Disc Brake Spindles???

[damelot85]

Hey guys I'm new the buick world. I just purchased a 64 Electra 225 with a 401 and auto trans. I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me if any full size GM disc brake front spindles of similar years would bolt up or if I need to find something specific. And also what is the trans in this car becuase upon my initial inspection it doesn't look like any Gm trans that i recognize(i'm to young to know anything other than a turbo350/400) any help is greatly appreciated.

David

[tmcclu]

David,

There are currently no factory spindles that bolt into your 64 Big Buick. That being said, there are a couple of solutions that you can look into. First off, a good quality rebuild of your stock brakes may be all that is needed to get good brakes in your Buick, as the aluminum drums were "state of the art" for drum brakes in the 1960's and work surprisingly well for stock applications. For safety reasons, many Big Buick Guys mount a 1967 or newer master cylinder and booster to get a dual master system, a major safety gain over the original single system. If you must have discs, then you have a couple of options. One is a very well engineered kit from Austrailia that uses modern GM rotors and calipers and runs about $1600. Another option is a set of caliper brackets that show up on ebay every couple of months that use some late model GM calipers and rotors that you supply, these go for about $100, but you need to supply everything else. There was also a place in California that made some kits for your vintage Buicks, maybe someone else could help you out with some contact info. The swap to disc brakes require a change of master cylinder and likely booster as well. If you have the original transmission, it is a turbo 400.
Good Luck with your project!
Tim McCluskey

[GStage1]

I don't know if the TH400 was available in 64?? Should be a Super Turbine 400, switch pitch 400.

As for disc brakes, you will need to contact www.inlinetube.com and see if they sell a line kit for you. Also, contact Skip at www.tsmmfg.com and he should have a solution for you.

[tmcclu]

George,
The Super Turbine (ST)400 is virtually identical to the THM 400. The SP 400 is a Switch Pitch THM 400 that has a dual position stator in the torque converter and 1965 was the first year for that. That being said, who know what could have been swapped in or out over 40 years? The nailheads have a very unique bell housing pattern so not a lot of transmissions bolt up directly.
Tim McCluskey