68 barracuda control arm/disc brakes

[wedge5811]

On the 67 to 69 barracuda, and im guessing probably all other a bodies, were the control arms different on the disc brake cars?  I am putting a set of the oem Kelsy hayes 4 piston disc brakes on a 68 cuda that currently has front drums.  I know on the later a bodies the uppers  were different, but am unsure about the 65 to 72s.  Thanks

[Chryco Psycho]

I have converted them without changing the arms

[wedge5811]

I have since learned that for the kelsy hayes disc brakes , the upper arms were the same, unless you had the really small drums (9 inch), then the upper ball joint was smaller, in which case I believe the ball joint could be changed.  Thanks Chryco.

[dgc333]

A bodies up through 72 had the same upper and lower control arms as well as ball joints regardless on the drum size or disk brake.  The 9" drum cars had there own spindle.

Starting in 73 the A body line consolidated the upper ball joint to the same one as B and E bodies which required a new upper control arm. This also required a change in the spindle to accomodate the bigger ball joint. The lower control arm did not change. The lower ball joint was also changed to increase the size of mounting holes to accomodate larger bolts attaching it to the spindle.

If you do the 73 disk brake swap you can use the 73 A body 11" rotor or if you get the caliper bracket from a 12" brake car you can use the 12" rotor with the 12" caliper bracket and the same caliper. The 12" brake requires at least 15" wheels.

 Rebuilt calipers, rotors and pads are readily available at the local parts store. If you have pre-73 factory sway bar the spindles need to be swapped side to side so the caliper mounts to the rear otherwise it will interfer with the swaybar. Aftermarket sway bars not using the factory mounts and of course the 73 up style bar there is no problem.

I did the 73 brake swap last winter along with a complete rebuild of the front end on my 68 Barracuda. It was an inexpensive upgrade that made a dramatic improvement in the braking.