Camaro / Firebird the same...NOT!

[Poochie]

First off, this is not a slam on any of the vendors/manufacturers of the parts, just a little venting...
I have a '69 Firebird that I'm trying to improve the suspension and brakes on since the original springs aren't cutting it, nor are the 4 wheel non-power drums. Bought new tubular upper and lower arms, new springs, adjustable perches, tie rod connectors and C5 disk brakes. Was told that all the parts would fit since Camaros are the same.
The tie rod connectors are too small, so they won't thread on to the tie rods or centre link. The adapter plate for the C5 brakes takes a 5/8x20 bolt to attach to the upper hole in the spindle...the Firebird is considerably smaller. The hubs for the Firebird are the wrong offset for the brake kit, but fortunately that was caught before I ordered the system and I ended up buying Camaro hubs prepped by the vendor. Figured that I would just bolt the drum brakes back on so that I could at least drive the car, but the lower control arms hit the backing plate.
Ahhh, I feel better now. None of this is insurmountable, just annoying.

Cheers!

[Vegas69]

Poochie......Camaro parts don't even bolt on Camaros. :lmao: About the only thing so far that has bolted on mine is the dome light housing.

[ls1 nova]

Yes the front suspension is very different on the firebird. If you buy the whole camaro setup centerlink,idler,pitman, ect it will bolt right on. The firebird centerlinks came in two styles both being rebuilable. The joints are in the centerlink were as the camaro the centerlink is non rebuildable. The firebird pitman arm is also curved like a hook. Here is a picture of the 2 firebird centerlinks vs the camaro. The camaro is the small diameter, there is also a large diameter. The exact sizes are not coming to me. Maybe someone will chime in. You can also see the difference in the idler. I forgot to take a picture of the pitman arm. The inner tie rod ends of the firebird also have an offset to them. Dave pozzis site makes a lot of sense of all the different camaro front end parts. Hope this helps.

[David Pozzi]

Do you mind if I post that photo on my web page?
I'd like to reference some Firebird components there too.

I've heard of the differences, but no one has provided photos.
My books show 68 Firebirds to be the same as Camaro, at least as far as steering linkage goes.

Did 69 firebirds use larger drum brakes?
David

[ls1 nova]

Feel free to use the pics. I got all my info and parts from Jim at rare parts. He is very nowledgible an was very willing to help. I purhased all these parts when I was fitting a stock f-body ls1 pan in a 1rst gen frame. Firebird parts are not cheap as compared to camaro!
Not sure about the brakes but rare parts web site has tons of pics.

By the way, Your site is great. Helped me a ton!
Thanks

[Poochie]

Since I've got most of it apart, I can take some pictures and measurements if you like.

Cheers,
Ken

[David Pozzi]

Ken,
I'd love to have some pics of any parts that differ from Camaro parts.

Do the inner tie rod ends line up with the rear A arm bolts like a Camaro? Are the steering arms the same? How about pitman arm length?

David

[BKB1969]

David I was on your site researching for the IROC box upgrde and just measured the pitman arm on my Bird.* It looks to be 5.8".* I hope this helps.* I will be doing the swap in a couple of weeks snd can measure or take photos for dimensional refrerence if you want.Brian

[zman1969]

I believe the firbirds different offset is to be the "Widetrac" maybe wider front brake shoes too? honestly i never compared the shoes. the firstgen firebird rear end is wider than the same camaro rear by 1". WIDETRAC baby! and yes its a 8.2 bop rear with bolt in axles and their posis were usually 4 pinion and can take alot more abuse than the chevrolet 10 bolt 8.2". thank god for the corporate 8.5 10 bolt (Nova) they do bolt in firebirds but are a "narrowed" rear end- same as camaro

[MrQuick]

Thats right, 61" wide if I remember right. Same as the GTO abody. Some 69 firebird rears even had the upper ears for the GTO/A body upper arms.

I believe what made the BOP 8.2 stronger than the chevy version was the larger pinion shaft which was another weak point of the Chevy unit.