64starfire

I'm considering the idea of putting dropped spindles on the front of my Starfire. This means finding a vehicle that has dropped spindles made for it and have the ball joint holes welded and drilled or request from the company that they're undrilled. The big hangup is my steering is behind the wheel centerline while many modern steering is in front (thinking more along the lines of GM). Would also prefer the 5x5 bolt pattern I already have. Would not rule out a 4.75 bolt pattern either. If you know of any of the following vehicles that would help, I would appreciate it.

http://www.roadkillcustoms.com/hot-r...&StudSpreadMM=

And Yes, I know, it's kind of a pain, probably not worth it, seems like more trouble/money etc..blah blah blah.....please either help or skip this post.
Thanks in advance, G.

shs

i wonder if 64 impala drop spindles mounted backwards would work. They are both B-bodies right. Maybe.

64starfire

yeah i was thinking of Chevelle spindles mounted backward too. Then I remembered a 50 chevy p/u i had many years ago that had a nova front clip. The 68-74 nova had rear steer spindles. I emailed one place and they only have the finished product. I would bet I can find the manufactorer (unless they're made in china). Otherwise might be able to get them welded up and redrilled.

Also, my car has a perimeter frame, so really, I'm not even sure what class of frame I have.

joe_padavano

The early 60s cars all use bolt-on steering arms. The spindles themselves are the same from side to side. If you are using later spindles with the integral steering arms you CANNOT swap them side for side, as this completely screws up the steering geometry. Chevy spindles do not interchange with Olds spindles for the full size cars. Ball joints and wheel bearings are different, in fact the entire suspension and frame is different. The Impalas of that vintage used X frames. The Olds uses a full perimeter frame. Nothing interchanges. The A-body spindles are also completely different and do not interchange. Bottom line is that there is no market for dropped spindles for these cars, so no one makes them. Your only option might be Fat Man.

64starfire

Oh ye of little faith. In my original post I mentioned something about welding and machining if necessary. Yeah, my ackerman angle won't be spot on but I'm sure it's close enough. May get a little bump steer if the steering arm isn't perfect. But otherwise I'm sure I can make the 68-74 nova spindles work. I'm willing to try it when I get back home. I just needed someone to look at that list posted above to see if they could remember if any of them were 'rear steer'. thanks

joe_padavano

The spindle height is different, the ball joints are different, the wheel bearings are smaller, and the attach holes for the steering arms are different. Please let use know when you plan to be on the road when you drive this car so the rest of us can be safely OFF of it.

Sorry, but your cavalier attitude towards steering geometry and basic safety really scares me. I don't doubt that you have the machining skills. It's the apparent disregard for basic suspension engineering that scares me.

By the way, stock 68-74 Nova (and all X-body cars), 67-69 F-body, and 64-72 A-body spindles all interchange. Some of the aftermarket dropped spindles for these cars have the steering arms integrally forged and thus they do not interchange. Again, these arms may be on the correct side of the ball joints for a 64, but that's the ONLY thing they have going for them. Frankly, you'll be a lot better off just putting air bags in the car and using the stock spindles.