[Murf]

I am thinking of doing the "tall spindle" swap on a 65 LeMans. I bought a 79 T/A for the parts. Could I use everything off the T/A? It seems like it would be a good idea to use the same prop. valve m/c, etc. That way the system would be matched up well. Is there a problem with this idea? If so, what m/c and prop valve works well with this conversion? Thanks in advance.

Later, Murf

[Murf]

I am thinking of doing the "tall spindle" swap on a 65 LeMans. I bought a 79 T/A for the parts. Could I use everything off the T/A? It seems like it would be a good idea to use the same prop. valve m/c, etc. That way the system would be matched up well. Is there a problem with this idea? If so, what m/c and prop valve works well with this conversion? Thanks in advance.

Later, Murf

[Scarebird]

should work fine, though you may need offset shafts for your upper control arms. Also, use your calipers as cores and get 69-72 GTO calipers, the hoses rout better

[Murf]

Thanks Scarebird. The GTO calipers will fit the 79 Firebird spindles? I was going to use the tubular upper a arms but man there high. Do you have a bolt on set-up for a drum brake 65 LeMans? I might just sell the firebird stuff and go that way. Thanks, Murf

[PMDRACER]

Spend the cash on the tubular arms. They are worth it. They look a helluva lot better than an entire stack of shims under the arms. From what I've seen, you'll still need a bunch of shims with the offset arms, but each car is different.

You will have to use the F-body lower ball joint with those spindles. The problem is you will have to take them to a machine shop and have them turned down a touch to fit the A-body lower arms. I seem to remember somebody selling the lower ball joints already made this way, but don't remember who.

You will also need to acquire the outer tie rod ends to a '79 Chevy Malibu to make it work.

One last thing. Look at the date casting of the spindle. If it is a '75-'78, the outer rotor bearing is different than the '79. Ask me how I know.

Use the F-body calipers and A-body hoses.

[Scarebird]

PMD racer is correct in his details, though there are more solutions. If you run the 78 and later B body spiindle, you can run 12" discs, though you will need to run 89-92 1LE rotors to do this. Some cars can get away without the tubular uppers (mine did, BB Chevelles usually don't... why? don't know...); I run about a degree and a half of positive camber. I sell B body spindles reamed to fit your stock 65 Lemans ball joints and tie rods, so no mix-n-match needed; sold about 50 sets already. The conversion plates I sell work good, though are a medium duty setup- bette than drum, but some offer Corvette disc adapters that really bring a car to a halt. My setup work best when used in conjunction with my rear brackets, it essentially is hydraulically a 82 Eldorado. My setup's main virtue is cheapness and availability of parts.

[Murf]

Scarebird, Thanks for the info. I guess I'll use the parts I already have.

PMDRACER, What is the issue with the bearings? The parts car I have is a 79. Anything special I need to know? Is using the 79 master cyl. booster, and combo valve a good way to go? The 65 has power brakes now. I don't suppose the 79 m.c. would work with the stock booster, would it? What are the alignment specs I should shoot for, after the conversion.

Thanks for your help.

Later, Murf

[Scarebird]

GM went to a larger outer bearing size in 78, from BR2 to BR3, otherwise later rotors would be able to mount on earlier spindles.

[PMDRACER]

Scarebird is correct.

The rotor for the '75-'79 is all the same. The '79 used a different spindle, necessitating the different outer bearing. That's all.

The MC will work. GM didn't change the 2 bolt pattern on any regular MC I've ever seen. As for the prop valve, the F-body will work fine. I run 4 wheel discs with the F-body 4 wheel disc prop valve and the balance seems just fine. The booster should work too. If you need room you could go to the junkyard and acquire a '78-'87 A/G-body (LeMans, Cutlass, Malibu, Skylark, etc) 10 inch dual-diaphragm booster. You will have to modify it a little, but the details for that are on my website. Click Here

Stock alignment specs were 1/2 degree negative camber, and 1/8 inch toe-in. The specs for caster were up to 3-1/2 degrees negative, but with today's tires you can drop that down to around 1-1/2 degrees negative with 1/4 to 1/2 extra degree negative on the passenger side if the roads in your area have alot of crown to them. I do alot of freeway driving so I have it set equal on both sides.

Scarebird -
You say you do not use alot of shims on your car, and do not use the tubular arms, but you also run 1-1/2 degrees positive camber. Makes sense. If you wanted to go to the stock spec of 1/2 degree negative camber, you'd need at least a half-inch of shim pack. The usual formula is 1/8 shim equals 1/2 degree.
How does the car handle with that much postitve camber? I'd expect it to be a bit darty or squirrelly. What about tire wear? Just curious, that's all.

You guys have pics of your cars?

[Murf]

Thanks for the info, guys. On a related matter, I was thinking of using the steering box off the T/A also. I have read that this isn't the best box to use. Is anybody out there using one? I know the turning radius is increased, but by how much? I am on a budget and already have the T/A parts. Would it really be that bad of a set-up? Thanks.

Later, Mutf

[Scarebird]

It handles pretty good, as the tire shop guys said it should. More darty than before as you say. One thing that makes it worse is the longer steering arm, increasing your turn radius about 4 feet. If you already have the stuff- use it.

[Ken K]

I think you could do away with aftermarket control arms and excessive shim packs by using a 78-87 G body upper control arms. The problem is the control arm shaft will not work on a 64-72 A body because the holes are drilled in the wrong place. If someone could figure out a shaft that will work or make a different shaft then you could use junk yard G body upper control arms for the tall spindal swap.

[Scarebird]

Another idea I am looking at is to modify the existing upper arm, essentially moving the upper shaft outward 3/4"- we'll see how well that works...

[Ken K]

If you place a 78-87 G body upper control arm on top of a 64-72 A body upper control, you will see it's about an inch shorter. They advertise the tubular control arms as being shorter than the stock control arms for the tall spindal conversion. The shorter control arm will take care of the shim pack and offset upper control arm problem. The G body control arm will fit on a A body frame and fit through the inner fender wells. The problem is they made it with a different control arm shaft and it's not as easy as using a A body control arm shaft on the G body control arm because it won't fit.

[Murf]

Thanks guys! Anybody want to give real world experience on the f-body steering box on an a-body? Should I get 78 f-body calipers to stay away from metric fittings. I would like to keep this as simple as possible. Thanks again for your help.

Later, Murf

[MitchGM]

I had the same instance when I swapped out my steering box in my 69 Bird for a WS6 box from a 92 T/A. I ended up keeping my fittings so it would bolt to the original pump. I just used the metric fittings on the other end, so it would bolt up to the new steering box. What an overall difference in the way the car steers compared to the original.