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Originally Posted by Galroc
I picked up a 1987 Chevy Caprice from my brother who upgraded to a mid 90s chevy cop car of some sort.
The caprice is in very good but tired condition with close to 300K miles. The front brakes need to be done and the rear has very new drums. I replaced the windshield washer pump with an electric one that works well. I put new wipers on, new gear shift end piece, new ignition lock. Now, I am looking at what to do with the front brakes and I discover that this Caprice has the 11" rotors which I guess is standard with the Sedans. I want the best braking possible before I do anything with the motor.
My plan is to upgrade to Impala SS suspension to freshen up the handling. I am buying a 96 rear end, front suspension components, sway bars, coils, brake M/C etc.
Anything I should do pronto, or look out for with the suspension swap?
What about wheels? I was thinking of sticking with the black steel rims. Where can you get those with the new bolt pattern? Or, what is the best size tire to put under a caprice with the impala SS suspension? Best rim with the correct back spacing, rim diameter and offset? Anyone have a good example car for me to check out on the web that has done this?
How long did it take people to swap over the suspension?
Thanks everyone!
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From someone who has done something similar -
I have a 1988 Caprice police package car that I upgraded the entire suspension to 1994 9C1 standards, among other things. If your Caprice is a 9C1 (look on the option label under the deck lid for this SEO number), it might already have 5 on 5 wheels, but since you said it has 11" rotors, we'll assume that it has 5 on 4.75s. The 94-96 stuff is all 5 on 5, so you will have to obtain the proper wheels in order to do the swap (15x7, 3" backspacing, zero offset, 5 on 5 is the information you need to know). Although, if you're getting an Impala SS rear axle, you might want to go with 3.5" backspacing and .5" offset due to the Impala SS axle being 1" wider than a Caprice 9C1 axle (they did this in order to use those alloy 17" wheels the SS came with).
Some people will tell you that you need special wheels to clear the calipers on the rear disc setup, that's not true. Although I am using Cragar 342 wheels on my car, stock wheels fit fine without any clearance issues. The Caprice 9C1 axle from '94-'96 will properly fit the car without offset issues, and they have the same disc brake setup.
You will need to obtain a 9C1 driveshaft assuming you have a 4L60/TH700R4 transmission. This is an inch shorter than your current driveshaft - needed because the yoke of the 8.5" axle is 1" longer. If you have a TH2004R transmission, you will need a driveshaft from a car with a TH700R4 and a 7.5" rear axle.
At my skill level, the time to convert was about an hour for the rear axle, and about two hours for the front wheels. You need a spring compressor for the front, and don't forget to obtain good shocks. While you have it all apart, now would be a good time to replace all of your bushings. Use good quality bushings (such as OEM), or alternatively you can use poly bushings, but if you do please pray that you don't have latent kidney stones because the ride will shake them loose. Replace your front swaybar bushings with poly bushings - they last longer and improve anti-roll. End link bushings, too.