FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi all I read somewhere on this forum that HR-HD front ends are not the same,and there is 'HR' stamped on the swing arms somewhere is this correct and if so where ? And if using Studtech drop axles (2in) do i get HR standard height  springs or lowered, and heavy duty because of V8
Thanks Gordon

HR hd front ends are the same the wishbones are slightly longer (HD) you can use lowered springs with dropped stubs depends on how low you want to go
regards fatboy

Gordon I had a NOS HD AND A HR lower wishbone and measured them a year or two ago and posted the difference  but under what topic it was  ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? .........FC427.......

yeah ive read it on hear somewhere ,just have to keep looking
Thanks

Stamped between ball joint and where spring seats bottom side

Yep, HR lower wishbones have HR stamped into them. It is quite prominent, easy to find, underneath. They are about 1cm longer than HD wishbones between the pivot point and the balljoint hole.

Colin.

Hi if you search 'NOS HR HD wishbones' the thread started by Waynos oct 27 2007 the information in there suggests i have 1 hr lower and 1 hd lower wishbone
The photos show one is 5 mm longer than the other, one has a rolled lip the other doesnt, and i cant find HR stamped on them
(http://i.imgur.com/HDrmQAF.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/XCzGzzY.jpg?1)
(http://i.imgur.com/gXE37Ls.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/jswNf9d.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ow5j545.jpg)
Anyone Help
Thanks Gordon

I can't tell but better you get it sorted now then have all sorts of dramas later!

I think it is on the metal beside the ball joint where you haven't cleaned

Ken

After a better clean up i found HR stamped on one only,and going by the information in the old thread which was -
'I now have a N/O/S HD lower wish bone and a N/O/S HR lower wish bone I will measure them up and post my findings the only visable difference is the HD has the top lip near the steering stop rolled down and the HR is just flat but can not detect any other visable differences  FC427'  And  this
'Have just measured the wish bones up and from my measurements the HR is longer than the HD by 204 thousands of an inch [roughly 4.5 mm] but I am pretty sure that there would have been some discreptency in manufacture but how much I would be only guessing'

So going by this and the one with HR stamped on it is 5mm longer than the other and does not have a rolled over edge near the steering stop i Have one of each
So can anyone tell me going by these photos do i have Drivers side or pass side
(http://i.imgur.com/uzFU69S.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/qVsYPR9.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/GGFCQMt.jpg)

The last photo is the one marked HR
Thanks Gordon

Gordon sway bar mount to the front  ??? ???.....FC427.......

so its a left one

Hi thanks like i said before don't know to much about modifying cars, just learning alone the way Now does anyone have a right side one for sale ?
Gordon

If you have one of each measure between the ball joint hole centre and the pivot pin centre. Rig up a piece of string or something. The HR one will be slightly longer in this dimension.

Colin.

Where are you Gordon?  I have a left and right here, no further use, yours if you want them.  I am in Ballarat.  Graeme

hey colt, is that your car on your profile pic, if so do u have a good pic of the true colour?

Yep, it is my car, painted a few years now. From memory it's a VN colour. I'll see if I still have the tin. There's a few pics of it on the forum somewhere.

Colin.

My fc van always get me back home but sometimes i need a nurofen and a lie down when i get home.Recently had reason to travel about 160km to help a friend with his fc and on the way home a bit of a scare.Have a standard HR disc frontend and the 5 phillips head bolts that retain the disc rotor to hub came loose .This resulted in the shearing of the heads leaving the threaded remains of the bolts still screwed inside the hub.The symptoms were,a nasty wobble in the steering , a vibration that shakes the wax from my ears and a noise under brake like you have no wheel bearings.Now here is my question[I have temporarily fix the issue] and i probably should put this in tech. has this happened to anyone  else and is there a simple solution without changing stubs.

I doubt that easy outs and stuff would work given they are rusted in (the ones that werent loose   ???). Not sure what "Philips head" ones your talking about really  You could weld, re drill and re-tap, but for the cost of new parts relatively cheap, I wouldn't muck around, there are blokes on here that have parts u need and hr stuff is everywhere. Dont stuff around with the lives of others for the sake of replacing the parts as needed. And a "temporary fix" sounds like it shouldnt be on the road at all in my opinion.

For the most part i find the information posted on this forum helpful and well intended.I have driven and repaired old holdens all my life[at least since i was approx 4years old]have worked in garages and for dealerships so when i put this out there it was as a warning of what can happen.I was referring to the five 3/8 unf phillips csk headed bolts that fasten the hub to the disc rotor,they have a spiggoted[ or star ] washer tapered under the head and if you over tighten or retighen them too many times the washer becomes useless then they can loosen .As this is all that retaines the rotor to the hub ,when the brakes are applied these bolts will shear leaving the threaded stud remains in the rotor but because its loose when this happens they are not that hard to remove.My temperary fix [you claimed was dangerous] was to replace these studs with bolts all the way through and put nuts on the back while i found replacement bolt now seeming to only be available in allen keyed heads.I had thought of replacing the rotors and hubs with torana but this would mean also the stubs and callipers and a great pile of wheel alighnment spacers on the towers .Does anyone know if you can space between the rotor and the torana  hub for correct backspace to calliper and whether the hr calliper is wide enough to take the torana disc[dont think so].One more thing,i have had this fc for 30 years and am the second owner.Floor ,sills,doors and body are all original and its never had any rust issues.

Hi, sorry you may have got the wrong idea, I though it was a question not a warning statement, but better that people err on the side of caution with the little info or context i had about the repair. I have seen all sorts of dodgy things in my time, often people will reuse things and put locktite in a thread that is damaged etc (rather than using it for its proper purpose) or will have 4 studs/bolts holding something on instead of 5 and they drive around like that. So essentially we are in agreement that the problem is using parts not suitable for service anymore. So that's a great message to send out to fellow enthusiasts of these vehicles. I am not as familiar with hr fronts as you probably are and I have only ever seen the Allen key screws or proper recessed bolts in such componentry.  I did indicate that I was not sure of the what you meant by those screws with the  ??? symbol. I wonder what the manual says about whether to replace those bits? I know it definitely says in there for the FC front end associated hub/wheel bolts to inspect for service etc.

I would highly recommend people have a look at their car manuals and try not to rush jobs (not to say that anyone is but this can lead to errors) when they are working on critical areas. Better still, its good to have a read, then have a think and forward plan as to what problems may arise when modifying your vehicle. Even not torquing up wheels properly, in combination with the disk thickness being too thin, can cause more mechanical advantage and strain to be placed on components not designed for certain thrusts, especially fault or incorrectly adjusted wheel bearings. People also need to ensure that they "read between the lines", like look at the finer details in their manuals about cleaning and surface preparation. The following article is also very good for generic rules around these components.

http://www.acdelco.com.au/PDFs/Catalogue_ACDelco_Rotors.pdf