Tall Knuckle vs. Short Knuckle Spindles

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rklein383

rklein383

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I bought an E-body that came with front discs assemblies in the trunk. They are big bearing tall knuckle assemblies from a later B Body.

I would like to use them but have read that they may or may not cause issues with the upper ball joint not having enough room to move. I have bought QA1 tubular upper control arms as part of the package.

Anybody out there with real world experience running a tall knuckle spindle in an E-body?

thanks,
Rod
 
Lots of people run the taller knuckles, maybe thousands of cars have been converted to the tall knuckles these days.
 
I keep hoping for the day that people will actually stop reading that ridiculous article Ehrenburg wrote about how he thought the taller spindles would cause issues with binding etc., without ever bothering to 1. actually try it, or, 2. actually evaluate the geometry to see what the differences are.

Mopar Muscle actually did the latter, analyzing the geometry between the '73 up A body spindles and the F/M/J/B/R spindles. There's a whole article on what they did, including a chart showing the actual camber, caster, dive, roll center and toe changes throughout the entire range of suspension for both spindles, but here's the conclusion...

Overall, using the B-spindle will result in geometry changes that are unnoticeable with all but the most aggressive drivers running against a stopwatch. Even at that, there's a good argument that the increased camber gain will have a positive impact on cornering while the increased toe-in through extension will go undetected.

Read more: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/chassi...ng-a-and-b-disc-brake-spindles/#ixzz3fDnuPB9U
Follow us: @HotRodMagazine on Twitter | HotRodMag on Facebook
Click to expand...

I run F/M/J spindles on both my Duster and my Challenger, and between the two have logged tens of thousands of miles on those spindles. I've never had an issue with them. But you don't have to believe me, follow the link the the article and look at the geometry numbers yourself.
 
I ran the taller spindles on my 65. You'll never know the difference.
 
I've run them on my 69 Valiant for years. No problem at all. I do also have a set of 73 Duster spindles that I've been meaning to try just for giggles.
I'm still waiting on Rob to post the Big Block Dart link. (Can't do it from my phone).
 
Revhendo said:
I've run them on my 69 Valiant for years. No problem at all. I do also have a set of 73 Duster spindles that I've been meaning to try just for giggles.
I'm still waiting on Rob to post the Big Block Dart link. (Can't do it from my phone).
Click to expand...

This one?

http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/spindles.shtml

I think if you compare the BBD link to the article I posted earlier, you will find a lot of similarities...
 
I've got the 85 5th Ave spindles on my white car Rod. No issues at all.
 
We used the tall FMJ knuckles on Tim's Valiant. I wrote several magazine articles on that build if anyone is interested. The FMJ knuckles are lighter than the B body knuckles so on a serious car like Tim's it was the way to go. That car was one of the fastest street driven Mopar cars around. If there was going to be a problem with the taller knuckle we would've found it on that car. Actually for the suspension junkies out there I'd say that the taller knuckle has a better camber curve than the stock knuckle. Bump steer can be fixed either way. The Firm Feel upper arms compensate for the taller knuckle so it is all good. Here is a link to one of the articles but you should be able to find the others with a quick Google search:

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/chassis-suspension/mopp-1204-1968-plymouth-valiant-track-day-prep/
 
Great feedback guys. I spoke with Mancini Racing this morning and his experience mirrors what you guys are saying. I just want to ensure I have no issues. Looks like I keep going with what I have.
 
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