New 1987 Caprice to me

[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!

[silicon212]

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!

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.

[Galroc]

Thanks for the very helpful reply!

Yes, I believe I have the smaller bolt pattern and I will need to change the rims. I also have the MD8 code for the TH700R4 transmission.

I have ordered the rear SS axle, front suspension components (coils, spindle, etc) and the driveshaft, plus the brake M/C (mine is looking old).

Good idea about the bushings. Now, I have to find some 15" steel rims in the right size..or perhaps just get 17" aluminum rims with a new set of tires.

[silicon212]

You could always go for the NASCAR look and get yourself some Cragar 342s. They look great on these cars.

[CD Smalley]

You might find one of the many threads where I have posted about how to improve your cars handling on a budget. There is lots of info in those threads and part numbers as well.

[Galroc]

I have seen those threads, which helped me get to where I am now.

The hold up for me now is bushings. Moog has the same part number for the control arm bushings for my 1987 Caprice and 1996 Impala SS. Energy suspension has different part numbers. Not sure why that is.

I ordered the poly for the front mainly because it was in stock and will be here in time. Not all the rubber bushings were in stock, so I would have to wait for them. I could have ordered them at the local autostore, but I don't think they would have been quality bushings.

I haven't ordered bushings for the rear but again, I am not sure the control arms take the same bushings. Energy suspension has a complete bushing kit for the Caprice but not for the Impala. The lower control arm will be from the Impala and the upper arm will be from the caprice.

I have already put on cop shocks. I think they were Gabriel Ultra. I think the car had the original shocks.

[Galroc]

Here is a picture of my 1987 Caprice:


Here is a wheel on the Caprice. I would like a similar wheel for the new 5x5 bolt pattern: