Has anyone ever tried to swap the rear disc brakes from a 76-79 Caddy Seville to a 68-72 Skylark/GS? Just wondering if you had any problems.
Local yard has a couple of them and the Sevilles use the same bolt pattern as the Skylark/GS models, 4.75" bolt circle. Looks like an easy swap?????
Ok, Frank, I will check into it on Sat. Looks like a simple swap. I will let you know what I find out and go from there! I will email you late Sat.
I did the swap. Followed the advice on the Buickperformance board. I brought the retainer plate to a local machine shop to have them to remove part of the lip, and they didn't bolt it down, causing it to be crooked. I ended up taking a die grinder bit and putting it on my drill press and removing the metal that way. I bolted it down to a piece of flat stock first. I can send you some pictures of the process. And the finished brakes if you like?
The reason I ask about the swap is the Seville seems to have the same 8.5" rear as the 68-72 Skylark/GS models and this seems to be a bolt on item. I will see on Sat what it looks like. The article on our site was written with the later model Camaros and Firebirds in mind. I have not seen many here w/disc brake rears. All 76-79 Sevilles have the disc brake rear.
Here is what I found out. I will be at the yard tomorrow and will try this swap myself. 80-5 Seville/El Dorado are supposed to work. See the link below!http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/rear_discbrake_conversions.html
Well, got the rear disc brake set-up from an 81 Seville (ones that have the "goofy" trunk, looks like they got rear ended and the trunk slants down at a 45 degree angle). Very simple to remove the set-up since the car is a front wheel drive. Basically there are 4 bolts with 15 mm nuts. Removed the calipers and then the e-brake cable. Took about 10 mins per side. The Skylark axle flange will have to be turned down to 6.125 for them to fit inside the rotors. Only item I see being an engineering challenge is the e-brake set-up. May contact the vendor listed above for some assistance. Will keep everyone posted on this issue.
Have used the late '78 & 79 Seville rear disc pieces on 8.5 A-body rears. Unlike c-clip rear disc conversions, one has to machine a small spacer to take up the slack between the stamped steel 4 bolt axle retaining plate & the National 712146 axle seal. Similiar spacer has to be machined if trying to do this with a bolt-in axle 8.2 rear. In reading above text, only the '77-79 models of the early Sevilles had rear disc, & all '77-79 sevilles had 5 on 5 bolt pattern axles & rotors. '76 sevilles were all drum brake rear with 4 3/4" bolt pattern. To adapt the '77-78 or late '78-79 Seville caliper mtg plates & calipers on earlier A-body rearends, one will need to use '79-81 T/A rear disc rotors. :3gears: Roger
Apparently someone has thought of this conversion and uses the more plentiful 80-5 Seville/Eldorado rear disc brakes which are the correct 5 on 4.75" bolt circle. The 79-81 Trans Am rotors will not clear the stock 15" rallyes. So, the listing on Ebay is for $139 for both sides, all brkts included. If this works, this is a cheap way to have disc brakes since the other parts should not cost more than $100. I already have the rotors, calipers, pads and ebrake springs from the salvage car. Here is the link on Ebay that Frank found! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7912864468&category=33564
I checked out his site and it is for the 8.5" corporate rears with bolt in axles. Once I have more info on this kit and install it, I will create an article on our site below. His site is very simple and here it is: www.scarebird.com :TU:
I went down to Advance Auto Parts and bought everything for the rear of an 85 Riviera. A place called A&A Manufacturing (Dirt track stuff) makes brackets for the calipers. I have a 12 bolt in my car with Ford 9" ends. I had to modify the brackets, they are weld on brackets. They might have bolt on brackets, I can check. This was very easy to do. I just bolted the caliper to the bracket and put pads on and used air to compress the caliper to hold in place to get a good tack before welding. Tom Jenkins
As soon as I get the kit, I will let you know. Buying the stuff new/rblt at auto parts store is expensive. There are many, many of the 80-5 Seville, Eldorado, Tornado, Rivieras in the local yards w/rear disc brakes. From my parts prices checks, here is what I found, rotors were $50, calipers were $50 w/50 core. Local yard charged me $50 for calipers, rotors and brkts. So, as soon as I can get this installed there will be a detailed article. This looks to be a much cheaper way for disc brakes than some kits priced at $500-700.
Well, I found a better set-up. www.tsmmfg.com Uses thicker caliper brackets and larger rotors which would match the front ones. No axle flange maching is required. Looks like the kit will run about $320. I think Frank will order a kit and I will do the installation in the next month. Will keep everyone posted on this swap.
George, I placed the order this morning with Skip. He said the parts should ship today & will arrive in Florida by next Friday or the Tuesday after Labor Day.
