I know the 1965 J88 has its unique suspension.
will a conversion kit from a 1965 Cutlass work?

 

Sorry, no on both counts.

The J88 does not have a "unique suspension". It uses exactly the same suspension and steering parts as does any other 1965 Olds full size car. The only unique parts in the front end are the spindles, which are B-body spindles with the spindle part machined to accept the A-body wheel bearings and brake backing plates.

Since the spindles are unique to the 65-66 J88, the A-body disc brake kits will not work. The A-body rotors WILL fit on your existing spindles, since the wheel bearings are the same, but you will need to modify the A-body caliper brackets to bolt to the existing bolt holes on the J88 spindles. I suspect (but have not confirmed) that the large upper bolt is in the same place on both A-body and J88, and only the lower caliper bracket bolt location is different. That's not too difficult to modify with a MIG welder. The only other issue is that you will need to mill down the boss that the upper bolt fits into, as was done on the A-body disc brake spindles.

This writeup shows an A-body spindle, but the dimension would be the same for the J88 spindle.

 

The car ‘65 J88 I bought has wheel hub I need to give back to the seller ( he needs for another car )
Where can I get a wheel hub ( that the tire bolts up to ) for my 65?

 

The hubs on the 64-66 J88 are exactly the same as those on the 64-72 A-body cars.

 

It can come from another 64-66 J88. Right and left sides are the same.

P/N is 389216, drum and hub, 1964 J88 except police, 65-66 J88. A full-size Chevrolet may use that same part number if you want to try cross referencing.

If he's signed over the title I think I'd let the seller worry about finding his own hub & drum.

*edit* I'm not sure on the 64-72 Cutlass/F85 interchange but if Joe says it works, I believe him. Some years Cutlass/F85 the drum and hub are separate pieces whereas yours should be one assembly.

Tlrche, just curious how old you are? Guessing you might be young. Guys here can help but don't want to see you get in over your head.

 

The hub (without the drum) is the same as the A-body. Pressing out the wheel studs allows the drum to separate. The A-body hub and drum also interchange. The Jan 1972 printing of the Parts Book shows that the F85 and J88 drum and hub assemblies were superseded into a common part number (9788681).

 

Heh. My Nov 73 printing doesn't show that info. It does show that the group no. changed from 6.306 to 5.809, and 68-72 A-body and 73-74 X use the same hub and drums. Also a note referencing Dealer Tech Bulletin 71-T-11, to replace those part #s in pairs.

Any wonder aftermarket parts catalogs get it wrong sometimes?😃

 

These hub/drum assemblies are all dimensionally the same. Same wheel bearings, same wheel bolt pattern, same grease seal, same 9.5 x 2.5 brakes. There are different part numbers in some cases due to things like the sheet metal "bell" vs cast iron finned brake drums. They are optically different but functionally identical. Even the police-service drums are dimensionally the same. I suspect the difference is thickness. They will all work just fine.

By the way, that 9788681 part number is also used on a Monte Carlo, and apparently has provision for the front side adjuster knockout. That justifies a different P/N but doesn't change functionality.

 

48 yr old.
I’m more familiar w/gtos. Had a few.

with the oddness of the J88 parts, is throwing me off.
I’ll be doing a pretty decent amount of putting it apart.

 

The only "odd" parts on a 1965 J88 are the front spindles, the rear axle housing, and the rear axle shafts. The body, frame, suspension, dash, bumpers, glass, and most interior parts are common with all other 1965 Olds B-body cars. The front and rear brakes, drums, and differential center section and gears are common with those on a 1965 Olds A-body. Only the three items I mentioned are unique to the J88.

 

 

Hi I'm new to this forum and i thank you for letting me be part of it.
I have a 1964 olds jetstar 88 and I'm looking at doing a front brake disc conversion.
I am looking at summit part number there is RSD-AFXSD01D.
It says it is an A body kit and fits the 64 f85.
There are a few different kits but I need to change the spindles along with the rest of the components.
Can anyone help me.
Thank you

 

An A-body kit will not fit the 1964 J88. The spindles are unique to the J88. Nothing else interchanges.

 

can you possible give me an idea as to how i would go about doing this. like i say i do need spindles as the guy i bought the car from has a hose clamp holding the outer bearing on.

 

Well, did the spindle threads get stripped, or is it just missing the nut? Again, the front spindles are unique to the 1964 J88. Your only option is to find good used ones. RH and LH spindles are different. You need to fix that problem before worrying about converting to disc brakes, since there is no disc brake kit for these cars that includes new spindles.

 

this is what i found when i took the front end apart

 

You need to remove that inner bearing and figure out if the two bearing surfaces on the spindle are usable. If so, you're good to go. If not, you need to find a good used spindle.