These cars have tons of parts available for them in the aftermarket and to
the best of my knowledge are very interchangeable with a lot of other GM
cars. You said you were trying to build a "tow car" so I assume you are
just trying to find the cheapest way out. If you are junkyard hunting you
should also look at the station wagons and the El Caminos and GMC
equivalent of the same vintage. Springs from any of the these cars will
interchange also - you should also look at stock car racing parts. These
cars are very popular as starting points for circle track cars and there
are lots of parts available for them from the stock car parts suppliers.
I think one of the biggest problems you will find with the car if you are
really going to use it as a tow car is that the brakes are insufficient.
You can do brake swaps into this car pretty easily by using GM parts from
other models. I believe the OEM front discs are only 10" - you can swap in
12" brakes from the larger B body cars by using the B body spindle and it
also corrects some of the front geometry problems at the same time. If you
want rear discs you could get them from Camaros or Firebirds. If you are
really towing a load you may find problems with the rear axle and
transmission - you can get kits in the aftermarket to swap in Ford 9" rears
and any Gm transmission should fit into the car.
If you really want more information on modifying this car let me know. They
have been covered extensively in Hot Rod and Car Craft over the years and I
know I have the back articles. I could scan them into PDF's and send them
to you if you want the reading.
Jim
At 11:00 PM 2/11/99 , Scott A. Backer wrote:
>On Thu, 11 Feb 1999 15:07:52 -0500, you wrote:
>> Looking for factory F-41 or aftermarket springs/swaybars/steering box
>>etc for GM G-bodies with rear bars (80's Malibu 9C1, Monte Carlo SS, Buick
>>GN, Olds 442 etc).
>
>Yes they all have the big bars and stiff springs, but are harder to find than
>the station wagons of the same years. They also have have the bars and springs
>you are looking for. 1-1/4" front bars and 7/8" rear bars, if I remember
>correctly from my Monte Carlo days. Also the Camaro/Firebird steering
boxes can
>be used.
>
>
>
>Scott A. Backer
>106 Walnut Street
>Penn Yan, NY 14527-1329
>Home 315.536.0432
>Fax 315.536.2825
>Work 911
>sbacker@linkny.com
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