73 Cuda Front Suspension

[fcris]

Hey All,

Nubie here, so if this is in the wrong place...

My son and I purchased a 73 Barracuda with a 440.
When we received it, we noticed that the camber on the front tires was real bad (negative - tops tilted in).
So we purchased and installed all new urethane bushings and ball joints.
When finished, it almost seems worse! And yes, the cam adjusters on the upper A arms are maxed out the right way. And the ride height is correct.

So I have to ask... could someone have used the wrong suspension components at one time? In other words, it seems like the upper control arms are too short or the lowers too long.

I should mention that there was a disk brake upgrade, so that could have something to do with the misplacement of the ball joints at the hub

Thanks,
Frank

 

[AlleyoopMgv]

Welcome to FEBO! I'm a Body/Paint tech, so I'll have to let someone else answer your question for ya.

 

[cuda71]

Do you have the adjustable uppers or are they stock? Someone may have put wrong uppers on it..

 

[mguner]

The problem may be the lower bushings are bad causing the bottom to be out too far making it seem the top is too far in.

 

[fcris]

Stock uppers.
I looked into this pretty deep, and did not get an indication that there were different upper or lower control arms that would effect the camber.
There was a mention of the disc brake conversion, using wrong knuckles and thereby offsetting the camber.
Keep in mind that this engine did not come in this car in this year, so perhaps it has something to do with the K-frame.
Otherwise, all the bushings have been changed to urethane. And all the other parts are new, and or, in great shape. We just lowered the front of the car enough to make the camber tolerable.

I do believe there is a parts mismatch, but there is just not enough info / measurements of parts to confirm.

 

[mguner]

I've got the engine out of my 73 Cuda right now and with the suspension topped out it's pulled in at the top like you described. If the car has ever been "flown" the upper A-arm towers may be out of spec and pushed in a bit.