[jfixedit]

Hey, I'm new to this so bear with me. Just bought a 52 Dodge Wayfarer Club Coupe a few months ago and am in the process of makin it a rod. Car was in storage for 20yrs. No rust! Someone swapped out the drivetrain with a 340/727 and rear from a 72 mopar something years ago. Getting ready to drop the frame and was needing help with the front suspension/disc brake thing. Can anyone help?

[timothale]

I sold a Rear disc off a late model imperial I picked it up at a swap meet a couple of years ago. My nephew is into mopars, super bird. 440 cornet. early barracuda and a valiant convertible. HE didn't want it, sold it for $20 more than I paid, makes it worth lugging it around the swap meet. the mopar guy that bought it said it would fit most muscle mopars. I googled disc brake conversions and there are a lot more companies making disc's for stock spindles from a lot of makes today. If the bushings- kingpins -steering gear are bad It is probably better to go to a full suspension conversion

[Henry Highrise]

Originally Posted by timothale

I sold a Rear disc off a late model imperial I picked it up at a swap meet a couple of years ago. My nephew is into mopars, super bird. 440 cornet. early barracuda and a valiant convertible. HE didn't want it, sold it for $20 more than I paid, makes it worth lugging it around the swap meet. the mopar guy that bought it said it would fit most muscle mopars. I googled disc brake conversions and there are a lot more companies making disc's for stock spindles from a lot of makes today. If the bushings- kingpins -steering gear are bad It is probably better to go to a full suspension conversion

A 52 Dodge does not have king pins and bushings....they have upper and lower control arms and ball joints. Dodge and Plymouth were ahead of thier time and had a pretty decent front suspension on them in those days....even for now days. They can easily be converted to power disc brakes from what I understand using junk yard mopar parts. Do a search for Dodge, Plymouth...or mopar disc brake conversion. I think there is a Ply-Do website also that may have some info also. A friend of mine converted to power discs on his 41 Dodge....it also had upper and lower control arms and ball joints.

[Chopt 48]

It sounds like you have a head start on a pretty nifty little cruiser there.

Keep us posted with some progress photos.

[jfixedit]

Originally Posted by Chopt 48

It sounds like you have a head start on a pretty nifty little cruiser there.

Keep us posted with some progress photos.

Right now I've got the engine being boiled, new plugs, and cam bearing put in it. I don't know how many miles were on the motor but its never been bored and the top of the sleeves have barely enough lip to catch your nail on. I'm thinking of just honing it out and putting the stock pistons back in with new rings. Can't decide on a cam either, might just go back to stock but would rather have something a little better. Going to get the motor done here in the next month then tackle the frame next. I'll keep you all posted. It should be a one of a kind when I'm done.[IMG]

[jfixedit]

Originally Posted by Henry Highrise

A 52 Dodge does not have king pins and bushings....they have upper and lower control arms and ball joints. Dodge and Plymouth were ahead of thier time and had a pretty decent front suspension on them in those days....even for now days. They can easily be converted to power disc brakes from what I understand using junk yard mopar parts. Do a search for Dodge, Plymouth...or mopar disc brake conversion. I think there is a Ply-Do website also that may have some info also. A friend of mine converted to power discs on his 41 Dodge....it also had upper and lower control arms and ball joints.

I've attached a picture of a disk brake conversion set up for my car. Its Identical to my suspension. I also have been checking into drop spindles from Fatman Fabrications. They do a good job explaining the IFS on the old dodges. I have upper and lower control arms with a two part spindle utilizing a king pin. The upright (sometimes called the knuckle) attaches the two control arms together and doesn't appear to use traditional ball joints since it only flexes in one direction. (Haven't taken it apart yet) The second part they are calling the spindle proper which is what the bearings, drum, backer plate, shoes and steering arm attach to. These two spindle parts connect together with a pin and bushings. Its a weird setup for me since I'm new to this old of a car.[/IMG]

[Chopt 48]

Most of the 340s were pretty stout runners out of the box from what I remember. I'm not sure what the prices are like in the Mopar performance catalog but they used to have some interesting cams for that engine.

Choosing a cam is one of those "personal" choice things that only you can decide on.
You have to decide what you want the car to do and then make a choice.
If you want all lump and rump to cruise the fairgrounds at a rod trot or cruize through a local cruize night the choice will be different than if you want a reacher that will take you on those 500 mile one way trips to events or fun places with relative ease and decent fuel mileage.