
- If you're building a car basically from the ground up, you might as
well move the springs and wells while your car is apart. Lots of power
does nothing if you can't get it to the ground.
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