Quote:
Originally Posted by Olds64
Hey Joe, I was wondering if this conversion could be done by using disc spindles and ball joints off of a late model car and putting them on the early model control arms. I know when I did the suspension on my 64 I drilled out the rivets that held the ball joints to the control arms and put new ball joints in with nuts and bolts. Could a control arm be modified to accept ball joints from a later model car that would have front disc?  The only problems I can think of is the difference in the length of the spindles and the steering geometry where the tie rods meet the spindles. Any ideas? |
This is what's done in the B-body spindle swap onto the A-body cars. The problems are:
1) Ball joint taper. On the B-body/A-body swap the upper ball joint is easy since the 73-up ball joints bolt in to the older arms. The lower ball joint requires machining on the housing to turn it down to fit into the A-body lower control arm. I do know that Speedway Motors sells tapered reamers specifically for changing the ball joint taper in the spindle holes, so that's another option.
2) Spindle height. The later model spindles tend to be taller. In the case of the A-body cars this is an advantage due to improvements in roll center. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to get enough adjustment in camber without buying the expensive shortened upper arms from Hotchkis or Global West.
3) Steering geometry. This is really the biggest problem. I'm not sure about the 62s but the 63-70 full size cars are rear steer (steering linkage behind the wheel centerline). The later GMs (the cars that would be spindle donors) are all front steer (linkage in front of the axle centerline). This is a non-starter. Due to spindle geometry, I don't think it's possible to swap the spindles side-to-side. Unlike the early cars, the later ones all have the steering arm as an integral part of the spindle.
4) Bump steer. Assuming you can find a spindle with the correct steering arm orientation, you still have the problem of the arms being a different length and drop. At a minimum this leads to bump steer, where the steering angle changes as the suspension travels. It's a problem (and topic of heated internet debate) on the A-body swaps.