Cadillac spindles?????????

[pharcyde05]

well after reading this it got my intrest and i started doing some research and nothing i can find show any part numbers that are the same between c trucks with the caprice B body cadi C E or K body
but the K body cadi and the chevy B body have same lower bj
but by looking at illist of the spindles it would drop the truck as loong as you can figure a way to make them fit and also by looking at part num the spindles ar diff between cadi and chev

[70rs/ss]

This is what I was saying earlier, don't mix match crap, use all caprice stuff into the truck spindle, parts are different from one model to the other, how else would they be able to charge different prices for the same parts? I am thinking the lower BJ will press into the truck a-arm and I am positive the upper will, cause it just bolts in. The only way to know would be to do a parts store run, pull a lower truck BJ and a caprice and MIC them, if the outside diameter of the body is the same, then the Caprice BJ will press into the truck A-arm. Heck you might be able to swap the out tie rods as well. If the truck tie rod won't fit the taper of the Caprice spindle, just thread the caprice out tie rod to the innner truck tie rod and again, done!! D@mn some days I am just good, now I say this should all work, but I am not possitive. Someone with a 91 and up caprice spindle see if it'll work!!

[BarryB]

Wow! looks likeI started something here. In a good way! If I had boneyards at my disposal I could help figure out the this mystery. I am pretty sure the guy used Cadillac parts, but maybe in the mid 70's early eighty's . I know those cars had the 5 on 5 lug pattern. You know the big cars. reason being those cars had to have a heavy duty susp, to carry the load of the cars weight. Just my .02 's worth.

[stepn67]

I found this, it might help

[stepn67]

Forgot to mention, measurements are in millimeters so 5 X 5 = 5 X 127

[watahyahknow]

anyone with a hollander catalog ?

[BarryB]

Hey stepn67, I didn't see a listing for late 70's early 80's on the deville.

[stepn67]

Yeah your right, didn't notice that. This came from a file someone emailed to me which has bolt patern info for just about every vehicle, but looks like its not complete.

[68C15]

I did some parts checking this morning. I looked up a 91 Caprice, a 94 Fleetwood, and an 84 Caprice. they all take the same upper/lower BJ, outter tie rods, pads, rotors, calipers, wheel bearings. only difference is the 84 takes a different rotor and seal.
get this, they are the same inner and outter bearings as an 80 C10 with JB5/JB6 (light duty) brakes.
if I get a chance I will try these car parts on my truck arms and spindles I have laying in the garage.
this has definately got my interest.

[BarryB]

68c15 keep us posted of what you find out.

[Bob Moore]

The light duty brakes are the 1" thick rotors as opposed to the 1.25" thick rotors. Smaller calipers, etc.

[68C15]

bad news folks, I checked on fitment today. here's what I found using new parts (ball joints, rotors, tie rods, seals, inner and outter bearings) for a 91 caprice and trying them on my spare 76 JB5 spindle and arms.
the upper joint has a smaller bolt pattern but does fit correctly on the spindle.
the lower has a larger base (about 1/4" bigger) than the hole in the lower arm. it also is too small of a taper allowing no room for the boot.
the seals are smaller by about .030" than the spindle.
the inner bearing has a smaller ID, I'm not sure how much smaller, it only went about half way up the spud.
the outter bearing does fit nicely. I was unable to see if it ended up in the correct place due to the inner bearing problem.
the tie rods have a smaller taper OD preventing thier use.

so, in summary even if you decided to get the whole loaded spindle from a caprice it will not fit without doing some expensive machining to the tapers. (you would have to have them enlarged to fit the truck joints) my money will best be spent buying aftermarket dropped spindles for the truck.
I am still open to further swap suggestions though.

[BarryB]

Hey 68c15, Thanks for the info, and your effort now we know which way not to go. When I was looking at this truck. The guy told me Cadillac Spindles. Maybe there is a difference. When I was told this I was invisioning a mid 70's early 80's deville. But in my area all these big cars are gone, due to the scrap iron prices jumping to an all time high. So finding a set and trying would be near impossible for me. Probably just as cheap to get aftermarket drop spindles.

[BarryB]

Oh, there is a website,www.mustangsteve.com where you can send the dimensions of the taper you need. or they will custom make a insert for the size and taper you need. And if i remember correctlly the price was 20.00 a piece.
Probablly just as cheap to buy dropped spindles.

[67 cst swb]

Ok, Wait a minute...
Aren't we looking to see if the Caprice, Cadillac, etc... Ball Joint diameter (where it mounts into a A-arm) is the same diameter as our upper and lower Truck Ball joints? We already know that the caprice stuff works on caprice spindles and the Caddy stuff works on Caddy spindles. Why try to re-engineer the wheel here. If A or Any GM Fullsize Cars use a Upper and Lower ball joint that are the same diameter as our truck Ball Joints we're in... fAs long as the Caprice, Caddy, etc press into our truck A-arm's... we should be good to go, right? Forget tapers and bearings, etc... Forget the tie rod ends for now... I can figure that part out, no problem...
If I were still working in a Auto Parts Store/Whse (I quit last Sept) I would go grab upper and lower truck ball joints and then grab upper and lower ball joints of various GM full size vehicle that have 5 on 5 wheel bolt patterns,... then go to town measuring for same O.D.'s...
Or am I missing something...?

[Musclerodz]

Don't worry about the ball joint issue, that is a fairly easy fix without machine work. I am way more concerned about geometry. The big issues are steering arm placement and axle placement as not to have interference issues that already exist with dropped spindles. Can someone post pics of the C10 spindle and caprice spindle side by side?

Mike

[Bad71chev406sbc]

Originally Posted by Musclerodz

Can someone post pics of the C10 spindle and caprice spindle side by side?

Mike

I Second that motion.

[68C15]

Bryan, the caddy joints do NOT fit in truck arms. if a guy wanted he COULD modify the caddy spindles to fit the truck joints.

[sick69]

68c15- what years or caddy and caprices were you looking at? i just found something that may narrow it down to specific years. if you don't mind and haven't already done it could you look at 71-76. if thats what you've already looked up then nevermind and thanks for the effort.

Frank

[BarryB]

Thought I would bring this back up top maybe we can come up with a solution, I just recentlly came across a farm here locally where the owner has a bunch of old big cars sitting around. I am wanting to go and see if he has any earlier Cadillacs sitting in there. Might be a couple of weeks before I am able to get back down there.