Help fast! 67-69 Camaro and Firebirds

[68Formula]

:attn: I have tie rod ends with part numbers 381S (outer) and 681S (inner). Anyone know if these are Camaro or Firebird? Another thread says there is a difference. I need to order a centerlink right now, and need to know which one. Thanks.

[steve g]

I think you must be refering to my earlier post. I found that Moog has different part numbers for the Firebird and Camaro for 69. For 68 both the Firebird and Camaro are shown with ES381 Outer and ES681 Inner. So it would appear that they're interchangeable in 68 but not 69.

[68Formula]

That's messed up. Why would they change it for one stinkin' year? Wonder if it improves anything to use a '69 suspension?

Steve, where are you getting all your part numbers from?

Thanks.

[steve g]

I would have to agree that it's messed up, especially since the Firebird ones cost more than what the Camaro ones cost! I can't attest to any handling differences although supposedly the Firebirds handled better than the Camaros. (Pontiac PR?) In the 80's I owned a 68 Camaro and my sister had a 69. I can't remember any distinct handling differences between the two, but that was too long ago and I wasn't as concerned with cornering back then. My cornering consisted of seeing how fast I could go around the cloverleaf on the highway by my house.

I got the part numbers online from Moog. If you go to Federal-Mogul.com you can find an application chart for Moog suspension parts. I looked up both 68 and 69 Camaro and Firebird.

[Drewhelm]

amcmike,

I think I replied to your post over on the FGF website. 67-68 are interchangeable for Camaro and Firebird. 69 was different. The 69 Firebird got a different center link to begin with, then the inner and outer tierods are different lengths than that of the Camaro. I'm not sure why GM did a number of things for 1 year only on the Firebird.

[68Formula]

Thanks everyone.