New here but not to cars. I have a 1968 442 convertible that my father bought in 1975. Car is original except 1979 403 engine, 74 cutlass front disc brakes and 15 inch ralleye wheels.

 

Welcome to C.O.! Pictures are always in demand here. FYI you are on a Oldsmobile site! The proper term for wheels are super stock.



Pat

 

Welcome to the site, share some pics with us.

 

Your story is similar to mine! My dad bought his 68 4-4-2 convertible in 1969 (it had been a demo for a year) and it stayed in the family since then. I have it now and it's nice to have something like it from the past. Enjoy this site and post us some pictures when you can!

Randy C.

 

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Welcome. The use of 1974 disc brakes raises a red flag. The 1973-up spindles use ball joints and tie rod ends with a different taper angle than that on the 64-72 spindles. Also, the steering arms are integral to the later spindles and are not in the correct location for the early car steering geometry, causing bump steer.

Please verify that this is what you really have. It is possible to change to the later ball joints and tie rod ends during this swap, but that requires machine work on the lower ball joints and a special adapter coupler for the outer tie rod end. If your car does not have these mods, and you do have the later spindles, this is NOT safe to drive. It is possible to bolt up the later spindles with the incorrect, early ball joints. The ball joint studs will not be supported properly in the spindles and can break eventually.

 

Joe, you never cease to amaze me with you knowledge of these cars.

 

I expanded the holes in the lower control arms and then pressed the 74 ball joints into the arm. You could see it stretch slightly as they went in so I know the fit is good.

 

OK, that's good. I assume you used the later uppers as well, which simply bolt in. This is essentially the tall spindle swap that HO Racing promoted in the 1980s. Still has the bump steer issue, but there are aftermarket kits to relocate the outer tie rod pivot points on the steering arms to fix this. Good luck.

 

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Welcome to the site... Hopefully the "FOR SALE" sign has found a new home on another vehicle