B-Body spindles

[jsta6]

I have MOOG springs up front that lowered my car about 1 - 1 1/2 inches.

I want to lower my car one more inch...I heard that the B-dody disc brake conversion lowers the car by about 1 inch.

Might as well use the b-body spindles, so I can upgrade to the bigger disc brakes.

Can I do the spindles / A-arm now, and then the discs later? Or does it have to be all at once?

TIA

 

[RealFastV6]

The spindle is what holds the caliper in place, so you'd be pretty hard pressed to use any disc other then what that spindle came with.

 

[UNGN]

If you own a GN, remember that the 12" disks will not work with GN wheels. To use GN wheels, you use B-body spindles with 11" brakes. This would be a cheaper alternative because 11" rotors can be had for about 1/2 the price of 12" rotors.

 

[Trbobuick]

From what i understand, the b car spindle is not a direct bolt in without the special upper control arm. Global west or hotckiss makes it.
As for rotors, you have to use third gen firebird/camaro 1LE rotors. They have the correct size and lug pattern for gn wheels , as the b cars have the bigger bolt circle. Hope that helps.

 

[Ormand]

The B body spindles may cause other problems. There is bump steer induced, since the steering arm is at a different height, relative to the lower ball joint. This is fixable, Baer offers "Baer Trackers", other vendors have similar kits that lower the inner tie rod end. Also, the new rotors will move the wheels out about 1/4" per side, which may be good or bad, depending on your wheels/tires. Finally, I asked Global West about the 1" lowering, and they told me the spindles DID NOT lower the car. I don't have any evidence to prove this, just passing along what they told me. (At the time I asked, the Global West catalog had two different statements, which were in conflict.)

 

[UNGN]

Originally posted by Trbobuick
From what i understand, the b car spindle is not a direct bolt in without the special upper control arm. Global west or hotckiss makes it.
As for rotors, you have to use third gen firebird/camaro 1LE rotors. They have the correct size and lug pattern for gn wheels , as the b cars have the bigger bolt circle. Hope that helps.

A lot of 11" B-body rotors came in 4.75" bolt pattern, also (and I think they are the same as F-body 11" rotors)

All the 12" B-body rotors use a 5" bolt pattern.

Here's a list of parts you need for the conversion:

12 Inch Parts

 

[Silver 6]

Well, we are getting closer.

11" rotors on the tall spindles came on 73-77 "A" bodies, Chevelle and Skylark type cars, and on the 70-81 "F" bodies, the Camaro and Firebirds. There was a change of rotor and calipers in 79 so make sure things match. These will be 5X4 3/4" pattern with 7/16" studs.

12" rotors came on the wagon models of the "B" body cars, some heavy models of the car sedan models, and on the police versions with the 9C1 package. You should look for model years 77-96. Earlier versions used a heavier, thicker rotor and matching caliper. 95-96 Caprice 9C1 cars may have come with a larger bottom ball joint, so watch for that because it may not fit your lower control arms. Some of the police package calipers may be wider to use a thicker pad, but most replacements are now the standard caliper. The same rotor and caliper was used on light duty pick-ups so there are a fair amount of replacements available in the aftermarket. All of these will be 5X5 pattern with 1/2" studs.

I have been looking recently because my 79 LeSabre has the big brakes.

 

[wfoondirt]

Anyone had any sucess swapping in a rack and pinion to correct the bump steer problems on these cars?

 

[Brian Mc]

I have a converted car with 17" wheels and the bump steer is not intrusive. as for the rotors, raybestos sells the 1LE rotor
go here for the part number: www.montecarloss.com
they are 80 bucks each.

 

[UNGN]

Originally posted by Brian Mc
I have a converted car with 17" wheels and the bump steer is not intrusive. as for the rotors, raybestos sells the 1LE rotor
go here for the part number: www.montecarloss.com
they are 80 bucks each.

The Wagner version are only $58 at O'reilly auto parts. See my link above for the P/N.

You can probably find 11" rotors for $35 each somewhere.

 

[jsta6]

Hey, UN,

Any change you can cross reference your 12" parts to 11" parts?

I still have my stock GN wheels...

TIA?