Dead Reckon

Alright in short I want to rebuild the suspension on the '79 Oldsmobile Holiday 88, but I'd like to get complete upper and lower control arms because they are a pain in the *** to rebuild (Been there, done that, my friend has the scars to prove it since he was the one that worked on my '77). Uppers are easy to find replacements for, but the lowers don't exist unless you look at parts meant for a '77-'79 Impala. I've made this a bit verbose so we have an understanding of where I am at with this, I did my home work, but as I said, still not clear.


So here's what other parts I found that are the same between the Caprice / Impala and my Delta 88's, which seems to indicate the control arms are in fact the same as well.

Ball joints, part number matches, 46D2026A and 46D0016A , upper and lower (AC Delco)

Tie rods, matches 46A0184A, 46A0590A, inner and outer (AC Delco)

Idler arm, 45C1082 matches (AC Delco)

Center link, 46B1098A, matches (AC Delco)

Upper Control Arms, 520119, 520120, (Dorman) upper left and right, but they list no lowers to fit my Oldsmobile, however they list these exact same as uppers for the Caprice, and they list everything else as stated above for the Caprice, so then logically, would the lowers for a Caprice / Impala not fit my car?

It all SEEMS to be the same but why would Rock Auto not list these lower control arms for my car? Do they just not research? I see no reason these control arms will not work, but I want to be sure.

If you don't get where I am going with this, I am going to give the '79 Holiday 88 a slightly modified "9C1 Police Package" suspension setup. I think it will be the best "Stock" handling setup I can go for, without having to lower the car or anything.

Thanks for any help you can give, I plan to get started on this next month, so I need info on this. I don't see why they won't fit, but I don't have a Caprice of that era laying around to check, if there was one in the junkyard I'd be on it like, well, you know the saying.

If push comes to shove I will bite the bullet and buy them hoping they fit, rock auto is cool about returns usually. I will document the process as best I can. Thanks again for any help you can give.

joe_padavano

The 1977-1990 B-body chassis is the same across all models. The front suspension is even the same on the wagons. C-body suspension is also the same, just the wheelbase is longer. In fact, the 1991-96 Caprice/Impala parts fit also. RockAuto is not a factory parts book. Many of their listings are incorrect or incomplete. I usually figure out what part number I need and order that way, not by their online listings.

Dead Reckon

Cool, thought this was true, think I might know where to get my sway bar in that case.

Thanks a lot for the conformation, now I have a broad spectrum of parts to make this all work.