NNBS spindle retrofit step 1 competed

[modular93fox]

Well step one is the easiest of the many steps for this conversion I have in mind.
Step 1: aquire factory spindles. Check

Did I just hear you ask why? Well larger caliper, and more rim options available due to the reduced hub length. Plus it will look cooler with a more windowed/open wheel.

Hub modifications will be an easy one. One that I will not do myself. That includes welding in the nnbs bolt pattern and drilling in the new bolt pattern. I laid the two bolt patterns out in autocad and there is no way you can dill a 5x5 pattern ontop of the 6 lug due to the fact 2 of the studs will overlap.

The rotor concerns me a little becuase again of the 2 bolt patterns. I would have to aquire a blank rotor for the 99+ so I can have the rotor drilled correctly. I am waiting on another member to reply becuase hes doing something differnt but did the same hub modification.

As far as the control arms, yeah I havent figured that one out 100%. I have a few ideas I'm throwing on paper but I havent gone to the parts store to see what fits and what doesnt fit. All else fails its only an upper and lower control arm that hold the spindle... The way the spindle is attached is different too, the lower arm's balljoint is pointing downward just like the upper.
The upper arm is identical to the 87. The balljoints look similar, so maybe the factory nnbs will bolt in place. Also where the ball joint goes through the spindle, those "tabs" are at an angle.. Have no idea what the advantage is.. maybe to get a little more lift? Meh either way I hope to jump over these hurtles I put infront of me. I cant start this project till atleast november becuase I am no where near my garage so all I have is 2 spindles and the idea.

opinions and comments are welcome.

clint

[ryan_thompson87]

You really can't leave anything alone can you? lol As always I'll be watching this.

[modular93fox]

nailed it.... yeah it seems that I cant. Im hoping for the best on this as this could easily be the most complicated thing ive done.. all else fails il just stick a nnbs frame under this body and call it a day.. haha

[JB]

Guess you allready have them but I have a set of NNBS factory spindles and LCA's if you need them.

[red suburban]

question, are you converting the new hubs to a 5 lug setup? why not just keep the new hubs as a 6 lug and switch out your rear axle shafts to match? about as many wheel options for a 6 lug as there is a 5 lug.

[DunesRunner08]

I am just converting to a Camburg Race Hub and scraping the cheap factory wheel bearing and hub and you can get that in any bolt pattern you want, but I am sticking with the 6 on 5.5

hey JB, shoot me a PM about the spindle and LCA's you have... I may be interested

[modular93fox]

no update, only car porn.

http://www.classicperform.com/NewPro...op_Spindle.htm

not to bad, from what another member on another forum said he used 99-07 brake calipers. So atleast brake pads wont be a special order problem. I just dont like the fact that some components are not off the shelf parts.

Still keeping the original plan alive... just waiting on a few measurements to come my way...

thanks to youtube this is the start of the spindle:



the only measurements that would be correct are the Dodge hub flange and the caliper mounts.
From another fourm I learned that 95-02 AWD astro vans had the 5x5 pattern with sealed hubs... another think I might consider depending on how much those vans weigh. I dont want to wear out those bearings inside..

Now that I'm kinda getting the hang of this Autodesk Inventor maybe I can make a professional looking cluster "bucket" to hold my dodge gauges :) that would be bad ass..
clint

[modular93fox]

edited

[modular93fox]

Well I found a 13" brake kit for our trucks but its something I could make myself and I might wind up doing in the end... The kit is 800 bucks and uses a normal drop spindle with the ears cut off and 2 holes tapped so an adapter bracket can be bolted to it. It uses either NBS or NNBS calipers and c5 rotors with the 5x5 dilled on it. And as far as the hub it resembles a turned down rotor. This thread is pretty much what the company is selling.. I was hoping for a better product but ...
check out this link, its a nice walkthough:
http://www.geocities.com/diels12000/BrakesII.html

Ive been making a few trips back and fourth to autozone and this trip gave me the nnbs spindle blues... haha. The 87s upper and outer tie rod was too large for the tapered bores. Im not sure if they are a different taper or not becuase the threads would not even fit through
The only possibility to make these spindles work would be to ream the top ball joint to size, sleve the bottom ball joint bore and flip the ball joint upside down. Depending where the outer tie rod sits in relation to the knuckles mounting point there are 2 options here. ream it to fit if the orientation is going to mount like factory NNBS - stud pointing down, or drill the taper out and insert a sleeve and make it like OOBS - stud pointing up.
Hopefully the next time under this thread I will have something cool to show for..

[DunesRunner08]

What about using the UCA fron the NNBS with the sealed ball joint so you can use the NNBS spindle? will that work? or am I not understanding exactly what you are saying? Bulletproof Suspension and Cognito Motorsports makes UCA's for the truck with either a uniball or a sealed ball joint and could work for you

[modular93fox]

Ive seen ball joint reamers for around 80-100 bucks which would allow factory 87 ball joints to be used. So far I have nothing else to try besides looking at a Dodge Ram spindle. From tape measurements it looks like the Dodge hubs and silverado hubs have the same bolt pattern.. thats good. Although I havent even googled junk yards around Orlando, I miss the junk yards in Houston... ahh homesick...
clint