I had a lot of trouble finding info on the 61-62 Special when I was trying to figure out how to convert it to front discs. With a lot of time on this board and searching Yahoo! I was able to figure out what works, so I thought I'd share with the board in case anybody else is interested in the same swap. I found out that the Wilwood 140-7675 kit will work. For that matter, I assume any company's 67-69 Camaro kit will work. I had planned on getting new caliper brackets made, but to my surprise it turned out that the supplied brackets will work with the stock spindles...with some minor modifications. All I had to do was have a machine shop enlarge the threads on the spindle (arrows) to fit the two bolts supplied with the kit:
And here's how it all fits together. The bracket had to be shimmed a little bit because the mounting surfaces on the spindle weren't on the same plane, exactly. The washers supplied in the kit were enough to do the job.
All the plumbing parts and the master cylinder came from Master Power Brakes. I had to grind on it a little bit to get the master cylinder to fit, but it went in fairly easily. Just be sure to get one with the outlets on the passenger side!
I know this is an old post but I thought I would bump it up as it would be good reference for anyone wanting to do this.
Hi, I am looking to upgrade my 63 F85 Cutlass to front discs. Did you use the original spindles? I just want to be clear, that all you did was have the treads form the original spindle changes to accept the new nuts, and the rest of the rebuild was bolt and go. Any additional info you have would be appreciated. Thanks, John
I wish i would have seen this post a few years ago, too. I feel confident with the Wilwood brand. I did mine about 3 years ago by a company in So. Cal. I was really impressed with their shop and set up but not with the 2 brake lines that were not fully tightened ( bad bending job) that leaked fluid and ate my firewall paint. They used the original spindles and got me 14",4 bolt hubs so i didn't have to change the rears. They had some 14" Buick rims (which turned out to be from a Mustang). Needed 14" to clear the rotors. Make sure you get the brackets painted before you install so they don't rust. Thats a nice master cylinder install on Shermanator's car. Not much room to work with. The Co. that made mine had a small, remote, electric power brake booster also. Rick
