Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice Granny's Luxo-Muscle-Barge

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Woke up feeling crappy and low on energy, but muddled through it get the new diff housing hanging on the trailing arms. I fought with the new springs trying to get them on. No go. I went looking through my tools for a spring compressor I thought I rented from Autozone and never returned. No go either. Quit for the day.

It was pretty pathetic day all around. One middle aged dehydrated with his 72 y/o apprentice trying to muscle a 12 bolt into a car.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

some days you just gotta rest.... nice work so far

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

some days you just gotta rest.... nice work so far

I rested until 3 30 pm when the car was covered in shade. Felt much better physically when I quit than when I started. Just frustrated by the car fighting me.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

everyone has days like that...a good reminder that youre not as young ass you used to be

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

I have plenty of days like that, I just don't cronicle them. I always look at it from these two angles. I have another car to drive and it should be relatively relaxing to work on the car. If I'm stressing to get the car running, something changed, etc. where the relaxing/fun is taken out, I usually walk away from the project for a while until motivation comes back. Rather that be a day, a week or months, so be it. But nothing bugs me or motivates me more than a car not running. I like to at least keep my fleet running.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

I got the rear suspension and differential mostly done. Pics will come later tonight.

I have major snag. The two 12 bolts, the one that is in the car and the one I just removed, have two different sized pinion flanges. The Caprices original is 4 1/4 in wide and the one on the diff now in the car is 3 1/2 in.

My question is this: Can I change out the pinion flanges without screwing up the pinion/ring gear set ups? Or can I just bust them off and on with an impact?

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

I've done it with gear sets that have been ran for a long time. Techincally you are not supposed to do it. Perhaps get a new pinion nut from the help section if you do it?

[Monk]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Back in the day......I remember bagging around
on them and they always worked.

Although seems some stuff doesn't hold
true today in same situations.

If you were working on that same car
in my neck of the woods this weekend .......you'd
be ringing wet from all the humidity.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Yes, but mark and measure 2 things before you do it. 1) where the pinion bolt is in relation to the nut (clock orientation); 2) where the nut is in relation to the bolt (depth)

I did this on my Buick - didn't count the threads (depth) - when I replaced the front seal. It vibrated because I didn't get it tight enough.... So I simply tightened the nut until the yoke had about the same play.... works great now. - so you can save yourself a step by counting the threads in addition to marking on the nut and the pinion bolt where they are in relation to each other.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

For some reason the new springs fought tooth and nail to go back in once the rear diff was back on with the new bushings in the lower trailing arms. So, I headed down to Autozone and rented strut springs compressor. I only used one to basically bend the spring as well as compress it. This worked and the springs went in. I couldn't use a coil spring compressor because there wouldn't be a way to get out afterwards.


Here's what the Lock Right looks like installed. I wish I could take pics during installation, but I needed my third arm for installation.


Here's a pic of my pinion flange issue.

[milner351]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

I thought everything in a chevrolet swapped out no problem with anything else from any other chevrolet across about three decades? That's what my friends keep telling me.

Looks like perhaps one 12 bolt was a HD or truck unit - and the other is passenger car?

That looks like a monster U joint Scott!

I don't see why you couldn't swap out the pinion yoke - but as Buick suggested - mark and record everything as you go - and keep track of shims if there are any. You don't want to change the ring / pinion gear mesh pattern if possible.

I suppose a safety step would be to mark the ring and do a pattern check of the gear mesh before and after to make sure it stays the same?

[82z]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Why not just buy a new u joint that has the two different sizes on it?

[Blazerteam]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Since i have seen a unmolested 65 Biscayne with 230 six and three speed manual with a 12 bolt,i guess the rear end you have under the caprice now..came from a car with a small engine..like a six or a smallblock..those have smaller u joints,and the easy way for old ma GM to join the rearends and transmissions,was to have diffrent pinion flanges.

I believe that the u joints follow the trans,and the pinion flange is too.

[Bamfster]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Personally, I'd swap the flange. I know this is kinda vague, but just make sure they feel the same when you re-assemble it. I like Buickguy's way of pre-marking before taking it apart.

[DanStokes]

Re: Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice project

Those Lakewood adaptor U-joints are pretty good but I don't know what happens when you drop the hammer on 'em at the drag strip. Can't be a big deal to swap the pinion flange - that's essentially what you do to replace the pinion seal. I'd follow Buick's suggestion, I think. Unless the seal is new I'd toss one in there while I had the flange off.

Dan