Interchanging factory spindles for improved braking

Rick Angles · 09-28-2007, 11:00 PM

The Starfire is a factory 305 ( Chevy motor ) car, Mike. It has 4 lug wheels, which they all had. The V-6 I am using is a 231 Buick from a 75 Starfire. 75-76 engines were odd-fire and in 77 ( I believe ) were changed to an even-fire engine. Guess the public wanted a smoother running engine,

. Would be nice to covert it to 5 lug and better brakes, but must keep it legal, you know.

Chris DeGidio · 09-28-2007, 11:37 PM

Personally,I don't see a legality problem at all.Us Mopar racers have been swapping the weak 9" drum brake spindles for the V-8 spindles in order to use the OE disc brakes with larger bolt pattern for years.Don't the Fords with 4 bolt wheels change over too??I don't see a performance advantage,just a safety one,so I would call the DD and ask to be sure.

Mark Yacavone · 09-29-2007, 03:44 AM

Rick I doubt very seriously if anyone would know or care if you had S-10 spindles on your car. Of course, now that you've pointed it out on an open forum....
Anyway I would think very carefully about adding any unsprung rotational weight to a V6 Stocker. If it were me, I'd probably take some away.

FED 387 · 09-29-2007, 09:39 AM

If you are just going for the 5 lug wheel approach see if the S-10 hubs will fit on your present spindle---If not I am sure any competent machinist could redrill your present hubs to allow you to use 5 lug wheels/ or redrill the wheels to fit a 4 bolt pattern --- Other wise as others have said if you are concerned about weight I would weigh a complete S-10 set up vs. the OEM Olds set up and see if you are ahead or behind weight wise---Since your car does not have a high MPH and stopping is not a problem I would continue with the status quo and leave it alone----Comp 387

09-28-2007, 11:00 PM	#1
Rick Angles Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Circleville,Ohio Posts: 113 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Interchanging factory spindles for improved braking The Starfire is a factory 305 ( Chevy motor ) car, Mike. It has 4 lug wheels, which they all had. The V-6 I am using is a 231 Buick from a 75 Starfire. 75-76 engines were odd-fire and in 77 ( I believe ) were changed to an even-fire engine. Guess the public wanted a smoother running engine, . Would be nice to covert it to 5 lug and better brakes, but must keep it legal, you know.

09-28-2007, 11:37 PM	#2
Chris DeGidio Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 364 Likes: 8 Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Interchanging factory spindles for improved braking Personally,I don't see a legality problem at all.Us Mopar racers have been swapping the weak 9" drum brake spindles for the V-8 spindles in order to use the OE disc brakes with larger bolt pattern for years.Don't the Fords with 4 bolt wheels change over too??I don't see a performance advantage,just a safety one,so I would call the DD and ask to be sure. __________________ Nautilus Racing Last edited by Chris DeGidio; 09-29-2007 at 12:05 AM.

09-29-2007, 03:44 AM	#3
Mark Yacavone Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Miles From Nowhere Posts: 7,821 Likes: 2,912 Liked 5,133 Times in 1,957 Posts	Re: Interchanging factory spindles for improved braking Rick I doubt very seriously if anyone would know or care if you had S-10 spindles on your car. Of course, now that you've pointed it out on an open forum.... Anyway I would think very carefully about adding any unsprung rotational weight to a V6 Stocker. If it were me, I'd probably take some away. __________________ "We are lucky we don't get as much Government as we pay for." Will Rogers

09-29-2007, 09:39 AM	#4
FED 387 VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,423 Likes: 538 Liked 333 Times in 180 Posts	Re: Interchanging factory spindles for improved braking If you are just going for the 5 lug wheel approach see if the S-10 hubs will fit on your present spindle---If not I am sure any competent machinist could redrill your present hubs to allow you to use 5 lug wheels/ or redrill the wheels to fit a 4 bolt pattern --- Other wise as others have said if you are concerned about weight I would weigh a complete S-10 set up vs. the OEM Olds set up and see if you are ahead or behind weight wise---Since your car does not have a high MPH and stopping is not a problem I would continue with the status quo and leave it alone----Comp 387