It appears my front spindles need to be replaced. Age and probably previous owner abuse have taken their toll. I already have tubular upper and lower control arms with the tall ball joints, and as much as I would like to go to the AFX cartridge style spindle the cost is hard to justify for probably no improvement. I am looking at all the available stock replacement spindles and trying to figure out which ones are cheap junk and which ones might be of better quality. I don't think front spindles is an area to cut costs / take risks. Does anyone have experience with replacement spindles. Summit has a wide variety from $140 to $300 and it is hard to tell what justifies the additional cost. Car is a cruiser and is not raced or autocrossed.
BobinPA
There a ton of OEM spindles in junk yards that are a very good option. I purchased from a vender out west on eBay. They arrived a week later, one was junk but they were very apologetic and send out a replacement right away. The reason for this that I would never have to question what quality Chinesium they were made from, as they were early 70’s production.
Joe
Joe
Phil
Thanks. I already have the taller lower and upper ball joints. would be AFX spindles be a big improvement over that set up.
Thanks. I already have the taller lower and upper ball joints. would be AFX spindles be a big improvement over that set up.
Classic performance products C5 hubs, just make sure you purchase the c7 xtracker bearings from rock auto or someone else that sell genuine parts. Only part from CPP I’d recommend.
Jeff
Appreciate the offer but am not looking to drop front any lower. What spindles did you switch to
Appreciate the offer but am not looking to drop front any lower. What spindles did you switch to
Thanks everyone. Scored a set of the AFX spindles from a dead end project car. Now just have to work through all the little issues like wheel stud size and length, etc.
Progress Update - Finally got the ATS spindles installed. I changed the stud in the upper Howe BJ's and put in a new proforged lower BJ's. Upgraded front brakes to C6 calipers and rotors, and I also upgraded from Bilstein to Ridetech adjustable shocks. It drives and rides amazing. Corners like it is on rails, very balanced and predictable. A clear upgrade over the extended length ball joint set up that was in there before. With the Borgeson steering box it now drives like a modern car. There is no bump steer at all. Now to put some miles on.
The spindles were just worn. Tried new bearings and could not get rid of the looseness by tightening up the spindle nut. Car had a dead zone in the steering going down the road, and tended to pull to the left a bit. Went through the alignment etc, replaced all the steering gear from the rag joint to the steering arms and the dead zone was still there. I also got this mystery "clunk" sometimes from the front end. Spindles are junk, but the rest of this, and the shocks I will try to find someone to give it a new home.
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In terms of abuse I have no history of the car, but I know it was used as a race car for a while, and probably sat around a lot. I found a lot of mechanical issues with it and suspect it might not of had regular maintenance over the years, like occasionally repacking front wheel bearings. The original hubs I took off had some really old grease in them. Might even have been factory original.
BTW Bob, I let a 64 Elky basket slip thru my hands, if yours has the triangulated frame like the 64 did, it is an EXCELLENT platform for modern handling upgrades. NICE WORK!
Thanks. I am using the front and rear braces 72Chevellephil sells, and they have both added to the overall handling of the car, ah, truck, ah, coupe utility vehicle.
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