QA1 Tubular K-member

[70ChargerRT]

Well, .......I'll ask why not just buy some torsion bars and fit a stock type sway bar? The stock sway bar simply attaches to the K and the lower control arms. The fabrication necessary to add a sway bar to a car that never had one is not significant - you can buy the brackets needed for the control arms and have a local shop weld them on if you do not have a welder.

..... an option.

Here some more pictures.. Now I did not buy or try a QA-1 sway bar, since they don't make a rear sway bar, or didn't at the time.. but the mounting is poor design, but fixable..

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Thanks man! That looks great. So what car is that sway arm supposed to fit?

 

[Derwud]

Thanks man! That looks great. So what car is that sway arm supposed to fit?

Everything is supposed to be for a 70 Charger R/T... The QA-1 subframe just puts the mounts to low..

 

[70ChargerRT]

Everything is supposed to be for a 70 Charger R/T... The QA-1 subframe just puts the mounts to low..

Ok, Thanks again!

 

[Derwud]

I can tell you a 69and earlier B Body Sway bar will not work with QA-1 Sway Bar.

 

[JR_Charger]

Getting ready to install the QA1 K-member. The included hardware had this bolt, which is a little smaller than the rear mount bolts, and also two washers which only fit on this bolt. Where do the bolt and washers go?

 

[Derwud]

Steering Box?

 

[JR_Charger]

Steering box takes 3 long skinny(er) bolts.

Engine mounts take 1 (each) long skinny bolts (if you leave the mounts on the block).

Can't recall taking off anything like this.

 

[Derwud]

Re-read the direction.. one of the steering box bolts has to shorter due depth of the Blind nut

 

[JR_Charger]

The bracket for the idler arm is about 3/32" taller on the QA1 K member than on the factory K member. The idler arm has some vertical movement in it now. Is that a big deal? I tried putting another washer in to take up the slack, but that combination is too hard to assemble. I'm either going to have to find a single thicker washer, glue the extra washer onto the old washer, or grow an extra set of hands.

 

[JR_Charger]

Looking at running the sway bar through the k member. This may not be a good idea -

I tried to find better spacers on eBay and came up with these -

Not tall enough, but with 3 of those QA1 spacers I bet it would work. No idea if the holes line up or not.

The StreetRays ad warns that "any lift over 2" will cause the OE swaybar to be "out of position" and thus can't flex / function properly."

Putting the sway bar through the K member raises it 2" or close to it. I'm no expert but it seems like that would have to affect the performance of the bar.

I'm leaning towards putting the bar under the k member and leaving the ride height stock for now, just to establish a baseline for how things work when they're "right."

Come to think of it, if I really wanted to put the sway bar through the k member, the right way to do it would be to remove the QA1 mounts, flip them, and weld them back on.

 

[Derwud]

You just need a 1 inch square block.. I had John Hotchkis check mine out and he liked it.

 

[JR_Charger]

The Hotchkis bar must be narrower in the front than the QA1 bar. If the QA1 bar is run through the K-frame, it hits the strut bars.

 

[70ChargerRT]

The Hotchkis bar must be narrower in the front than the QA1 bar. If the QA1 bar is run through the K-frame, it hits the strut bars.

I never put much thought in it but you’re right. I’d just mount it under neath. I mentioned somewhere before their K-frame is a dated design, it’s over 20 years olds and needs improvements. Here’s my 1 1/8 Hellwig SA on the stock K-Frame. It’s not as close as it looks.

 

[JR_Charger]

I wanted to drop the car but it looks like I'm going to be building version .7 instead of version 1.0 . . .

 

[JR_Charger]

I never put much thought in it but you’re right. I’d just mount it under neath. I mentioned somewhere before their K-frame is a dated design, it’s over 20 years olds and needs improvements. Here’s my 1 1/8 Hellwig SA on the stock K-Frame. It’s not as close as it looks.

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Is your torsion bar adjustor bolt normally that far out?

 

[70ChargerRT]

Is your torsion bar adjustor bolt normally that far out?

Just took the pic after Installation of the front end. No alignment has been made yet. I still have to install a Baer 13” brake it also.

 

[Some Car Guy]

Anybody needing to add a sway bar where there was none should look at the oct 21 mopar action and also the latest issue. April I believe. It covers adding a balljoint link where no mounting tabs were born at the factory. The earlier issue covers cars that came with the tabs.

 

[JR_Charger]

Here some more pictures.. Now I did not buy or try a QA-1 sway bar, since they don't make a rear sway bar, or didn't at the time.. but the mounting is poor design, but fixable..

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Derwud, do you have a size (diameter) and part number for that Hotchkis bar?

I'm "guessing" the QA1 k-member and LCA's are the same for 70 and 72, so that bar should work with my setup as well.

edit ---

Found SKU: 2254F on Hotchkis' site. Says it is 1 1/4" but tubular. For 62-69 Firm Feel also has a 1 1/4 bar but I'd have to contact them to find out if it is tubular and what the dimensions are.

 

[Derwud]

You have to use the 70 and later sway bar and I suggest making some 1 inch blocks to Mont the swap bar above the k-member.

 

[JR_Charger]

O.K. that sounds like the sku-2254F (70-74) is the one. Hotchkis has it listed as for E bodies, but it comes up when I select for the 72 Charger.

I plan to make the 1" blocks or have them made.