Ok, I was fiddling around in my garage and stumbled across this little tidbit.
I think GM made so many changes they sometimes came around and screwed up - made something that could be swapped by accident.
Here is one of those crazy examples.
Ok, I admit I'm a little ....well...different. So I happen to have a set of Cimarron aluminum wheels I use on the wagon during the summer months:
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And recently I was able to get a set of aluminum wheels for my Pontiac coupe. If you look carefully, you'' be able to notice some wag put little "peace signs" in the middle of the center caps.
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So, I lucked out and found a spare set of those little center caps on EBay. They were $35, but hey, where else are you even gonna find a set of em!
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So today I happened to pop one of those caps out to take a look at it and just see if I could scrape off that peace sign.I did, in fact, but the rest of the cap is faded and it still shows up anyways. Upon inspecting it I dug out a spare Caddy center cap....and Voilą...wadda ya know, they are the same darn size. Guess you can call this one a stupid GM trick. If anyone happends to have one or the other, or all you can find is....well, now you know you can swap these crazy things if ya happen to need to. At least I'm gonna knock out those Caddy centers and just use the blank centers on my Cimarron aluminum wheels. Now they won't look quite so tacky :-)
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Interesting info Orlen. I guess you would know the answer to my question. I have a lead on a 1986 Cimarron as a donor for the Cimarron Convertible project I am contemplatiing. I know that most parts interchange with the Cavalier but, today I learned the 86 Cimarron has 14 inch wheels. So the wheels can just swap right over with no problems?
Has the rear sway bar like the f41 on the type 10 Cavs.
How hard is it to make these fold like the two door seats?
Orlen-
I love the Cimmaron rims on the wagon
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The center caps also interchange with some newer pontiac rims. There is a pic of my bird with the 16" Gran Am rims off a 96. Those caps interchange also. I was able to get a new set of those caps and sand off the failing clearcoat on my turbo rims and they look like a million bucks (to me anyways).
John - I think you can make your seats recline by replacing the outboard recliner mechanism. I just did this on my bird seats as they were flipping forward at hard stop. The 14" rims should swap over no problem. I am pretty sure they are the 5x100 bolt pattern, just like the rest of the js.
That's what I thought. It was just a surprise to me that an 86 had 14's. I thought all 1'st gens were 13's.
Can I cut regular bumper covers to replace the fillers on the bumpers?
Has a digital dash... The only thing that works is the tach and volts.
Yep, Paul is spot on. 14" wheels swap - no problems. You can probably use 13" on the Caddy as well, I don't think there are any brake differences. In fact, I think I popped the pads off a Cimirron at the yard that are on my Pontiac. Also Paul is cookin' on the seats. a very easy , enjoyable job. I have 4dr seats converted over in my Pontiac Coupe as well - work great :-)
Hey Paul!! Told ya some of those Caddies had the sway bars!! Hope you find one under that one you have at your local yard!! :-)
Your BIGGEST problem is gonna be that digital dash. Lord , don't EVEN consider swapping it over to the analog gauges - you'd be in for a terrible experience. I've encountered more wiring issues than I ever thought I'd experience :-( I'm not gonna give you hope that the Chevrolet electronic gauges will swap in place of those Caddy ones - the wiring differences are so outrageous in these J-Bodies. Plug 'n PRAY!
I'm thinkin' the Caddy at my yard is also an '86. I might be able to help you out with those bumper corners. I don't remember them being damaged on mine. Also, if memory serves, I think Paul's Caddy had a tan interior. You might be in luck on some of your parts needs.
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The interior on the Cim I am considering is near perfect, so I will have just about everything I need in that area. I think I will just swap the dash pad as the only digital that seems to work on the Cim is the tach and volts (the odometer reads 0000000). Also the electronic climate control also scares me. There is only 1 bumper corner that is good. Also the motor has a skip (2.8). The kid selling said he replaced the distributor???? Was this a known issue with the 2.8? It was his grandparents car until 2 years ago and it ran good until one day driving at highway speed it lost power.
If it lost power and said distributor was (cough) replaced sounds like it might be out of time by one tooth,or the electronic ignition control module is screwed up.I would check the timing and the coil packs both would kill power.
John Masson (84conv) wrote:That's what I thought. It was just a surprise to me that an 86 had 14's. I thought all 1'st gens were 13's.
1st gen Cavaliers had a 14" Steel wheel option
All of the 1st gen Jbodies had 14" aluminum wheel options at least by 1985 and later. In fact any wheel from 1st,2nd or 3rd gen Jbodies should fit without any issues, also I believe wheels from N-bodies and Beretta/Corsica & Fiero's have the 5x100 bolt pattern will fit too.
1980's GM digi dashs are junk. The '89 Cutlass we had had one, we hit a small bump in the road and it knocked the speedometer out, surprisingly never got a speeding ticket even though we always had to guess how fast we were going.
Orlen why not just paint the centercaps black and then paint the pontiac arrow or buy some stickers from Phoenix Graphics, I think they still sell center cap stickers. If anything you can print the pontiac arrow and use that as a stencil with double sided tape or use a rubber band to hold it on the center cap while you spray paint them.
Thanks for the idea, Spike. These wheels already come with "Pontiac" spelled on them!! And these are 14"as well.
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Orlen-
In case you were interested, those rims were designed by Modern Wheel and were available with color keyed inserts in silver, black, or dark grey. Mine are dark grey.
Well, I managed to find a second set of them at the yard a couple of weeks ago. They were actually on - get this....an Oldsmobile Calais!!
Guess it pays to scout around. Trying to get stuff like this while I can. The world has been changing , and China is sucking the scrap out of this country. This yard sells these wheels for $25 ea. The scrap man here pays $15 ea. for any aluminum wheel, so I feel I'm getting a pretty good deal at just $10 over scrap. While none of them are on A-1 condition, well...LOL neither are the cars they are going on too.
Maybe Paul can elaborate a little on what he used to polish his up. I figured I'd polish a set and paint the other - when I get the time. Now at least they got a home and aren't on a ship heading for China!!
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