57 thru 60 upper ball joint compatability

[Quentin Hall]

I am rebuilding my 57 Biarritz front end and was going to buy the full kit but after dissassembly it appears that all are in very good cond except for some minor play in the uppers. Going on ebay  I see 71 Chevy ball joints selling for $25 a pair and 57 Cadillac $200 a pair. . . . but they look the same. Anybody know if there is Hollander interchange , that says they are or aren't? or any other interchange options? Thanks Q 

[Roger Zimmermann]

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question. They certainly are looking the same, maybe the Cadillac ones are larger. As I have also a Chevrolet parts book, I noticed that the part number is different.

[Warren Rauch #4286]

 I checked a Moog book and it too says Cadillac 57-60 ball joints are by themselves. They did sell adjustable ones for the lowers except series 86,75. I've seen some conversion kits, but don't remember upper or lower. You reuse the pin and part of the shell . They supply a plate that has a threaded disc that you screw up to the pin to remove the play. I always wondered if they worked well on a big car like a cadillac. Warren

[Quentin Hall]

Thanks Warren, I suspected as much. These 57 thru 60 ball joints are underengineered where it counts using only thin gauge metal on the outer cup. The huge forces of the Cadillac weight tends to flange out the top cup rather than wear it out. Anything is only as good as the weakest link in the chain.

[David King (kz78hy)]

Hey Q

I am rare parts reseller and will sell all the parts you need for 20 bucks over my cost per order.  Rare Parts are USA made and first rate quality.

They have everything you might need for Cadillac in those years.  I have had them make some of the Brougham stuff and they have almost everything for them.

Rareparts.com

Let me know if you need anything and I can provide a quote.

David

[Grant Owen]

Quentin , I would have to go along  with what David said. If I haven't got NOS suspension parts I will always use Rareparts .
The Chinese suspension parts that are sold on ebay by some sellers for over inflated prices are JUNK I have seen them fail within a month.

[Quentin Hall]

That's a very good offer David,
       Let me get back home to Brisbane next week and I'll have a rummage in my left over box to see if I haven't got a better pair. Failing that I'll be in touch. I said uppers , I realise now it's the lowers I need. 
          I used to work beside an oldtime suspension shop in Brisbane and used to take my 57 Cadillac there for wheel alignments, one day I went to the back room to say hello and there were boxes and boxs of NOS 40s and 50s Cadillac susp bits . I had a fit and asked if I could buy them all. NO no no! The cranky old timer said he was saving them for a rainy day. I said "I am that rainy day". NO no no! Anyhow the business got sold and by the time I found out the new guys had thrown it all in the skip and it was gone.