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From: Daven Anderson
Email: address_is:[email protected]
Remote Name: 207.223.112.203
Date: May 06, 2003
The correct spindles to use would be from 1965-1978 "C-body" full-size cars. 1974-78 C-body brakes would be the cheapest to get parts for. If you do not do ALL of the work yourself, this swap would cost as much or more than the AAJ kit would. I did a '76 Gran Fury front brake swap into my '60 Plymouth wagon before these kits existed. The labor billout at $80-90/hr would have been in the $600-650 range alone, AND THEN add the rebuilt and new brake system parts as well, such as hoses and caliper assemblies. (I needed rotors, too, as my donor car's were undersize and those were $60 each 'net') My billout would have been over $1000 AND THEN I had to get it aligned, as my shop has no alignment rack. So that was another $100, out of my pocket. (which you would NOT pay with the kits, no realignment needed!) Time is money, too, and the spindle swap brake redo took 9 business days (including going to another shop for the alignment!) WHEREAS if you had all the parts at the ready for the kit, you could complete the swap in one business day. The estimate for a good brake tech doing the AAJ kit would be 3 to 4 hours billout, meaning you could very well start it at 9AM and drive the car home at 5PM (or do it one day in your garage) Doing the spindle swap PROPERLY costs way more time than the kits, AND can cost a lot of money to boot. If you do this 'shade-tree' at home it may take weeks or months. Personally, I would say if you can't afford the AAJ kit, drive it with the drums (if they work) or keep it parked until you save up enough for the kit.
