Lower Control Arms - no sway bar mounts

['68 Coronet R/T]

I had originally thought my 1968 GTX had come with optional disc brakes. However when removing my lower control arms I noticed the absence of the anti-sway bar. This caused me to look closer at the LCAs and they do not look correct for the car since there is no place to connect the anti-sway bar.

My thoughts are that someone swapped out the suspension with disc brakes from another car but how can I tell for sure?
You can see the LCA below:

 

[ckessel]

Not all cars came with sway bars. I think Hotchkis and Firm Feel offer brackets for weld on or you can fab your own or find arms with them.

 

[moparnation74]

Do you have a build sheet? Some cars did not come with a sway bar.....

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

I thought the RS cars all came with performance suspension?

I don't believe the build sheet is in the car. The seats had been recovered at some time but to be honest I didn't look.

 

[moparnation74]

I thought the RS cars all came with performance suspension?

Typically, yes......A BS or a window sticker will state what was coded for the car.....

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

I am wondering if the front mount calipers on the disc brakes would have interfered with the anti-sway bar mount?

Does anyone have pics of a stock disc brake set up?

 

[steve340]

If you have the original fender tag it will show the code for front disc brakes.
My car has the factory Bendix calipers but they are on the back so they are away from the sway bar that mounts to the front.
I also thought all GTX cars had the heavy duty suspension package which included the front sway bar.

 

[BLK 68 R/T]

GTX would have come with a sway bar. And rear mounted disc brake calipers if originally equipped with them.

 

[threewood]

Are your calipers hung on the front or back? Front mount = no sway bar, rear mount = sway bar.

My 4 wheel drum gtx has a sway bar. We're sway bars standard equipment?

 

[BLK 68 R/T]

Standard on the gtx. 68/69 were rear mount caliper. 70 was front mount and still had a sway bar, but the tabs were moved toward the middle of the lower control arm in order to clear the front mounted caliper in 70.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Fender tag decoded:
CAR: Plymouth GTX 2 Door Hardtop
ENGINE: 440cid 4-bbl HP V8
TRANSMISSION: 3-Speed Automatic
TIRES: F70x14 Red Sidewall, Steel Belted
MODEL YEAR: 1968
BUILD DATE: October 06.
AXLE: 3.23 Rear Axle Ratio
INTERIOR: Sport Trim Grade, Vinyl Bucket Seats. Light Blue Interior.
PAINT: Bright Blue Metallic (Dodge), Electric Blue Metallic (Plymouth).
OTHER: Light Blue Metallic (Dodge), Frost Blue Metallic (Plymouth) Upper Door Frame Color. Blue Horizontal Sport Stripe.

MOLDINGS:
19: Wide Sill Mouldings
25: Drip Rail Mouldings
30: Body Belt Mouldings
78: Wheel Lip Mouldings

ABC OPTIONS:
P6: Rear Seat Speaker
R1: AM Radio
X2: Tinted Windshield Only

abc OPTIONS:
a6: Console
b4: Bucket Seats
h7: Fender or Hood Mounted Turn Signal Indicators



Thanks for the help and pictures.
I guess this explains why these calipers do not show up in the FSM.

Time to start hunting the correct parts if I choose to restore it factory. Might stay with the disc brakes but get them set up properly. I doubt they did it right anyway. I believe the disc brakes require a larger master cylinder reservoir and proportioning valve?

 

[steve340]

I looked at plenty of cars before I purchased mine and it looks to me that very few cars were ordered with the factory front disc brakes in 1968.
My car has the factory Bendix power brake booster and the brakes are in fact pretty reasonable.
I would stay with the disc brakes as modern driving conditions rule out drums for me.
No point having a dead original car if you plan to drive it around.
You are right the factory disc brake cars had a specific master cylinder booster combination.

 

[moparnation74]

Fender tag decoded:
CAR: Plymouth GTX 2 Door Hardtop
ENGINE: 440cid 4-bbl HP V8
TRANSMISSION: 3-Speed Automatic
TIRES: F70x14 Red Sidewall, Steel Belted
MODEL YEAR: 1968
BUILD DATE: October 06.
AXLE: 3.23 Rear Axle Ratio
INTERIOR: Sport Trim Grade, Vinyl Bucket Seats. Light Blue Interior.
PAINT: Bright Blue Metallic (Dodge), Electric Blue Metallic (Plymouth).
OTHER: Light Blue Metallic (Dodge), Frost Blue Metallic (Plymouth) Upper Door Frame Color. Blue Horizontal Sport Stripe.

