..... at Cruising The Coast. One gentlemen with a sweet GS455 with his own restoration shop insists there is not any thing different suspension wise between the A-bodies and Big Bu's. :shock: Supposedly upper/lower a-arms will swap. Also was mentioned that the 2in. s-10 drop spindle (cheap) will fit the 'Larks and boats. Can anyone confirm this? Or argue
i would like to hear this answer also but i really dont think that is correct different part #'s for the upper and lower ball joints (and the ball joints are in the control arms) between the 70 wildcat and 70 skylark so if they were interchangeable they should have the same part # i just paid 75.00 for 1 upper ball joint for a wildcat and the skylark's are only 10-20 a piece one is an obsolete part and the other are readliy avalible just my 2 cents worth scott
Hmmmm, he seemed toknow what he was talking about.Wonder what the differances are. Anyone have a interchange book???
Depending on the context, perhaps he means "they have the same basic operating principles" and not "all parts are identical". At least, I hope so... In other words, they both have coil springs, sway bars, ball joints, etc., even though the part numbers are all different. -Bob C.
I've heard something similar with the 67 Pontiac B-body cars that the front suspension arms are the same. I have no idea if this is true however. Nate
What years is he talking about? I have a feeling that bushings and ball joints would probably be the same, but actual control arms might be stretching it.
Don't forget 4 wheels.... :laugh: I believe his was a 70-72 as we were looking across the way to my 71 Riv. He asked if the Riv had front steer? I thought he meant front wheel drive like the '66 Toro. Thenn he suggested they were probably all the same. But now as I type this I'm afraid of a letdown. Still, you'd think GM would not have made all different tooling.
Could his question have been regarding the position of the steering box? On the 66 cat it's sitting behind the oil pan hump, while on the later cars I believe it's in the front?
I think you ran into a shop owner trying to impress you. In the 1971 service manual, parts catalog, Body Manual and from what I can exctrapolate from the 1970 assembly manual I recently had the opportunity to review for a few days, I would say that there are a limited number of componants that interchange. A-body vs B,C,D, etc. I'd say let him try putting ALL the front suspension parts from a Electra or LeSabre on HIS GS and see how much he has to modify to make it "work!" The only part I know positively that will interchange is the Disc Brake combination valve. I'm sure there are more but I wouldn't risk it on my cars.
He asked if the Riv had front steer? I thought he meant front wheel drive like the '66 Toro. Kimson is on the right track. "Front Steer" vs "Rear Steer" refers to which side of the front crossmember / ball joints the steering links are on. older 60's car and early 70's cars tend to have the steering links on the rear side of the cross member, which means that the center link must have a 'droop' in it too clear the oil pan. "Front Steer" cars have the center link on the radiator side of the crossmember and so can be much straighter. just the fact that he can't tell you whether the Riv is front or rear steer tells me he's blowing smoke up your butt. if he actually doesn't know that the Riv is RWD and he's trying to tell you the front suspensions swap do not ever let him work on your car. simplest thing to check would be to take a tape measure to the lower control arm. measure between the distance between the mounting bolts ( which will tell you if you can even bolt the arm to your frame ) and measure the distance from the front bolt to the lower ball joint ( which will tell you if swapping the arms would totally fubar your camber ) and compare those to his GS. one thing i know for certain is different, the big car spindles are taller than the ones on the A-bodies. people look at putting boat spindles on the A-bodies to help get rid of camber loss in the corners. putting short A-body spindles on a big car would really aggravate camber loss.
Perhaps he's more familiar with Chevies,the '70-'72 Monte Carlo suspension is the same as the Chevelle and the El Camino,and assumed that they all had the same parts across the brandso No: .Most times,front and rear steer is used to describe the position of the steering gear box in relation to the front cross member.I believe him to be mistaken.
Yes his thought was the front or rear steering setup. I (being a novice) did not know what he meant at first.:idea2: But he was willing to bet they were the same. I can understand his talking to me aboutt his even if his info was off. :TU: Bob thanks for the best info in sorting this out yet.:beer I will try to get a measurement when I get time. Someone else will have to supply the A-body specs. If it cannot work than it will be settled as I have had many conversations with the Big Buick owners and no answers. I'm kinda surprised this isn't old news to us. o No: But anyway has anyone tried the S-10 2in. drop spindle. He said he has seen this done with his own eyes. Maybe that's one thing good for you guys. Unless that's old news as well....:sleep:
the '70-'72 Monte Carlo suspension is the same as the Chevelle and the El Camino all of those models swap suspension parts because all of those models are A-bodies. http://www.classicbuicks.com/body_style.htm the Monte Carlo is still a mid-size / A-body, it's just had the frame stretched a couple of inches between the front cross member and the fire wall. that's why circle track guys love them. they get engine set back from the factory. check it out some time, the #1 spark plug on a 70's Monte is in line with the upper ball joints. most cars, you get no better than the #3 plug, sometimes worse than that. the love circle track guys have for full frame Monte's is why you can't find any of those cars in the junk yard. they've all been turned into Street, Hobby or Super Stock cars. the 70's Monte Carlo will probably wind up being surprisingly scarce in the years ahead. the "stretched A-body" ( sometimes called a G-body ) applies to Pontiac Grand Prix's of the same years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Grand_Prix#Second_generation_.281969-1972.29 But anyway has anyone tried the S-10 2in. drop spindle. He said he has seen this done with his own eyes. i would expect it to work on a Century ... because a Century is an A-body. Someone else will have to supply the A-body specs. you can't pay a visit to his GS? Bob thanks for the best info in sorting this out yet. remember, even if things are lining up by the tape measure that does not mean the parts are swappable. i'm just giving you some things to go by to throw out the really silly compatibility issues. speaking of spindles, tape your spindle from top to bottom ball joint.
I've heard of using B-body spindles on A-bodies to drop the ride heigth. But it requires major work cuz the geometery is way off. It also lowers some instant center or some crap whch influences some roll parameter. I can't remember zactly...
Naw Bob, he was down from N. Texas for the cruise. And I'm by myself in cruel non-Buick world down here.
And I'm by myself in cruel non-Buick world down here. yeah, but it's not a cruel non-GM world, is it? you should be able to find a correct vintage mid-size A-body Chevy pretty easy.
Gone all gone. The cars Katrina didn't take have gone to parts unknown. For instance Chalmette's Antique Car Club will be holding our FIRST all day show since the storm. Membership was in the hundreds. Now just a few doz. Who knows maybe I'll get lucky and see one up on stands getting work done o No: Hey what do I know?:idea2: Even the stuff I used to know before the storm is all a jumble in my head now. :error:
