Mopar Tubular K-member Suspension for Dodge Chrysler Plymouth

This combination shown has a translucent purple powder coating, tubular swaybar, QA1 double adjustable coilovers, and 13" Wilwood six piston disc brakes and stock motor mounts.

Check out the installation on this 72 Charger with a sweet translucent blue 2-part powder coating process as well as the hot looking billet swaybar clamps, Wilwood brakes with custom blue powder coated calipers, power chromed rack, and billet coilovers.

Ride height shown is with Magnumforce XRT suspension and standard spindles which are about 1-1/2" lower than stock.

This car is a great example of how easily an A-Body can be converted to a Hemi or 440 car when using a Magnumforce tubular front suspension. Out of the box TTI headers will fit as a result of the increased clearances made by utilizing our suspension and motorplate. The transmission is mounted on the stock crossmember in the stock location which easily establishes the location of the motor plate. Magnumforce supplied tabs and brackets make for minimal fabrication and force the combination to fit where the master cylinder clears on the drivers side and the valve cover still clears on the passengers side. A-bodies do occasionally require a slight notch in the front of the oil pan or the use of our Milodon/Magnumforce pan.

This 1971 Plymouth GTX uses standard spindles to achieve the ride height shown. This car was constructed in the "Frankenstiens Monster" episode of "Wrecks to Richs" seen on TLC.

This shot shows the clearances and overall finished appearance with the motor plate and all accessories installed. These include: Power steering, Air Conditioning, Hi Amp Alternator, March Pulleys, and Serpentine drive. All this and a big Hemi in an A-Body!

This view shows the forward strut installation. This increases the strength of the front frame asssembly greatly while also providing a great mounting point to reinforce the upper shock mount. A-body Mopars always had an inherent weakness here and this will virtually eliminate it. The motor plate can also be tied in here at the top if desired. The end result is that the entire front end is so well triangulated that the resistance to torsional twist becomes substantial. By using our rubber bushed motor plate, engine vibration can also be minimized, or go with solid for the ultimate in strength.

Here you can see the relationship of all components including the motor plate, forward struts, tabs, and pulleys on a 426 Hemi

Magnumforce stocks all of the bars and brackets seen in this photo to facilitate the installation of the front frame strengthening assembly to help resist torsional twist in Mopars. This twisting is present in cars used for both drag racing and road racing and is what's responsible for broken spot welds and frame distorsion that often times causes alignment issues as well as wasted horsepower.

This image shows the Magnumforce A/C pump mount, bracket, and turnbuckle assembly as well as the tabs available to ease installation of the motorplate.

Here is the Magnumforce alternator bracket and turnbuckle assembly to facilitate the installation of the Hi Amp Powermaster alternator. Complete accessory kits are available to make for an extremely simplistic method of installing A/C, Alternator, and Power Steering, and Serpentine drive assemblies.

Looking at the original suspension from this angle shows all of the origianl components that make it so tough to run long sump shallow oil pans and large tube headers in Mopars. Eliminating the sandwich style motor mounts makes for much more clearance for headers and even external oiling systems also. Typical weight savings from this suspension with power steering to a Magnumforce Suspension can be in excess of 150 lbs. translating into decreased quarter mile times as a result of the weight reduction in total and the fact that it's taken off of the front end of the car for improved weight transfer. Aesthetic benefits or obvious as well.

Complete suspension

This combination shown has a translucent purple powder coating, tubular swaybar, QA1 double adjustable coilovers, and 13" Wilwood six piston disc brakes and stock motor mounts.

Why consider this conversion over other styles? The typical cost involved in "front halving" a car will range from $6000-$8000 in parts and labor to convert to a complete Pinto/Mustang II or strut front snout. The frame, inner fender wells, and core support must be cut off of the car and the new frame welded on in the most precise manner possible; typically on a chassis jig. All existing sheet metal or fiberglass body panels must be re-mounted and aligned as well as the radiator, headlight assemblies, and inner fender wells. We do not grind off our welds, miter and butt weld any joints, or use cheep square mild steel stock in building our suspension. High quality seamless 4130 Chromoly Condition N material and super clean and strong TIG welding is utilized throughout resulting in superior strength, lighter weight, and a high tech professional appearance. Over 25 years of experience building extreme vehicles such as Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and A-Gas Nostalgia goes into every product we make.

Why can't I just swap my ball joints from side to side and install a stock Pinto or Mustang II rack?

If the car never had to turn and had no suspension travel this would be fine. Bump steer and Ackerman are critical issues in front suspension geometry which necessitates internal and external modifications to accrue the ideal pivot point locations and to alleviate problems associated with these two issues. The original suspension locations in a Mopar originally configured for rear steering are not the same as a suspension designed to be on a front steer vehicle.

What does it take to install it and what other modifications might be considered?

The installation procedure involves basic hand tools but some items may require special consideration.

Oil pan clearance: This is one of the many benefits this suspension conversion offers. We have Pre-Made oil pans built by Milodon for Magnumforce suspensions to facilitate installation. The rack assembly passes under the forward most leading edge of the oil pan. Some pans and engine locations may require a slight notch. This notch is in front of the engines reciprocating assembly though and will not interfere with counterweights. A custom or "dragster/funnycar" style pan available here can be installed which would allow a very large oil capacity and also allows substantial ground clearance. No deep sump to hit speed bumps on the return road. The use of dual external swinging pickups is made easier as well. No more center link through the oil pan!

