L-body brk conversion

[errol]

hello people I'm new to the site and have lots of questions,at the moment I'd like to know what difficulties are there in converting the L- body frt brk.to the daytona's 11" set up.Appreciate all the assistance you can offer.Thx Errol

[22mopar]

there are several ways to approach this. I've done it 2 ways. 1st, i just used turbo shelby charger spindles on my omni with bigger brakes. 2nd on a turismo, I used minivan spindles and brakes. I had to narrow the spindle where the strut attaches.

[Nemesismachine]

You just ground the bottom where the 2 bolts go into the spindle to make it fit? No issues with wheel fitment? I may be going this route, there seems to be more minivans then Chargers for parts around here

You abbreviated 'brake' but spelled out 'conversion?'

[22mopar]

no, I didn't 'grind' the spindle where it attaches to the strut. I narrowed the spindle where it attaches to the strut. I did this with a machine you might be familar with... Bridgeport vertical mill. I wanted the thickness to be accurate and parallel. I suppose if I had a blanchard grinder, I could have ground it narrower.

Why would you think there would be a wheel fitment issue? doesn't any 100mm 5 bolt FWD mopar wheel fit every vehicle (excluding say 13" kcar rims on a say a minivan with much larger brakes)... But I'd assume if you were upgrading brakes, you wouldn't be running 13" rims on an l-body anyway?

I actually have minivan spindles on my shelby charger with 13" rims (however my offset allow clearance... 2" back space)

[errol]

Thx people,the education is greatly appeciated if that's the only issue (narrowing of the spindles) I can do that,or have it machined.Errol

[22mopar]

IDK what year L-body your dealing with but there was a running change on ball joint size so be aware of that.

[turbovanman²]

You can also do the SLH packages with no machining needed.

http://www.dempseybowling.com/shelby/slhpkgs.htm

What year Daytona brakes? vented rears are overkill and dont' forget to put the matching prop valve in.

[rbryant]

The spindle attachment angles on the lbody are also different. If you simply use the Gbody spindle with an lbody strut you will end up +5 degrees of camber. That is more than you can adjust out. Because of that it will require slotting one of the holes in the spindle for extra adjustment. As long as you only slot one of the holes it should be fine. I have some diagrams in another post that can help you see what I am talking about.

There are two diagrams there, they just get washed out and are hard to see until you click on them.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...l=1#post748469

The other more expensive solution is to run a coilover kit that has the correct spindle attachment angle. That can be done by starting with a Daytona, Neon, Impreza, or VW Golf strut. Some are easier to adapt than others.

-Rich

[tryingbe]

Minivan caliper + pads & 90+ non vent rear disc is the simplest and most cost effective upgrade for a 5 lug bolts L-body, with the correct brake distributor and bigger master cylinder, of course. (Get them all from the rear disc car.)

[rbryant]

Minivan caliper + pads & 90+ non vent rear disc is the simplest and most cost effective upgrade for a 5 lug bolts L-body.

Yep. That will result in a 10" rotor/60mm caliper front with 10"/34mm rears which is more brakes than the 10"/54mm front, 10"/34mm rear cars had and more than the non SRT4 Neons had.

The lack of weight in the rear of the lbody will work well with the larger front calipers.

I do like having the bolt in wheel bearings but that is a minor improvement and a lot has to be changed to make it work.
There is also a lot more weight in the spindle and rotor when you go up to a 11" setup. Even with that setup the front calipers are still only 60mm so most of the gain from the 11" rotors is in pad life from the larger pad and heat dissipation through the larger rotor.

Just don't use vented rear discs with the 10"/60mm setup on an lbody or it will never be right.

-Rich

[22mopar]

The spindle attachment angles on the lbody are also different. If you simply use the Gbody spindle with an lbody strut you will end up +5 degrees of camber. That is more than you can adjust out. Because of that it will require slotting one of the holes in the spindle for extra adjustment. As long as you only slot one of the holes it should be fine. I have some diagrams in another post that can help you see what I am talking about.

There are two diagrams there, they just get washed out and are hard to see until you click on them.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...l=1#post748469

The other more expensive solution is to run a coilover kit that has the correct spindle attachment angle. That can be done by starting with a Daytona, Neon, Impreza, or VW Golf strut. Some are easier to adapt than others.

-Rich

really +5° camber just putting G-body spindles on a L-body? I must be doing things wrong because I didn't get anything like that when I put minivan spindles on a shelby charger. The MOST camber I can get on the RF of my charger with this package is +2.5°. I would have to relocate the upper strut mount and modify the L-body strut to get any more positive and my track rules don't allow that. So your saying if I would have used G-body spindles I would have +5° and not had to modify or adjust anything? Thanks I'll run out and get a set because the 2.5° isn't quite enough for me.

