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Post by wally324 on Dec 13, 2014 22:21:39 GMT -5
I'm continuing to make plans for my '65 Convertible. It seems to make sense to make the conversion from front drums to discs. Does it make sense to also convert the rears to discs? Has anyone used the Summit Racing 11" disc conversions? If so, were the fronts sufficient or do you think it would be wise to go four wheel discs? What size wheels did you have to use to clear the disc brake conversion?
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Post by Big Mike on Dec 13, 2014 22:50:58 GMT -5
Just changing the fronts to disc makes a world of difference. If you have the budget, I'd say do it. Can't have enough braking for me.
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Post by oldolds88 on Dec 14, 2014 0:04:34 GMT -5
80s f body rear discs fit with minor modifications.
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Post by 64b09 on Dec 14, 2014 0:16:40 GMT -5
I'd say it's a good idea.
I plan on switching to 69-72 front discs on my car. It can be relatively cheap if you have a donor car to get the parts off of. I have the pulled the spindles etc off my old 71 Vista for my car. I'm going to swap them over this winter. I already ditched the suicide master.
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Post by wally324 on Dec 14, 2014 13:45:05 GMT -5
Just changing the fronts to disc makes a world of difference. If you have the budget, I'd say do it. Can't have enough braking for me. I figure brakes are more important than power, if you can't stop there is no need for power. From what I'm reading here it might be pretty cheap to go 4 wheel discs.
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Post by wally324 on Dec 14, 2014 13:48:54 GMT -5
80s f body rear discs fit with minor modifications. Oldolds88, Would you expand on the minor modifications? Have you done this? I'm probably going to hit the recycle yards in search of parts. How much do I need to take off the donor car? Thanks, Wally
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Post by wally324 on Dec 14, 2014 13:54:53 GMT -5
I'd say it's a good idea. I plan on switching to 69-72 front discs on my car. It can be relatively cheap if you have a donor car to get the parts off of. I have the pulled the spindles etc off my old 71 Vista for my car. I'm going to swap them over this winter. I already ditched the suicide master. 64b09, Do you know if the fronts are limited to only the 69-72 GMs? I gave away a '78 Olds Cutlass, wonder if those fronts would have worked? With discs aren't you going to need a power brake master cylinder? Could you post some pictures as you make the conversion? Thanks, Wally
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Post by 64b09 on Dec 14, 2014 15:40:32 GMT -5
I'd say it's a good idea. I plan on switching to 69-72 front discs on my car. It can be relatively cheap if you have a donor car to get the parts off of. I have the pulled the spindles etc off my old 71 Vista for my car. I'm going to swap them over this winter. I already ditched the suicide master. 64b09, Do you know if the fronts are limited to only the 69-72 GMs? I gave away a '78 Olds Cutlass, wonder if those fronts would have worked? With discs aren't you going to need a power brake master cylinder? Could you post some pictures as you make the conversion? Thanks, Wally
From what I remember of what I've read, the gbody discs aren't a direct bolt on. The taper of the ball joints and/or the tie rod ends is different. Also the discs are smaller. On the 69-72 setup you pretty much take off the old spindle with the drum brake on and replace it with the new spindle withe the disc bake on. Also changing the brake hose and you also need a prop valve of some sort. I'll be using an adjustable one. And swap to a dual res master if you haven't already. And no they don't have to be power, there were factory manual disc brakes back in the day. Not sure if I'm gonna put a power booster on or not yet.
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Post by oldolds88 on Dec 14, 2014 17:13:51 GMT -5
the f body rear discs just need the bolt holes enlongated so it will bolt onto the axle flange, i believe we used the rotors from it too. the brackets came from a 80 something firebird. we put them on the neighbors racecar. on mine i used 79 cadillac rear disc brackets and 77 cutlass front calipers. switched rt to left and left to right so the bleeder screws point up. the f body we used metric calipers switched rt to lft. also he died in july so i cant get pics of it,yet.im supposed to get them back when the car is sold. i can get pics then.
