Finished putting disk brakes on the 64 Riv tonight.Used the brackets from Scarebird.Worked out very well.I havent test drove it yet so maybe I should'nt say that o No: ,but I do have pedlle :TU: .Hardest part of the swap was pluming the proportioning valve and duel resivoir master cylinder .I'll test them out tomorrow so if you never here from me again I guess they did'nt work ou: :laugh: Jeff
Did you use the 67 Riviera master cylinder or something else? Let us know how it works as I am considering doing the same thing since it is much less expensive than the RRS system but you know what they say... you get what you pay for. I'm converting to a 96 B-body master cylinder and booster if I don't have to cut too much stuff up to do it. It'll allow me to run a disc front drum rear till I get my 8.5" 30-spline 10-bolt built then just do a mod to the block and have the rear brake bias fixed.
Definitely interested in how they work out. I have been looking at the Scarebird conversion for my 62 Electra for a while now, but haven't had the time to do it yet.
Test drive and I'm still alive The brakes work great. :TU: To coin a phrase"Stop on a dime and give you 9 cents change".I went to the bone yard and got a proportioning vavle from a mid 70's cutlass.The hardest part was finding a master cylinder.I pulled off about 9 or 10 before I found one that would work.The rod that comes out of the booster goes up into a hole in the master cylinder piston.Most of the master cylinders I looked at were almost flush with the mounting flange,then by pure accident I pulled one off a 78 Olds Cutlass.I knew it did'nt look like it should have ben on that car as I had looked at others of the same vintage.At least I knew it would bolt up and the plunger would fit.Back at the parts store after much investagating we were able to get the correct # 's,but still had no idea what it came off of.Luckily they had one in stock they had ordered for a customer that was identical to the one I got at the junkyard.So we called the guy that had ordered it to find that it was for a 74 Chevy Nova.It bolted right up to the origanal brake booster and works fine.I havent drove the car alot yet,but the brakes lock up correctly and it power brakes the way it should.Peddle is nice and tight also.So anyone contimplating this project.The brackets from Scarebird were only $115 shipped and went on easily.All the other parts are over the counter or boneyard parts.I have less than $300 in the entire job and a great improvement over stock.At least now if I blow a brake line at 90 plus I will still have brakes.The most diffacult part of the entire job is plumbing the proportioning vavle.That was a PITA.Just remember to get the bolts with the proportioning vavle as they are self tapping.I mounted mine just behind the steering box.Best thing is now I have a 64 Riviera with an option you could not get,does'nt that make it "rare" :laugh:
Yo Jeff! Very well done! OK, now I know my next winter's project! So, I have some questions for you..... 1) What calipers did you use? 2) What rotors did you use? 3) What hubs did you use? If you just ground off the rivets and used your old front drum hubs, did you have to have any machine work done? 4) What rubber brake lines did you use? 5) What other tricks and hardware had to be done (aside from the proportioning valve)? Thanks!!!!!! And NICE JOB!
I used calipers from a 71 to 76 Riviera as that is what the instructions from Scarebird called for,but I think calipers from any big GM from 71 to 78 would work.The instuctions also call for rotors from 71 to 76 Riv,but after some part # investagating I found that all big GM's,including 1/2 ton trucks from 78 and back used the same rotors.They are not exspensive,but when you are on a tight budget you save where you can.So with the knowledge in hand while at the boneyard I found a good pair of rotors from a 78 Chevy Pick up,had them turned and used them of course repacking the bearings.The brake lines I used per the instuctions are again 71 to 76 Riv.I don't really like the way they go on,but for now they work fine.I intend to move the hard line to rubber line back a few inches later on as I feel they would fit better.I have since drove the car and the brakes work great.Putting the brackets on does throw the alighnment off and the instuctions tells you how to address this problem by turning the adjustment sleeves,which I did,but I think it is still out some.It was probably out in the first place.I intend to rebuild the front end so I will have that isssue resolved then.All in all this was a inexspensive way to bring my Riviera braking system into this century and all the parts used are easily replaced.