[turbovanman²]

really +5° camber just putting G-body spindles on a L-body? I must be doing things wrong because I didn't get anything like that when I put minivan spindles on a shelby charger. The MOST camber I can get on the RF of my charger with this package is +2.5°. I would have to relocate the upper strut mount and modify the L-body strut to get any more positive and my track rules don't allow that. So your saying if I would have used G-body spindles I would have +5° and not had to modify or adjust anything? Thanks I'll run out and get a set because the 2.5° isn't quite enough for me.

Why on earth would you want positive camber?

[rbryant]

really +5° camber just putting G-body spindles on a L-body? I must be doing things wrong because I didn't get anything like that when I put minivan spindles on a shelby charger. The MOST camber I can get on the RF of my charger with this package is +2.5°. I would have to relocate the upper strut mount and modify the L-body strut to get any more positive and my track rules don't allow that. So your saying if I would have used G-body spindles I would have +5° and not had to modify or adjust anything? Thanks I'll run out and get a set because the 2.5° isn't quite enough for me.

It is +5 (positive camber) not -5 (meaning negative).... I should have been more clear.

It is a bad thing and not something you want to do... Running Lbody spindles on a non Lbody however would give you a ton of negative camber but then you would need a thin spacer (1/16" or so) It might be possible to get away with running a 1/32" stainless spacer on each side without anyone noticing...

-Rich

[22mopar]

Oh, I really do know the difference between positive and negative camber. I have -8.5° on the right front but i'm only able to get +2.5 on the left front. So you say that if I used G-body spindles on my L-body I'll get +5°? really, for sure?!?!? I need at least another ° over what I have on the LF. My tire temps are still hotter on the inside vs the outside on the LF.

error on my statement, it's the LF I need that +5°, the right front I have -8.5° which is fine but for some reason the minivan spindles don't eve come close to the +5° you say G-body will. I'll run out to the back 40 yank off a LF G-body spindle and see if it gives me the +5° you say it does.

[rbryant]

Oh, I really do know the difference between positive and negative camber. I have -8.5° on the right front but i'm only able to get +2.5 on the left front. So you say that if I used G-body spindles on my L-body I'll get +5°? really, for sure?!?!? I need at least another ° over what I have on the LF. My tire temps are still hotter on the inside vs the outside on the LF.

The extra 5 degrees is from my measurements of components and not measured on a car. It could be off slightly but it should be close.

I do however know that at max negative adjustment on an Lbody running Gbody spindles they still have positive camber and it just doesn't work correctly without slotting. Alan Jones and Chris Wright have both experienced this.


If you ran Gbody spindles and changed nothing else I would expect it to add about 5 degrees positive to both sides. That would be -3.5 on your right, and +7.5 on your left.

If your car really varies by 11 degrees from side to side at similar settings it is time to visit a frame shop or get a different car because something is bent...



-Rich

[minigts]

I run L-body coil overs, camber plates made by Rich to direct bolt onto the car and have Daytona spindles with the 11" brakes and a dual pivot stamped a-arm setup, again a custom K frame made by Rich. The keys for mine are the camber plates as they allow me to gain well over 5 degrees of camber for adjustments. I can go at least -2 degrees of camber with the plates and camber bolts adjusted correctly.

To get the spindles to fit the struts, I did have to shave down the knuckle where the spindle meets the strut. I did this manually with a DA and a file over a few hours at my house. I could have taken them to a machine shop and paid someone to do it, but the time and money I could have spent was a wash with the time and effort it took me to do it. Other than a worn out steering rack, I don't have any issues with the ride, braking or handling of the car.

Oh and I did not slot the struts or the knuckles because I had the plates.

[22mopar]

I just got back in from putting a G-body spindle on the LF on my L-body. still only has +2.5° max just like I had with the minivan spindles. So I measured up the 2 and don't see any difference between G-body and Minivan other than the width of the strut mount? WTF am I doing wrong where you're getting +5°

[rbryant]

I just got back in from putting a G-body spindle on the LF on my L-body. still only has +2.5° max just like I had with the minivan spindles. So I measured up the 2 and don't see any difference between G-body and Minivan other than the width of the strut mount? WTF am I doing wrong where you're getting +5°

Car and Van are the same.

Lbody is different.

I missed that you put the minivan spindle on the lbody in your earlier post.

Are you sure that you didn't get something like +5 when you installed the van spindles? Your alignment really does seem FUBAR and I suspect that something is bent.

Do you have the frame body measurements to check that things aren't bent? I think I have the sheet at home and I scanned it once but I don't have it at work.


-Rich

[rbryant]

Oh and I did not slot the struts or the knuckles because I had the plates.

Is that setting the spindle connection max negative with the stock sized strut slots?

Did you enlarge the holes in the strut tower or were you able to get that much as a pure bolton?

-Rich

[minigts]

Is that setting the spindle connection max negative with the stock sized strut slots?

Did you enlarge the holes in the strut tower or were you able to get that much as a pure bolton?

-Rich

AH HA!!! Yes, I did adjust the strut towers to allow for the camber plate mount to move in about 1/4-1/2". You got me on that, forgot about that little mod. I contoured the cut to match the shape of the plate mount so it looks somewhat descent. I'll take a picture and post. Good call Rich.