Just a thought...

Mopar&vettedude

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Ive been noticing There really isnt any forums out there For the r bodies cars. Just a shot in the dark, what are the odds of adding the r bodies to our forum?
 

Mikes5thAve

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They'd almost fit better under B body since there closer that size and more in common to the later B's.
Fjm pretty much all share the same identical platform.
 

BudW

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This topic has came up before. I think there were so few R-bodies made and they share so much with the B-body that nothing has happened forum wise.
The R-body is a reskinned 4-door B-body - that happens to share a similar dash to a J-body (BUT, the official word is the J-body shares a similar dash to the R-body . . .).

Beside of the engine/transmission, there is maybe only 5% of the parts will interchange between an FMJ and R - where as FMJ's share maybe 80%+ of the parts (not counting the engine/transmission) between themselves.
BudW
 

Mopar&vettedude

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Just thought I'd ask. My buddy's St regis is strange. The front is set up like a b body, but had our rear end setup with the iso clamps and bushings. I figured it was going to have the b body set up in the back.
 

BudW

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The last B-body 4-door was made in '78, with the 2-door B-bodies ending in '79.
The R-body is a re-skinned B-body 4-door with production from '79 to '81.

The entire front/rear suspension, including K-frame and differentials are exactly the same for all B/R-bodies made from late '73 to '81. All rear suspensions from late '73 and on, used ISO clamps with the exception of some early police cars (which didn't use ISO's).
The larger 11-3/4" brake rotors are from '75-81 with pin-type or slider type variations (FMJ's use sliders).

The '66ish to early '73 B-bodies (and E-body) used a normal looking K-frame (worms eye view):
E K-Frame.jpg

The late '73 B/R-bodies used this design (and also used the same front K-frame rubber mounts that FMJ's use).
B-body front subframe.jpg

Note: this looks more like a X-frame and is heavy. It takes two good sized guys to pick this thing up.

For comparison, this is a C-body K/Sub-frame:
C-body front subframe.jpg

There is enough metal in this to make a new car.

On a unrelated side note: I ran across this:
K Member Supports | X-Parts X427-1473-S
AMD K-mounts X427-1473-S_800.jpg

The red X is for the separate transmission frame. I "think" the '73-74 used slightly different mounts (same for all 4 corners, I think) so don't think but two will fit our cars - but it makes me wonder...
Nope, solid (iron, aluminum or urethane) is the only way to go!
BudW
 

53ryder

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Thanks for the info! I did actually Google R bodies to learn a tad bit more. Just had never heard of an R body before. Another reason why I love this site and the people here! Lots of information and experience here for the asking.


Glenn
 

Mopar&vettedude

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that actually answered something for me. I was looking into solid aluminum mounts for my buddy's 79 st regis. I contacted firm feel and they couldn't give me a definitive answer on whether or not the b body frame mounts would work on his car. But you (budW) explaining that the fronts are the same as ours gives me a little more info. Thanks. My only other question is are the rear mounts the same?
 

BudW

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The later B-body and all R-body uses the same K-frame mounts as FMJ's use, but in the reverse order (FMJ fronts = B/R rear, and vice versa). The late '73 and '74 B-body uses one pair of mounts but not the other pair (same for each corner).

The transmission mounts are different - but that doesn't affect handling like the K-frame mounts do.
BudW
 
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