Header clearance: There is a very large improvement in available header clearance but it is possible some out of the box brands may require some type of change in a tubes location. We've found that Headers by "TTI" Tube Technoligies Inc. fit exceptionally well and are of the highest quality available.

Motor Mounts: Magnumforce now offers motor mounts on the k-member designed to use a stock isolator, however a motor plate offers several advantages. It eliminates the stresses on the block that result from the engine twisting in the chassis which results in the side of the block cracking as well as the cylinder wall distortion that occurs internally. It ties the frame rails together across the topside creating greatly improved triangulation of the chassis and is very versatile in that it allows the engine to be moved up, down, fore, or aft to accommodate custom needs such as increased clearance or more engine setback for improved weight distribution. A motor plate/mid plate arrangement or elephant ears work wonderfully in mounting the motor in the chassis of a Mopar which can be ordered above. The pre-drilled holes facilitate easy mounting of the alternator and power steering pump and it includes a crank pulley spacer to make pulley alignment easy.

The typical dimension of greatest importance is that of the forward-most edge of the frame (core support area) to the ground. This dimension ranges from 10"-12" but is altered by tire diameter and the installed height of the coil over assy. It is not recommended to go any lower for suspension geometry and misalignment reasons unless our dropped spindles are used which can allow the car to go another two inches lower for a total of 3-1/2" lower. Custom headers may be required if using our 3-1/2" dropped spindles unless big diameter wheels are used (ie 20"). A suspension component may fail due to incorrect alignment. Here is a more accurate dimension accrued from a 73 Cuda. With a 24" tire and the coil overs at 12" installed height, the distance from the ground to the frame is 11-1/2". This suspension has 4-1/2" of travel measured at the spindle tip.

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Return Policy: We here at Magnumforce will make every effort possible to ensure all of our customers get the correct and highest quality components with the best advice available. In the event an item still needs to be returned please take note of these considerations.

Please call or e-mail us first for a return authorization. (Perhaps we can find you the correct item instead !)

No returns after 30 days. Items that have been used, modified, or altered cannot be returned. Items subject up to 30% re-boxing or re-stocking fee and shipping costs cannot be refunded.

	Eliminates Torsion Bars leaving much more clearance for headers.
	Eliminates center link leaving additional room for oil pan capacity and no hole through pan as well as shallow depth yielding more ground clearance.
	Lightens front end of car by 100 to 150 pounds.
	More positive caster for improved high speed stability.
	Reduced side scrub and Camber change throughout suspension travel.
	Rigid Lightweight 4130 condition N Chromoly construction and all TIG welded for superior strength and appearance.
	All new components. No need to rebuild any of your stock suspension or steering.
	Custom rack and pinion assembly available in matte finish or chrome.
	Billet Aluminum Aldan Eagle or QA1 coil overs and billet CNC machined 6061 T-6 upper mounts.
	Billet Aluminum swaybar clamps and tubular splined swaybar available.
	Billet sealed needle bearing style steering universal joint with splined rack adapter and Double "D" shaft.
	Chromoly Teflon lined rod ends each rated in excess of 28,000 lbs radial load capacity or opt for the XRT version for 1-1/4" lower arms and rod ends rated over 40,000 lbs.
	Includes spindles with larger bearing diameters in either 1-1/2" or 3-1/2" dropped configurations.
	Optional* Wilwood disc brake conversion drops another 30 to 35 lbs.
	Select from stock type motor mounts or super strong, high tech bushed or solid motor plates.
	Steering ratio - The ratio of the manual standard unit is (18:1) 3.75 turns lock-to-lock. and the quick ratio unit is 15:1 which is 25% faster than a standard unit at 3.3 turns lock-to-lock. Power is 18:1. Either is substantially nicer to drive than a stock manual box.

American Hot Rod - Discovery Channel, Monday October 3, 2005	Mopar Collectors Guide Sept. 99 - Magnumforce Tubular K-Member Conversion.	Build Book Featuring Joe Rogans "Sick Fish" Cuda. Extensive coverage of Magnumforce Suspension Installation
Mopar Muscle Feb. 2006 Pg.51 "Corner, Hook, and Whoa" Bring your Mopars handling into the 21st Century.	Mopar Collectors Guide "Top Ten Aftermarket Parts for 1999". Magnumforce Tubular K-Member Conversion.	Featured in Mopar Action Magazine June 2001 pg. 21 "Shock Treatment"
Check out the General Lee project that Romine Video is building using Magnumforce Components !	Mopar Muscle July 2003 Tubular K-Frame Tech Article pg.76	Mopar Collectors Guide Feb. 2003 page 60 Top ten products of 2002 A-Body tubular k-member conversion
Hot Rod Magazine - Article by Steve Magnante - "Lose weight now" "Installing the Magnum Force Mopar Tubular K-Frame Conversion Kit"	Car Craft Magazine - *Aug. '99 pg.90 "Bad Ass Speed Parts You've Never Seen"* Tubular upper control arms for Mopars	Mopar Action - Aug. '99 pg.8 Tech article by Rich Ehrenberg. Tubular upper control arm fix for Mopars