EXCELLENT! Thanks for the info! But I still don't know what you did for hubs. Did you knock the center out of your drum and use the hub? If so, did it have to be turned down or machined in any way? I kind of doubt a hub from a 78 truck will fit on our spindles. Thanks.
The 78 rotors come as one peice and yes they do fit our spindles.I even checked the bearing #'s from the drum rotor against the ones from the disk rotor.Same bearings.The only differance is the size of the wheel centering hole.The bracket kit comes with a pair of spacer rings so you can run the original Riviera wheels.I did not use them as I am running aftermarket wheels on my car.You can buy the rotors new for around $30 each,the only reason I used the ones from the boneyard was to save a few dollars as I am on a budget here,besides after I had them turned (which did'nt cost me anything because I spend so much at the parts store they did them for free) :laugh: they were as good as new.As I said in the previos post the kit calls for 71 to 76 Riviera rotors,but I did some checking of part #'s on the internet and discovered all big GM's from 78 back used the same front rotors.I then called Scarebird just to be sure and the guy there told me I was right,they just tell people to buy the one's for a Riviera because it sounds better.This is a relatively easy swap and what makes it great is no exspensive aftermarket parts are needed.I guess brakes from Wildwood would be better,but at more than 4 times the cost o No: my car stops just fine and its not like I intend to road race it.All I know is that for the cost and the amount of time invested(a weekend) my car stops staight as an arrow and no more adjusting the front brakes,which it seems are never "just right".Jeff Cain
What diameter rotors are you using? I'm curious as I found (literally found) a set of 12" rotors that work on our type of spindle. I thought I remembered hearing that the Scarebird kit used 11" rotors for our type, but I'm not sure. o No:
I am not sure either,never measured them. o No: The ones I used were standard 78 Chevy 1/2 ton truck,but I never measured them.If I get a chance I will measure them tomorrow.Jeff
Hey Jeff, Did you ever get to measure the diameter of the rotors? One more question... are the wheel lugs on the rotors a 5 on 5 pattern so our big Buick wheels fit OK?
No,I have'nt measured the rotors yet,but I will try to do that today ou: Yes the rotors /hubs are 5 on 5 bolt pattern so the Riviera wheels fit.The older Riviera wheels had a larger centering hole so if useing original wheels 63/64 not sure about 65, you have to use a centering ring,which are included with the Scarebird kit.I will measure the rotors today and post the results tonight.Hope this helps.Jeff
I'm going to do this conversion as next winter's project! I'll start collecting pieces now so I can have everything ready. And I had noticed how the back side of the backing plates and steering knuckle are covered with gunk (AGAIN!), so that is a good time to give the suspension a good detailing Thanks for all your work on this and I'm going to do a step by step photo shoot of my install to submit to the ROA for the Riview.
I did'nt get time to measure the rotors,but if you have a freidly parts house near by they should have one in stock and be able to get the measurment for you.
Ordered my brackets from Scarebird today. They have a new design that uses 4WD Chevy Astro calipers. The 76 Riv has Hi Performance rotors available at NAPA (according to napaonline.com) for $114 each. They are drilled and slotted! Here is the price breakdown: brackets - $95 delivered (due to go up soon) rotors - $114 ea = $228 calipers w/ hardware and pads - $64 ea = $128 hoses - $25 ea = $50 bearings - $12 ea - $48 brake fluid - $6 With tax it will cost us just under $600 at NAPA with the good rotors. You can save $115 by using the cheap rotors for $56.49 each (= $112.98). These are NAPA prices. AutoZone probably has the calipers, rotors and hoses for less. I don't know if they'll list the Hi Performance rotor though. Not a bad investment!
brakes I converted my 70 electra with the scarebird brackets. It was[is] a pain in the. They lock up randomly. and it took a ton of grinding to get them to fit. Tom p.s Rockauto.com had by far the best prices on all the brake parts. In the case of my roters it was a 60 dollar a peice difference and they were not chinese steel but made in Canada.
I've had no problems with mine locking up,but I did have to do some light grinding on the caliper.Did you change you're proportioning valve?If not that could explain the locking up problem.I have read where some guys had to use an adjustable proportioning valve.I was all prepared to have to do that(even had one saved in my e-bay),but did not have to use one.Jeff
