Upper and Lower Ball joints.

Does anyone know about interchangability with other GM models regarding upper and Lower Ball joints? The '59 Chevy Biscayne units look very similar, but I'm not certain they would work. Nobody locally seems to be able to find these for the Pontiac. They have three hole mounting for the upper, press in for the lower. I have the right tools for pressing the lowers in. The tops need to be drilled/ sheared and bolted. The Blue Bomber has the original joints top and bottom. Not too bad for 51 years old and "only" 112,000 miles...The bottoms are still good, but the tops are a little shifty. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just buy the correct ones from Kanter. haha Before I got mine from Kanter I remember Advance auto was able to order them. I ended up buying a whole front end kit from Kanter

Grind/drill out the rivets and bolt the new ones in. I used a grinder and a punch. I ground off the tops and used a punch and a hammer and hammered those things out. It was a bitch

What do you mean pressing in the lowers? The lowers use the same rivets as the tops do and the replacements bolt in just like the replacement tops.

I have replaced ball joints before on other vehicles, a lot of ball joints are not buck riveted in place. They must be perssed out and pressed in with a special tool. It looks like a giant c-clamp and different size "cups" to fit around or onto the joints themselves to push them out. I have not gotten the lowers yet, so I was not sure if they were buck riveted or press in style. I need to scrape through 51 years of grease just to find them! I just did the lift wobble test before I took the drums off to check the brakes and bearings. The brakes are new as are the ball bearings. Thanks for the info on kanter, I will check them out.

Na all 4 of these are riveted. Not too big of a deal

When it comes to suspension parts, purchase Moog, Rare Parts, or OEM (NOS) ONLY!! Everything else is junk!

I don't think Moog makes all the parts for our cars and OE parts are hard to find and I've only heard good things about the Kanter kits. Everything else I've heard about Kanter is bad though

I personally know an old guy that bought Kanters suspension kit for his 57 Olds. He said the entire suspension was shot and sloppy after 30K miles. He said something about the parts being made in Africa? I can't remember. He replaced everything with Moog and Rare Parts (both available at Napa) and everything has been great. According to him, he's not the only one who's unhappy with Kanters cheaply made susp. parts.

I have a mishmash of Moog, Rare Parts, and NOS suspension parts. But then again, I've been checking Ebay for '59 Pontiac parts 3 times a day, everyday, since 2002.

We'll see how mine goes. So far it's probably got 50' on it from being pushed in and out of the garage haha We'll see at 30k

I hope you have better luck!!

Sorry to respond so slowly, but sometimes life gets in the way! Anyway..I did locate some NOS ball joints here in Portland. They were a bit spendy, $50.00 each for the uppers and $75.00 for the lowers. Now let me rant about the good and bad of NOS parts. They are great for many things, where parts are too old to be found at the local parts store or 100 point show cars where period correctness abounds, where rivets must be used instead of bolts like on replacement ball joints, spring hangers..etc.. Electrical parts from these cars will be fine to use from old stock, as well as other "hard" parts that do not age. I have found things like water pumps and aforementioned ball joints don't fair so well when they have been stored for 50+ years in their original packaging. The water pump seals and bearings dry out and become, well useless. You still have the original cost of buying the part, having it rebuilt and so on and so on...The original ball joints have some sort of paper packing wrapped inside of the joint itself, which is immersed in grease. The ones I purchased have been stored for the last 50 yrs and have deteriorated to such a state that they are now mere shelf stock, I cannot use them at all. I only purchased the uppers, so I am only out $100, but my point is I ended up in the end, buying them from Baxter's (like Napa, only better..I refuse to shop at Napa..Hint: Not All Parts Available) They have given me more headaches than I care to remember! Just my Two cents.....

So NOS is no good, now what?

And around here NAPA is your best bet. Not the cheapest but usually the best

I suppose I need to clarify; I am not saying there is anything wrong with using NOS parts, but when it comes to safety and reliability, when parts are stored for 50+ years, buying new modern produced parts is the way to go. I would see no problem using the NOS ball joints I bought if the car was not going to be driven, but trailered to say, a concourse event for judging. But after I bought them (I cannot return them) and inspected them, they are too deteriorated to be used. Now, on the subject of the water pump, a friend bought a NOS water pump for his 1948 Buick Roadmaster, to keep it correct, he paid $250 only to spend another $200+ to have it rebuilt because the seal was dried and unusable. I am fortunate enough to have a Brother in Law who owns a company that does such rebuilding of water pumps, brake and clutch linings for just about anything with an engine. I have purchased many NOS parts off ebay without any problem, but will be careful when it comes to safety as opposed to just using them for authenticity.......I also compared the Rare Parts ($70.00) ball joint and one from Parts Master (My wholesale cost of $9.87) yes, $9.87!! The two parts were exactly the same in construction! The numbers and markings stamped on the joint were exactly identical, just in a different box! I don't have an answer as to "Why", but marketing and brand recognition comes to mind...

Hi,

I want to change my front parts.

What do you think of this kit?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-End-Suspension-Kit-1959-59-1960-60-Pontiac-NEW-/200852531011?fits=Year:1959|Make:Pontiac&hash=item2ec3be6743&item=200852531011&pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

Kanter is better ?

Thank you for the information.

I'll take care of ordering the kit.

But a health problem prevents me to mount this kit on the car.
It will be for February 2013.

http://www.ramairrestoration.com/pontiac/1959/catalina-bonneville-executive-star-chief-grand-ville-grand-prix/59-63-pontiac-b-body-catalina-bonne-ball-joint-kit-2upper-2lower.html

I ordered these today, they look stout.
I will report back. Disc brake kit also ordered. This all started as a paint job

I received the kit, at glance it seems to be of good quality and good price.

I did not replace it immediately. I reserve it for future restoration