Spindle interchangability for 71-74 chargers

[flashley18]

Can anyone tell me if there is an advantage to switching spindles from a 71 to another year.  I have heard that you can save money on rotors by switching to any year other than a 71.  Also am being told that I can get better adjustability out of new spindles.  Is this true or just myth.  Anyone ever done this???

Am rebuilding a 71 charger 500 and would like to upgrade the suspension some if possible.  Discs for this car are expensive.

[Chryco Psycho]

71 & I think 72 has a different rotor with a smaller  brg , 73-74 Chargers have a taller spindle due to the floating K frame

[flashley18]

Thanks for the information.  I guess I will stick with the originals.  Anyone know what the min thickness is for the rotors??

[beenaround]

min thickness out of the 71 manual is 1.180 for "all except coronet and challenger".coronet and challenger listed as .940.

[71charger_fan]

You can use the taller spindles.  I have.  They've been on the car since 92 and have proven absolutely trouble free.  The rotors are much less expensive and much easier to find.  The slider calipers are also cheap.

[flashley18]

can you tell me what spindles you are using and what you had to do for the upgrade. 

[71charger_fan]

All F, J, M, R, and 73-up B-body spindles are the same part.  They are interchangeable from side to side and are, as has been previously mentioned, slightly taller than OE 72-down units.  The ones on my car just happen to be out of a 77 Volare 4 door.  The 72-down lower ball joints bolt right up to the newer (or at this point, less old) spindles.  You can mount your calipers to the front or rear.  I put mine to the rear as the factory hard lines on mine terminated there.  I used a proportioning valve out of either the Volare or a 74 Charger.  It's been so long now, I honestly don't remember which one I used and which is on the shelf.  For brake hoses I just asked the parts guy for 73 Charger hoses.  I don't know with what other cars these interchange but the part numbers are Wagner F99069, Bendix 88611, Raybestos BH36828, and Allparts H99069.  I even used the original drum brake master cylinder for a while.  Pull out the residual pressure valve and it works fine.  It just doesn't have the fluid capacity necessary for a safey factor on a disk brake system.  I went to the auto parts and asked if there was a master cylinder listed for any Coronets or Satellites with manual disks.  They found a listing, I bought it and put it in.  Way better than drums.

[flashley18]

Will the car have a higher ride height with the new spindles of a lower ride height everything being equal.  What made  you change the spindles on your car.  Did you do it for an upgrade or out of necessity.

[71charger_fan]

I wanted disk brakes.  This was, in my opinion, the most cost effective way to get them. There is no effect on ride height by changing the spindles.  The lower control arm to spindle/knuckle relationship is unchanged.  All that changes is the angle of the upper control arm.  Check out the Mopar Muscle article from a few months ago where the taller spindles were used and measurements were taken throughout the suspension travel.

[CFMopar]

I heard you shouldnt use the taller spindles as they change your front end geometry....

[71charger_fan]

Of course they do.  It would be impossible to introduce one part of a different length into a system and not change the geometry.  The debate always seemed to center on whether this change in geometry was a plus or a minus.  Go to bigblockdart.com and see what he has to say.  He wrote the article that was in Mopar Muscle.  I believe the geometry change results in a push (in gambling terms, not handling terms).  I think the plusses and the minuses equal out and provide us with an economical alternative for disk brake swaps.  What I can tell you is I did this swap in 1992 and it was the best money I ever spent on the car.

[javakmcharger68]

I heard  that you can not use 73 charger front disc spindles on a 68 charger because of the changes made in 73 to the front end. Any thruth to that ?

[Chryco Psycho]

really the taller spindle "should " help the geometery as long as it doesn`t over pivot the upper ball joint

[71charger_fan]

http://www.bigblockdart.com/tech/spindles.shtml

[Ghoste]

All I can say is that if I keep this 67, I will be swapping to later spindles because these rotors are impossible to find and carry the corresponding price tag to that fact.  Now the calipers are getting pretty rare too.

[MNMopar]

So what you saying is... Swap out my 73 spindles into the 72 because they will work and I bought all brand new everything for the 73. ANd then put the 72 spindles and calipers and rotors up on feebay because they are getting less and less common.    Win win situation !!!

[terrible one]

I heard  that you can not use 73 charger front disc spindles on a 68 charger because of the changes made in 73 to the front end. Any thruth to that ?

I used them.

They're fine.

[CFMopar]

I heard  that you can not use 73 charger front disc spindles on a 68 charger because of the changes made in 73 to the front end. Any thruth to that ?

The issues with the 73 spindle is that they're longer. Because of that they may force the ball joints beyond their designed range. On that note, I've read mixed things bout them. Some say they help the geometry others say they should be avoided. I know mopar action editor Richard Ehrenberg doesn't like them. http://www.moparaction.com/tech/archive/disc-main.html