I am just finishing up with my rolling chassis and the last thing i need to decide on is the rear brakes. I have everything needed to convert to the larger 2 1/2" rear sportwagon brakes. the only problem is that i would need to buy new wheel cylinders and then have a set of new stainless brake lines made up for the axle. i'm wondering if the larger sportwagon brakes might be overkill on a 3200-3500 lb car with disc brakes in the front. I have a set of new standard wheel cylinders and stainless brake lines if i chose to go with the regular 2" brakes, any thoughts? car is a 65 special post coupe with 455 and 4 speed with 3.42 rear gears
Overkill? One could argue a 600hp 455 is overkill for a '65 Special!:grin: I say go for the swap! ...as long as you're using decent tires that can handle it. Now if you're using original style 5-inch wide bias plies, then the brake upgrade is a waste. The wagons have offset backing plates right? Can the lines be bent to make up for the difference? Wheel cylinders are cheap, $12 apiece from NAPA. And did you say std drums will work with the wider shoes? I have a '67 wagon setup, minus drums, I'd like to use on my Special. Is the body on yet?
Have used the std width '78+ alum rear drums before with the SW wider rear shoes & SW backing plates. While the std width 9.5" drums don't cover all of the shoe, was a not a big deal, we were more concerned with trying keep the rotating mass down. Other route to gain more sq inchs of rear brake shoe, is to go '73+ A-body large diam rear backing plates & shoes, then run '65-70 Impalla drums. Master Power sells this set-up for 350 or so, but it can be pieced together rel cheap, if yarding a lot. Got Posi? :3gears: Roger
Walt to get the maximum benefit from the sportwagon brakes you should use the sportwagon drums and i have a NOS set. you are correct that the backing plate is slightly more offset to allow the wider brakes without increasing rear width. the sportwagon uses a 1" bore wheel cylinder while the skylark uses a 7/8 wheel cylinder. new wheel cylinders are aprox 60.00 each but are available. the brake lines on the sportwagon exit at an angle and make it nearly impossible to use the regular brake lines from a skylark. I may bend up a set and send them to right stuff as patterns so they will be able to sell sportwagon style lines. and as for the body question, no the body isnt on the chassis yet. I need to finish the floor pan install while the body is on the rotissiree so i can ensure that the car looks like it did from the factory. I'm having a heck of a time finding a bodyman worth a darn thats willing to do restoration bodywork. I offered one guy 1.5 times his normal hourly rate and he still wasnt motivatedo No:
There might be wheel cylinder options. I looked on the NAPA site again, and I see what you mean about the angled line outlet on the 1" wagon cylinders. Napa has the 1" (fronts) for $46.49. pn 37022 or 37023. They might be correct for the Wagon rear. The '71 Estate wagon has a 1" wheel cylinder that might work.... Goto www.napaonline.com and search pn 37021 for the stock 'lark 15/16" and 37080 for the Estate wagon ($10.69 a piece!) They look pretty close, but there might be a slight difference in bolt spacing or the rubber dust shields might interfere with the backing plate. You would have to go to the store and compare the two. Thanks for the drum info guys! I'll put that on my 'future project' list. Here's a pic of the stock 37021 next to the Estate wagon 37080.