MOLDINGS:
19: Wide Sill Mouldings
25: Drip Rail Mouldings
30: Body Belt Mouldings
78: Wheel Lip Mouldings

ABC OPTIONS:
P6: Rear Seat Speaker
R1: AM Radio
X2: Tinted Windshield Only

abc OPTIONS:
a6: Console
b4: Bucket Seats
h7: Fender or Hood Mounted Turn Signal Indicators



Thanks for the help and pictures.
I guess this explains why these calipers do not show up in the FSM.

Time to start hunting the correct parts if I choose to restore it factory. Might stay with the disc brakes but get them set up properly. I doubt they did it right anyway. I believe the disc brakes require a larger master cylinder reservoir and proportioning valve?

Such limited information and limited pictures......Based on all the codes listed on your fender tag above which doesn't list disc brakes. Tells that you do not have disc brakes unless you can confirm via a BS or window sticker. They did misstep things so there is a grim possibility. The supportive documents would clarify....Without them you cannot prove it had disc......

Furthermore, one cannot compare 68/69 to 70.....In 70 the calipers were on the front, the lower control arms are different, the K frame is different and the sway bar is different.....

 

[moparnation74]

I looked at plenty of cars before I purchased mine and it looks to me that very few cars were ordered with the factory front disc brakes in 1968.
My car has the factory Bendix power brake booster and the brakes are in fact pretty reasonable.
I would stay with the disc brakes as modern driving conditions rule out drums for me.
No point having a dead original car if you plan to drive it around.
You are right the factory disc brake cars had a specific master cylinder booster combination.

I drive mine with no problems....11" drum all around......Thats a myth...mainly because people dont set up the system properly....Using a collage of aftermarket junk.....

I have seen many factory disc setups done improperly and one would have been better with drums......

The ideal setup for regular driving is a new high end disc brake setup......

 

[69L48Z27]

Same here, no issues with 11" drums. The R/T just hit the road this Fall and they work great.

@'68 Coronet R/T - only other thing you could check for the sway bar is to look for any date codes on the LCAs and see if they match up with the car production. I couldn't find any on our 67 or the 68 GTX I had but I think later ones do have dates.

Is the K-frame drilled for sway bar brackets?

 

[Cranky]

I looked at plenty of cars before I purchased mine and it looks to me that very few cars were ordered with the factory front disc brakes in 1968.
My car has the factory Bendix power brake booster and the brakes are in fact pretty reasonable.
I would stay with the disc brakes as modern driving conditions rule out drums for me.
No point having a dead original car if you plan to drive it around.
You are right the factory disc brake cars had a specific master cylinder booster combination.

Two real crappy things the factory used back then were piss poor brake shoes and shocks. Even with just a minor upgrade to better brake shoes made a huge difference with stopping power and fade and swapping to better aftermarket shocks was a no brainer. I'll agree that disc brakes are better but even the factory discs don't hold a candle to modern disc brakes. And you're right, not many cars were ordered with disc brakes in the 60's period. Kinda odd that Europe had a good 10+ years on us in that department....

 

[moparnation74]

Same here, no issues with 11" drums. The R/T just hit the road this Fall and they work great.

@'68 Coronet R/T - only other thing you could check for the sway bar is to look for any date codes on the LCAs and see if they match up with the car production. I couldn't find any on our 67 or the 68 GTX I had but I think later ones do have dates.

Is the K-frame drilled for sway bar brackets?

I have not seen a 68 car stamped on the inner and outer rivet. Not saying impossible but early 69 builds built in 68 had the two rivets stamped. The outer starts with the day, shift, line and the inner is the day. My early build 69 X built in 10/68 were stamped..

It would be interesting to find when in 68 this happened and if it started only for the 69 model year........So your 67 would not have stampings on the rivets...

 

[67belvedere/225]

I had originally thought my 1968 GTX had come with optional disc brakes. However when removing my lower control arms I noticed the absence of the anti-sway bar. This caused me to look closer at the LCAs and they do not look correct for the car since there is no place to connect the anti-sway bar.

My thoughts are that someone swapped out the suspension with disc brakes from another car but how can I tell for sure?
You can see the LCA below:
View attachment 682125 View attachment 682126

i bought the sway bar bar kit for from and rear from summit comes with the brackets
the front easy the back a bit tricky to install,

 

[69L48Z27]

I have not seen a 68 car stamped on the inner and outer rivet. Not saying impossible but early 69 builds built in 68 had the two rivets stamped. The outer starts with the day, shift, line and the inner is the day. My early build 69 X built in 10/68 were stamped..

It would be interesting to find when in 68 this happened and if it started only for the 69 model year........So your 67 would not have stampings on the rivets...

Correct, nothing found on the 67. The 68 GTX was a late April build and didn't find anything on those either.

 

[moparnation74]

Correct, nothing found on the 67. The 68 GTX was a late April build and didn't find anything on those either.

Good info..if not on late 68 than leans more to early 69 builds...