RE: http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...ic.php?t=46222

Any more progress with this? I would love to get 12" rotors on my 98 SSE.

I was replacing a snapped wheel stud this weekend and did notice the braking components are WAY different then my GTP'* parts. I did notice the bracket is built into the caliper and the inner pad actually clips into the piston of the caliper and the knucke holds the outer pad securey in place.

If the holes are the same difference on the GP and Bonneville for the calipers to bolt to the knuckle I wonder if grinding off the bracket piece of the knuckle will be enough to just do the w-body upgrade. I'll be measuring one of these days. I hate driving the Bonneville after doing the GXP brake upgrade on my GTP. THe brakes on the Bonne feel like mush.

Vinnie

Well.....I have been in contact with Ed Morad about this and we have a couple options. The first I will talk about for now.

Keep the Bonne knuckle.

Supposed steps involved:
1) Cut off brake bracket so the knuckle now LOOKS like the w-body knuckle with a couple differences.
2) The holes in the Bonneville knuckle are larger than the w-body knuckle and brake brackets so 1 of 2 things would have to happen. You would approach this like the F-Body upgrade for the w-bodys and either use the correct size bolt for the hole in the knuckle and drill and tap the brackets, or use the w-body bolt with a sleeve spacer around it to fit snug in the knuckle. The latter is the current best setup for the f-body upgrade on the w-bodys IMO and is how I'll be trying it out.
3) I still have to measure the spacing between the holes in the knuckle for equal distance between the body styles. If this is off this project is at a stopping point and I'll have to look into swapping the w-body knuckle.

If it comes to that I might abort the project. I know the front hub is a different part number and cannot be swapped between the 2, at first glance that is. The Bonne bolts in from the front where the w-body bolts from the back. If the parts are somehow interchangeable this might work out. The holes in the knuckle might be threaded all the way through and MIGHT be in the same position to where the hubs are interchangeable. I am just cautious about using ABS sensors from different cars to where it might mess something up. If you think about it though the tire sizes are the same in the 2 body styles so maybe the sensor in the hub is the same.

Please post you input or ideas that could help me out here.

Vinnie

I've never been able to complete my project on this but I'm still convinced it'* possible.

I've measured the hubs from a 1997 GTP, a 97 SSEi and a 2000 SSEi, they are all the same size so you can interchange them between knuckles. The aluminum knuckles are drilled right through to mount the hub with a nut and bolt whereas the cast knuckles are tapped to use only a bolt. Using a 97 hub on a 2000 knuckle is just a question of using the nuts and bolts from the 2000.

Other issues are the geometry of the strut mount, which mounts in the same fashion, the location and size of the ball joint mounting hole and the the same for the tie rod. By eye these are all very similar but I haven't measured.

The other issue of concern is the half shaft and whether custom lengths would be needed for the swap. I got the contact info for a manufacturer from my local parts guy but haven't had the time.

All it takes is for someone to try a knuckle/hub assembly from a 2000+ SSEi on a 97 to 99 and see if everything will bolt up.

Cheers,

Thanks for the info. If all that has to be done is cut off the brackets and drill out the threads in the knuckle I'm going to do this. If there is knuckel swap issues I'm out. The Bonne is my daily driver and I can't afford a project like this to take her off the seas.

EDIT - Let me rephrase that. Unless this is a straight up knuckle swap that is.

Vinnie