I am starting to rethink the idea of going with the ball bearing set up and drum brakes that are on my "60" Olds 88. I found a few places to get the parts but they are all very expensive.I am thinking maybe it would be better to just swap them out for some newer spindles with roller bearings and disc brakes. I guess I just need to know how hard it is to do the swap, what the best donor vehicle would be, and about how much money I would have invested in the parts.Any help would be cool.
my guess is that you would need to measure the mounting pount for the spindle to the control arms to see how far apart they are as well as checking to see if it is front or rear steer. Those would be the biggest factors. also the whole setup may push the wheels out or tuck them in more than stock. after you get the measurments you need to find some minitruckers that would let you measure their stock spindles that they have laying around. Either a S10 or full size chevy would be the best, maybe even a toyota. Thats how I would go about doing it.
I agree that a later model spindle swap would be an easy route, but I am not aware of any. There may be, you will have to match the taper of the balljoints and the height of the spindle, assuming that the ball joint locations are close enough that you can still align it. You might find one that will fit, but the camber and caster all all way off. This might be a case where a spindle for a Chevy application might work such as a kit for 60 Chevy may fit your Olds. Sure it will be some money, but you know it will fit and work right. Now from my memory banks, I think a later 60's Impala/Caprice has been used on Chevy's, so you might start there and see. I agree to get tapered roller bearings and disc brakes is a good idea.
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