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Post by oldolds88 on Dec 14, 2014 17:16:33 GMT -5
these were put on 81/2" 10 bolt rear axles,with c clips. they will work on bolt in axle also. may have to have the axle flange turned down a bit to fit the drum.
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Post by mongoose on Dec 15, 2014 9:19:15 GMT -5
"Pretty cheap" is relative to each person, so it really depends on what your desires are, what you're willing to pay for it, and what your skills are.
You can source your disc-upgrade parts from junk yards, or you can by new aftermarket. There's the standard '69-'72 A-body swap for the front, which pushes the hub out about 5/8" on each side. That can become a problem for tire fitment as you start to get rubbing issues on the fender trim. I can't remember the name of the company at the moment, but I did come across a company that produces a kit for the front that uses the stock drum brake spindle, and keeps the hubs in the same position as the stock drum set up, which will help for wheel/tire choice. In most cases you'll probably have to use at least 15" diameter wheels with any disc brake set up, but I think I've seen an aftermarket setup that will still clear a 14" wheel (but I could be hallucinating).
For the rears there are some aftermarket bolt-in setups. Junk yard sourcing will require some welding skills I think. There are some other guys on our form that have done something similar, so hopefully they're chime in. I know therobski did something with B-body spindles, and other junkyard stuff, and I think it improves geometry and minimize track width.
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Post by Big Mike on Dec 15, 2014 12:34:55 GMT -5
I've heard guys in my Olds club say that 1980-84 or 85 Cadillac Sevilles, the ones with the slant back, are direct bolt on rear disc conversions for A-bodies, but have no first hand experience. Here is a link to info on this swap; www.mpbrakes.com/docs/orig-guides/DB1791BR-INSTALLATION%20INSTRUCTIONS.pdfHere is another article that mentions using 77-79 Seville parts. These year cars also had Olds fuel injected V8's www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/2007/06/01/hmn_feature23.htmlI think the company that Mongoose is talking about is bird parts, or something similar? They used yo advertise and sell on eBay all the time. They made brackets and mounts to put discs of A-bodies using the drum spindles.
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Post by oldstata on Dec 15, 2014 22:03:30 GMT -5
From my understanding the 90's s-10 and camaro/ fire birds rear disk is bolt in to the a body rear ends I will see if I can find it again in the Chevelle sight
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Post by oldstata on Dec 15, 2014 22:08:14 GMT -5
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Post by oldolds88 on Dec 15, 2014 23:57:34 GMT -5
i think youre thinking of scarebird. they do the brackets for almost anything.everything else is going to be normal parts.
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Post by mongoose on Dec 16, 2014 6:07:37 GMT -5
Scarebird (https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=108) wasn't the site I remember finding... but it sure looks like it'll work! Whatever I had found previously had complete kits using factory-style rotors and calipers. I didn't look through the Scarebird site, so they may have all the parts for a complete kit as well, but even just having a bracket and instructions on what parts you need to make it work is nice.
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Post by Big Mike on Dec 16, 2014 9:07:33 GMT -5
i think youre thinking of scarebird. they do the brackets for almost anything.everything else is going to be normal parts. Scarebird, yes that's exactly what I was thinking about. Thanks.
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Post by oldstata on Dec 16, 2014 21:04:17 GMT -5
"I know therobski did something with B-body spindles, and other junkyard stuff, and I think it improves geometry and minimize track width. Yes, therobski used the b body brakes for the front if memory serves me he had to machine the lower ball joint to fit as well as he had a list of parts he needed, like the tie rods and what nots I think he used the iroc rotors and everything cost right around 500 from my understanding I would look up his build or ask him directly
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Post by alldun5 on Dec 21, 2014 0:11:03 GMT -5
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Post by wally324 on Dec 21, 2014 9:27:20 GMT -5
I want to thank everyone that has contributed to this discussion. Would it be possible to document the various possibilities, required modifications, etc. on this site for future use by anyone wanting to make the conversion? I would like to ask anyone making the conversion to document it in pictures and a written description of the process. This looks like a very popular conversion and would be a good start to a "Techno" site on the board. Thanks, Wally
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