It looks like the RF 1LE spindle on my '92 has to be replaced. I've done some hunting around for a replacement, and the best I've found one for is $211 at a mail order dealer in NC. Is anyone else aware of a cheaper source for these?

TIA!

- Nick
Slightly dented '92 Z28

 

Try Next Gen and Classic Industries. They both have them but I cant remember the price.


James

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If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy. Red Green

 

I got one, do not need them since i threw the baer brakes on. But they are at my parents house and I am at college now. What makes the 1LE spindles different though? I never owned anything but my 1LE X SCCA racer. I also have to call and ask my brother if it is the right our left side, i know I lost one of them (dad cleaning out the garage). E-mail me at UVA3rdGen@aol.com for more info.

 

Nick, stop swapping paint with Spec trucks and you will be fine. I didn't know you had 1LE front brakes. Have you tried Dal at Van DeVere Olds? If you are going new GM his prices are the best I have found. E-mail him or call for a quote. Good lucck, Lon. www.vandevere.com

 

heheh - Thanks Lon =) I got ahold of Dal, he's in the $250 range. I've found one dealer (www.gmpartsdirect.com) that someone recommended to me. They have it for $211 + shipping. They are all special order items, so the lead time is looking to be at least a week plus shipping...

The guy from UVA who posted above is going to see what he can find at home in the pile'o'parts off of his 1LE. If thf fails, I'll have to bend over and give that dealer a call. =/

I've learned my lesson... finish line good - trucks bad - finish line good - trucks bad.

=)

- N

 

I also didn't know the 1LE spindles were different... I thought they were all the same! What's the change?

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Besides the caliper mounting points being different to accomodate the larger rotor and caliper, the wheel bearings are apparently wider on the 1LE part.

- Nick

 

The 1-LE spindle is a modified normal F-car spindle. I have converted regular spindles to 1-LE several times. The bearings on 1-LE rotors are larger (just the outer bearing) but the inner diameter on the race is the same. The 1-LE rotor is actually a Police package Caprice rotor except it is drilled 5x4.75" instead of 5 on 5". G.M. is a frugal company, as most auto manufacturers are, and they used as many off the shelf parts as they could when making the 1-LE cars. That is why the cars have PBR 2-piston calipers instead of 4-piston Brembos, cause G.M. already had the PBRs - they were using them on Vettes. The caliper mounting ears must be cut off and 2 of 3 holes that normally mount the backing plate must be redrilled and tapped for larger bolts, but that is about it. Oh one final note: you need to find a spindle from an 89 or newer car to convert to 1-LE unless you want to weld extra material onto the spindle. The 89 up spindles are more beefy in the area around the 2 bolt holes which are used to mount the calipers.

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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA

 

While I agree with Karl on most of what was said technically, I'd like to say the statement about the Brembo calipers is factually incorrect. The reason that Brembos are/were not on the 1LE is not an issue of budgets but more a fact of an application simply not existing back in the 1988 timeframe. In the early thru late '80s, the PBR calipers were an outstanding design and still hold there own today.

 

While on the topic of spindles...

I've got an '84 Camaro Sport Coupe that I'm working on. I've got an '86 T/A that has the WS6 suspension on it, and I'd like to move as much of it over to my car (including brakes) as possible. Am I going to have problems moving the front brakes over to my car? Will I need to swap the spindles in order to use the front brakes off the donor car because of a difference in the rotors?

 

Sure they had 4-piston Brembo calipers available in the mid to late 80's - just take a look at any Porsche 944 S-2 or 944 Turbo or 928s4, or Ferrari, or a multitude of other cars which came factory equipped with Brembo calipers. But the "Brembo" example I used was just that - an example.

In fact in 1987/88 before the 1-LE package existed General Motors was providing Brembo brake packages to teams running the Canadian Players/G.M. series. G.M. was well aware that the standard brakes on F-bodys at the time were grossly inadequate for road race purposes, so they provided these brakes to the teams so the cars would still stop (or at least slow down) after 2 or 3 hard laps on the road course. Then they decided to put together a package that would be easier to integrate into the production line, and the bottom line - thus came 1-LE.

The example I was trying to illustrate was not that G.M. had used inferior parts, not at all. I completely agree that the PBR caliper used on our cars is an excellent piece. (Incidently that caliper was a new design itself in 1989) The point I was trying to make was that G.M. just like all of us tuners wanted "bang for the buck" so they put together an excellent brake package (the one that should have come on ALL Third-Gens in my opinion) using parts they already had, so they did'nt have to jack the price of the car up as as a result. It was a very smart move by G.M. in my oppinion.


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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA