Thinking of ordering a front Disc brake conversion kit this weekend for my 68 skylark. Doing a complete front end re-build. New inner/outer tie rods,upper/lower ball joints,center link,pitman arm,bushings,sleeves and all. figured might as well get the disc on there while i'm at it.But not sure what kind to get, the ones with master cylinder/booster or with out ? Is it really a major difference in the brakeing with non-power and power brakes. was considering just getting the basic conversion kit for now, "no master/booster", and just use the drum setup master/booster i have now, until additional rear disc brake upgrades in the future. Now can this be done and if i do get a disc conversion can i just use the master/booster i have on the car now, and will there be a difference with the disc on the old brake master/booster ? is this possible?
At first place ask yourself a question.Is it really needed to have disc not drum brakes? Well tuned drum brakes are as good as disc brakes. If discs were so good, big trucks would use them but they dont. :TU:
It is my experience that drums are a little slower to respond and they are horrible when wet. I swapped a car from drum to disc in 80 and it was daylight and dark difference to me. You would really want the right proportioning valve and master cylinder to match your setup. As far as a future rear disc conversion, I'm anxious to see what answers you get there.
I say get the kit WITH the master and booster. Just get the Corvette style master. Later, when you're ready for rear disc, you just need to swap proportioning valves when you sawp to rear discs. -Josh
Ok guys, just got back from Pick-n-Pull, and the complete (350 motor,disc brakes,12 bolt non-posi rear) 72 Monte Carlo, that i was one of the first guys too last week. Is well stripped now !!(Lol) I wanted the disc brakes and considered the 12 bolt but counldn't see removeing them and haveing to clean and re-do them for install on my 68. figured after removeing the brakes, $150 for the disc, and numerous amounts for ball joints, inner/outer tie rods, new brakes, roters turned. i be up to the same amounts of a new cheap disc conversation kits. So thats where i am now, new disc brake conversation kit.
Best advice I've seen on here for awhile.......I run 121 in the 1/4 and still have the original drum set-up....stops fine cuz their adjusted right with good working hardware......oh and I rarely drag race in the rain. I think people just fling the old drums and go disk because it's the "cool" thing to do and most of these guys can't run a number anyway.......k flame me
I have ALWAYS hated drum brakes. Mostly because of the kludge of springs, fasteners and adjustments. Disc brakes are brutally simple without all the futzing around and hold up better in wet conditions. To add to it, if a bearing seal lets go, the car can still be stopped pretty safely.
Experience tells me different. There is a tremendous difference between well-tuned drum brakes versus disc. I've had both on my buicks and the difference was night & day. The notible differences are when I'm slowing down on the off ramp, the disc brakes do NOT fade, unlike the drums which have always faded. The stopping distance is much shorter with disc. I can drive through puddles (in Western Washington, there are water puddles most of the year) and the disc brakes still work, where the drums don't. In a real world day to day driving in all the different climate conditions, disc brakes are the way to go hands down. If you're only going to drive on fair weather days, and only once in a while going to shows and showing off? Then I can see people wanting drums. I've talked to a few people who drag semi-professionally and they like the drums because of less drag and they only have to stop once. But in the stop and go driving and repetitive stopping in the real world driving, again disc are far superior to drums. Cheers,
No flaming needed. Just consider that engineering at all the major auto manufacturers went to disk brakes. Given that drum brakes are cheaper, there must be another reason- safety. Disk brakes provide the following: 1. Constant wiping of the rotor/pad interface, minimizing water intrusion and subsequent fading. 2. Squeezing the rotor, and subsequent heating, increases the stopping power. 3. NASCAR drivers use disk brakes...and burn them up in 500 miles. At a quarter mile at a time, YMMV. Ya wanna be a hard head drag racer, that's cool, but disk brakes are better for most applications.
I run 60 series tires all the way around, have big sway bars and go both left and right at high rates of speed. I quit thinking I was a drag racer when my ET was always slower than my MPH said it should be way back in '92. Discs on the front have saved my bacon numerous times when drums on my old car let me down time and time again. I can change disc pads faster than you can get the drums off a rusty hub and not cuss for 20 minutes with springs, tensioners and misc fasteners that require a Rube Goldberg diagram to put back together. Yes, I like easy, fast and cheap. Usually, you have to pick two but with disc brakes, this is one of the few times you get all three.
Well, a few months back, (out doing my weekly parts shopping and mainly looking for a newer driver door glass) ran across a local guy parting out a 72 Monte Carlo, with the complete disc brake gear still on it. so for $200 he pulls all parts (Master cylinder,booster,p-valve,complete driver/passenger side system and all) and a few hours later has them waiting for me. Now after some more O/T, better weather and some new rotors, upper/lower control arm bushings and ball joints, the complete front end suspension will be done.
Do you have to use 15" wheels? I would like to know if 14" Buick ralley wheels will work with disk brakes.... answer anyone?
Looks like a few of us want to convert to discs, and retain our wonderful lil 14's! :TU: 14's front, 15's rear and people only noticed after I point it out!
The later 14" rallyes from the 80's work just fine. The JJ coded ones. They are more dished out in the back to clear the caliper assembly. I have run the later 14" Buick Rallyes with disc brakes no problem. But the 14" rallyes that came with my '67 GS400 did NOT work with Disc brakes. I hope this helps.
It is. I have the 14" AO rallye wheels that were on the '69-'70 Chevelle SS396s simply because I prefer them to the Buick Rallyes, and the Chevelle SS396s came with disc brakes. I can vouch for the fact that those 14" wheels will fit on a late model S10, because I had them on my Sonoma before I put them on my Skylark, and the only clearance issues I had were the wheel weights kept hitting my upper A-arm. Does anybody know if the calipers and rotors from the '73-'77 cars (and the four piston vette calipers) will fit the '68-'72 disc brake spindles? KFD
After front end work and disc brake set-up. Now noticeing while at a long red-light or slow traffic, brake pedal slowly goes to the floor after long period of presure on it, engine runs steady with no issues, plenty of vaccum from motor, but brake pedal loseing pressure or leaking. after checking for fluid leaks, i'm thinken "booster bad"? front disc and rear drums, what should i go with or the difference in a power booster or manual ? what should or can i go with ?
