I was wondering if there is a good place to start to find suspension upgrades for a 1972 Centurion. Do they have similar suspension as a 1972 Impala since they share the same B-Body? I'd like to drop it a few inches in the front and rear (don't want a low rider). Possibly a new housing out back. My end goal is to take it out to Bonneville next year. I suspect I might need to do some custom fab work myself, but would rather avoid that currently. -Bart
second the question...but not the intention...want just a little more controlled ride than stock but not harsh...have searched the site and online in general and only see some items for Impalas...
To answer your question partially, the Centurion is a b-body car. As is the Chevrolet Impala. I've shopped and bought several parts for a 1971 Chevrolet even though Chevrolet didn't have a direct cousin on the C-body platform. Stuff like weatherstripping and suspension components are identical except in price. Eibach doesn't list '71 Impala Hope this helps.
I'd like to echo the question as well. I'm adding an inch to my rear end, new springs and shocks. My car doesn't have a stabilizer bar in the rear. How will adding one affect the ride? Also, the place I'm getting shocks from suggested I use a super heavy duty shock for better ride stabilization, and that with those the thicker stabilizer bars aren't necessary. Is that right? Also, gabe, that lesabre of yours is pretty nice. Do you have other pics of that car? I've never seen a black lesabre and that looks nice. What color is the interior?
From what I have learned.... Get a moog book. At your local parts store.. Find your stock replacement spring, installed height free height rate etc, and look though the book to find a stiffer lower spring... The fronts came on almost all gm rear drive cars...rears, with the double pigtail...same thing... Shocks are available from any major manufacturer..in adjustable, gas etc... Rear swayy bars, get lower rear control arms from the 85 to 96 9c1 caprice, replace bushings and bolt on, then find a rear sway bar for a caprice or roadster wagon from same year... The width measures out the same as my 72 riv, within 1/8 inch... You can make your own adjustable upper control arms or get measurements and find a b-body set that measures same... Front control arms I am gonna box my own and use moog urethane bushings and control arm shafts, which add caster... Pst has parts available. Ebc has rotors and pads for brakes, rear brakes can be fabbed up simply enough... I am gonna bulks some that use the d52 pad and stock calipers moved to back. Any hoo, thanks for letting me ramble!
Never mind, figured it out. Will the rear control arms from a 78-96 b body fit the 71-77 generation cars? Nobody sells the boxed control arms for that generation. Also, I thought I read that the front stabilizer bar is supposed to be bigger than the rear. Or is it the other way around?
Thanks Tom! I have some other pics posted, I think they are accessible on the members rides list. I'll try and post some here, LOL, but I'm not that computer "savvy"! The interior is also black. The car came with a 350-2bbl. I've upgraded to a TA 350 aluminum manifold with an edelbrock 4bbl 750 cfm. Other upgrades include Tri-Shield Performance Black Buick Valve covers, HP Fuel Pump, new plugs and wires. Waiting for the weather here in NY to warm up, I have other odds and ends to put in, new MSD Distributor, Box and coil and some autometer gauges.
If I remember right the B-body and C-body share the same suspension. If so then here are some neat bits of info that I've found for the 71-76 guys. Spindles are the same as the Fleetwood Broughams in the 80's and the 91-96 Fleetwood without abs (look for limos and funeral cars). Front Upper control arms are the same as the 80-81 F-bodies (camaro/firebird) Front lower control arms are the same as the 80's Cadillac Brougham Shocks interchange with the 91-96 Caprice wagon Springs may interchange with the 91-96 B-bodies as MOOG lists one of the springs as fitting both a '95 Caprice and a '73 Electra, but it's more of a matter of weight than anything. You'll need to get the measurements of the stock ones to find a good interchange candidate. This isn't a complete list but gets you guys in the ballpark of what's out there.
I'm pretty sure the rear axle from a Chevy will not bolt in. IIAC the u-joints are different. The rear bar is usually thinner than the front. The rear swaybar bolts to the lower control arms and they need to be reinforced. You can reinforce and box yours but it might be easier to find a stock pair. There's a fellow on the Centurion board who upgraded all of his bushings to poly and said the ride was a touch harsher but the handling was noticeably improved. John
91-96 b body lower rears are the same length and use the same bolt size as the 71-76 b body... That's what I have on my car.... I got a pair of sway bar control arms for 20 bucks at pick n pull... Regular yard trips to find a sway bar.. Aftermarket control arms for b bodies may be longer to locate axle in wheel well better, Double check the length you purchase
A word of warning. You need to check the taper on the ball joint (the part that goes into spindle.) The B body ball joint taper used in the 70's may not be the same as used in the 90's. (may need access to a ball joint book to cross reference to find correct part.) I tried to install a 78 skylark (nova) disc set up on a 68 gto i was restoring for a friend (or was it a 78 lesabre disc) ether way the ball joints tapers were different possibly metric. and would have failed. If anyone knows the correct joints to use please share with us. rusty riv
Moog ball joints for the '73 Electra also fit the '95-'96 Caprice police package cars. Those use a 5/8" ball joint on the bottom as opposed to the standard 9/16" Top BJ is K5208 Bottom BJ is K6141 The spindles for the '95-'96 Caprice police package cars are interchangable but have provisions for the abs sensor. The later Fleetwood HD spindles don't use abs and are considered the "direct" crossmatch
FWIW, I put a rear sway bar and lower control arms from a '75 Pontiac ? Catalina into my '71 LeSabre Sedan and it was a worthwhile improvement.
The front sway bar needs to be at least 25% larger than the rear br. IE 1" rear bar, 1 1/4" front bar or larger. Tom T.
