'70 front end questions

[flyinlow]

I was going to invest some $ in the front end of my son's 1970 Charger.  My first thoughts are a stock Moog bushing and ball joint redo. Do the upper joints screw in? I have the socket for my 73 joints still, is that the same one?

Thought about Mancini re-poped U/C arms with the bushings and joints installed. Anyone use these? Should Moog offset bushing be used for more caster?

We replaced  the lower joints when we converted to disk brakes last summer. One cam was stripped so the alignment could not be completely done,did the best they could .  We replaced the rear 318 springs with Mopar XHD ones.

Steering box was done by the previous owner. My son would like a complete coil over/ tubular front end..... good luck with that.  I'm thinking a good stock rebuild with a few good bang for the buck upgrades. Dependable and safe are my primary concerns. Car has 15X8's Centerlines with 245/275 BFG's

Opinions please.

[Chryco Psycho]

Makes sense to me
Moog is what I have used
if the stock upper controls arms are in good condition why replace them , yes the upper ball joint thread in & it should be the same socket as the 73 assuming it is also a charger not C body or A body . I would use at least 2 offset bushings for more caster adjustment .
I am not a fan of the tubular K frame "upgrades" , factory is more fail safe & you get a lot out of the stock design , close to 1 g cornering , it was well designed for the era , Hotchkiss has some good upgrades as well with lightweight tubular sway bars etc .

[HPP]

Coil over conversions are good for race cars where they need to change spring rates in minutes. Otherwise, think of it as paying $40 a pound to loose 100#. Replacing steel panels with fiberglass is a better value for weight loss.

Agree with CP, go with the offset upper arm bushings for additional caster. Update other joints and bushings for integrity, align it and enjoy. Use the money saved from going tubular to buy some really nice shocks.

[Hard Charger]

Buy the UCA with the ball joint and the bushings in it, at about $70 each it makes sense. i had already have $110 into mine by the time i saw them.

i broke my press and a couple of tools trying to press 40+ year old parts off my original ones. i still need to buy some tools to get the new ones on.

not to mention the cleaning and painting of the arm itself.

Yep the new ones are looking good to me.

[flyinlow]

On the UCA bushing , should I get four Moog offsets for maximun change?  I noticed on the Rockauto website that the Moog  Cam kits listed -1 1/8* to + 1 1/8* while the Delco kits showed up to 2 1/2* . Is there a difference in how much caster /camber adjustment you can get from different manufactures ?

[AKcharger]

Go rubber bushings, I used the poly bushings and they squeak like crazy. I lubed it but still squeaks

[HPP]

On the UCA bushing , should I get four Moog offsets for maximun change?  I noticed on the Rockauto website that the Moog  Cam kits listed -1 1/8* to + 1 1/8* while the Delco kits showed up to 2 1/2* . Is there a difference in how much caster /camber adjustment you can get from different manufactures ?

Yeah, they claim that but they are basically identical parts. There is only so much offset you can build in to those bushings based on the identical ODs they must have to fit in the arms.

[Hard Charger]

you need the off set bushing to align the car properly (technically). that being said i have never used them. the amount you drive these cars most likely will never be an issue. its not like your road racing, then you would be changing the UCA anyways to tubular at least.

i have been driving Mopars for 30 years and had no trouble. never really noticed stupid tire ware either. i have stock and tubular UCA in my cars.