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Conference napalm::musclecars

Title:	Musclecars
Notice:	Noter Registration - Note 5
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Mon Mar 11 1991
Last Modified:	Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	182
Total number of notes:	5467

83.0. "'69 Camaro needs help!" by WLDWST::BROGDEN () Tue Feb 11 1992 20:29

     I have a friend (female) that owns a '69 SS pace car camaro. She
    called the other night and said that her left front bearings kinda
    diappeared. A friend of hers jacked up the wheel to fix it but was
    unable to remove the disc rotor from the spindle because what was left
    of the bearing shell and bearings were kinda "fused" in place. Pieces
    fell out but not enough to pull the rotor off. I told her I felt that
    the rotor was probably still good but the spindle was probably gone.
     I suggested that she and her friend lower the car to put most of the
    weight on the wheel and tire and that she rock the car from side to
    side to see if this will pop the rest of the bearing assy out. Someone
    else mentioned a torch to her. She broke a small hammer while trying to
    knock the bearings loose with a screw driver.
    
     The question is.......do the disc brake rotors and spindles from a '67
    or '68 camaro interchange with the '69 version of a pace car? Key word
    here is "pace car". She seems to think that the pace car has bigger
    disc brakes than other camaros.
     Also, are there any other early chevy parts that will work?
    
     This person has little to no money to fix the car! And no she won't
    sell it to me, and yes it is beautiful! It's white with orange stripes
    all original. She is the original owner as well. It's a 350 version,
    but I don't remember if it's an automatic or not.
    
    Thanks, Bruce

T.R	Title	User	Date	Lines
83.1	costs?	WLDWST::BROGDEN	`Tue Feb 11 1992 20:32`	3
	Also, about how much do spindles and rotors for these camaro's cost? Bruce
83.2	Won't be cheap to fix	CRISTA::ROCHE	`Wed Feb 12 1992 09:08`	16
	Rotors are running anywhere from $62 ea (thru J.C. Whitney) to $110 thru Classic Camaro. As far as spindles are concerned they are not available new, so some searching thru the junkyards and want ads may yield you some, but they may also cost a bit. The spindles from any of the following disc brake cars will fit: 68-72 GM A-body (Chevelle, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, GTO) 67-69 Camaro and Firebird 68-74 X body (Nova, Omega) There is also a way to modify the drum brake spindles for use, but that takes a machinist. Chris
83.3	brake system differences?	LEDS::CASCIO	`Wed Feb 12 1992 17:57`	15
	Regarding the "pace car vs. regular" question on brake size.. I'm not sure if this information applies, but I know that when I had to replace the rotors and calipers on my '68 Olds 442, I found out, in trying to locate the parts, that they used a dual-piston caliper arrangement on the 442's vs single-piston on the Cutlass. I guess the idea was that beefing up the caliper mechanism was supposed to help to stop the car better. It is my understanding that they subsequently discontinued this arrangement, presumably because it didn't make a heck of a lot of difference. You may find that this is the same for the Camaro if they beefed it up to make a pace car. If I recall correctly, I believe that the rotors were different depending on the type of caliper set-up. I finally wound up replacing the whole thing with a single-piston set-up, after running thru a list of just about every junk yard I could get a phone number on. ........Marc
83.4		WLDWST::BROGDEN	`Wed Feb 12 1992 19:58`	15
	I called a "sports" slavage yard for parts and they asked me if the rotors were the "two piece' rotors where the disc rotor separtates from the bearing hub. I couldn't answer this question since the car is 20 miles away in her garage. I wasn't aware that GM was this smart back then......making two piece setups! Being that these people are supposedly only GM sports cars salvage yard I would think that they should have known the answer! Still investigating!! Bruce Thanks so far for the replies!
83.5	69 Camaro brakes.	ESKIMO::MANUELE	`Thu Feb 13 1992 00:59`	22
	From what I remember the only 69 Camaro brake set up with dual-piston calipers is the 4 wheel disc set up. This is a very rare option, and I think most of them ended up on Z-28's. The Indy pace car was basically a SS-350 or SS-396 with special trim added, no extra performance parts were added that were not offered on a standard SS. I helped a friend switch his 69 sport coupe from 4 wheel non power drum brakes to power front discs. We took a complete disc brake system from a 71 Chevelle and swapped it into the Camaro. The only real change is that you have to take the arm from the spindle on the left side and put it on the right side spindle, and vice-versa. This is because the Camaro steering gear is on the opposite side of the A arms than the Chevelle, I think the camaro had the tie-rods in front and the Chevelle had them in back. At any rate, a good salvage yard should have an interchange book that can point out the parts. A bit of advice, ask for parts from a 69 Camaro or Nova, NOT a 69 Pace car, the price will double if they think it is for a rare car. I learned this when I needed a heater control set-up for my 69 SS and the yard wanted $30 for it. When I got the part (which was out of a 74 Pontiac Pheonix of all things) I told the parts counterman that it was for "an old chevy" and he charged me $5 bucks! Just my .02 worth. John M.
83.6		WLDWST::BROGDEN	`Thu Feb 13 1992 12:39`	10
	After talking with her again last night we determined that this is not the two piece rotor/hub combo, but is the single piece unit. She ordered a book from a place she's always done business with and found that the guy sells rotors for $95.00 new, but doesn't stock spindles. So, it looks like the spindle is the big problem at the moment. .5, Are you saying if we use one from a chevelle that we should buy the right side one and install it on the left side of the camaro? Bruce
83.7	..what I meant was....	ESKIMO::MANUELE	`Fri Feb 14 1992 01:23`	16
	re-1 I figured I did not explain that correctly. No, put the left spindle on the left side, and the right spindle on the right side, THEN remove the arm that attaches the spindle to the outer tie rod (it is held on with 2 bolts) and swap that to the other side. By doing this the arm will point in the opposite direction, going from pointing to the rear of the car to the front of the car. This allows the steering gear to line up properly. We also had to change the disc brake dust shield around in a similar fashion. If you can get the spindles from a 68-72 Nova, Buick Appolo, Pontiac Ventura or Olds Omega you don't have to swap things around. Good luck. If I can be of any other help just ask as I basically rebuilt a 69 SS from a wreck between 83 and 86 so I have seen it all. John M.