My '51 Olds has been running pretty good, ( I drive it to work most every day ) especialy after I got the carb and trans linkage adjusted right. Gained about 15 MPH going up the Cuesta Grade on Hwy 101. I'm digging into the frontend with the old ball bearings( looking a little worn) and was wondering if the part #'s would cross over to roller bearings. The brakes are in good shape and stop pretty good, and a disc brake conversion isn't in the budget right now. Thanks for the help.
Still looking for some ideas. Was thinking about taking the part #'s from the old bearings to a bearing supply and see what they could do. If disc brakes weren't too expensive, that would work to.
A roller conversion bearing kit already exist- just not listed for your vehicle. My napa book shows the same b52 inner and b67 outer for 41-52 olds, the same as a few other gm cars as well as 38-59 1/2 ton chevy trucks. Cl***ic performance products sells a bearing kit for those trucks, kinda pricey but not too bad like $150 or something like that. Here are the other GM 's I found with this set up- Buick 37-40 Pontiac 40-54
Looks like the same bearings for 55/57 chevy..the conversion bearings were fairly pricey. The easy way is to swap hubs from 63 to 69 full size chevy (drum brakes) They are already common roller bearings < set 2/set 6> Is the bolt pattern on your 51 5 on 4 and 3/4 ?? If so, the above hubs should bolt on. Just drill the rivets out that hold the drums on your stock hubs ( if they are still there ! ) and slip the old drums onto the later hubs.. Good luck Dave
If your Olds ball bearings are the same as a 55-59 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup, check Cl***ic Parts of America www.cl***icparts.com . They sell roller bearings for these pickups that use the original pickup hubs. At least they did 2 years ago. So, if your Olds uses the same bearings as a 55-59 Chevy/ GMC these rollers should fit your original front hubs.
Thanks a million for the info, I'll start doing some parts chasin' tomorrow. I already had to buy one bearing @ fifty-two bucks and change, so a kit for one-fifty isn't bad. One of these days I'll post some pics of the Olds and my other toys. Thanks again!!!!!!!!
If it's the same as a 54 Chevy, I don't think you'll find anything to convert to rollers unless you have your spindles turned from what I've been able to find out. If you find otherwise, PM me, I just priced the ball bearings for the chevy at the local auto parts, and they're $260!
Those are the only 4 vehicles I could find out of the gm's that had that set up, the b67 was used on alot of cars for the outer but had differant inners.
Incorrect, or at least so I've been lead to believe. Remember, you have the same front suspension as the early vettes. Those guys no doubt have a roller conversion. Somewhere on the Chevytalk 49-54 board I remember seeing part numbers at some point last year for this very thing. That quote on those ball bearings hurts doesn't it? I went through the same sticker shock when I was rebuilding the front end of my 51 last year -- mine were good enough to reuse though.
I was on NAPA auto parts' web site today, and they list both a roller and ball bearing for the '51 Olds. The part #'s are also the same for the '59 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup. Forgot to bring the #'s home with me to get the bearings, so i'll do that tomorrow. Will let you know how it all works out. Thanks again for youre help .
I don't think it's the same as the Chevy car. But if it is, I got a thread here somewhere were I put up the pictures and dimentions of the parts needed to convert the Chevy spindle to rollers. NO machining of the spindle or hub. Just making spacers and bushings. I'm sure you could do the same with yours with just using different dimentions. And if it is the same as the 54 Chevy, yup the Corvette used this deal til 62, and the aftermarket has a really pricey kit for it. here:http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=248021&highlight=chevy+roller+bearings Frank
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