Hi guys, I know brake conversions has been discussed a lot around these pages.. My problem is that I want to find me a front manual drum to front manual disc brake conversion kit that will clear with the original 14" rallywheels the gs where born with. Anyone have an idea? Dan,:3gears:
I don't know what abundance of Chevy S-10 trucks you have there, but I swapped S-10 front disc brake spindles onto my wife's 65 El Camino. The S-10 upper and lower ball joints as well as the outer tie rod ends have to be used, but they work. S-10 trucks ran 14 inch wheels all the time, and the rotors are 10 1/2 inches in diameter. -Josh
Scarebird might work. Their site says it will work with some 14" wheels. Contact them for more details. http://scarebird.com/index.php?id=1
what years? did it lower the car at all? did it move the wheels in or out at all? i see S-10s in the boneyards all the time so i may consider this on my 65 skylark. any other things i should know?:beers2:
I used S-10 front spindles from a square-body. Some of the newer rounded body brakes are dual piston calipers, but I don't have any experience with those. On my wife' 65 Camino, it lowered the front 1 1/2 inches, and pulled the wheels inward 1 1/2 inches per side. You must use the S-10 upper and lower ball joints as well as the outer tie rod ends. Uppers bolt right in, with the 4 bolts supplied, but the lowers are a fractioin of a hair thicker. When you press them in, you'll feel it. You need the uppers and lowers as well as the outer tie rods because the taper on the spindle holes are metric. The outer tie rod end threads are the same, so you don't have to get any special tie rod sleeves with one metric end and one standard end. I'd also get the proportioning valve from the donor truck. Use all new rotors, calipers, hoses, master and booster. you can get an aftermarket master and booster combo on E-bay from Fatrodder for like $150. Works great, and it's the corvette style, so if you decide to go rear disc later, you don't have to buy another master. Only thing I would do differently is the front S-10 brake hoses. They seemed to be a little short for the application. I swapeed the line-to-hose mount brackets and made do with it, but I"d compare the S-10 hoses to, say a Caprice, malubu around the same year to see if it has the same connections, but more length. Good luck, and feel free to ask me anything I may have forgotten or just in general. -Josh
what was the bolt pattern for the rims? i cant remember what it is. i may just do this when the car is closer to being done.:beers2:
The bolt pattern is 5 on 4.75, but the lug studs are metric. I believe the threads are 12mm x 1.25. Don't quote me on the threads, but I know they're metric. It's a nice swap because #1 parts are plentiful for S-10's, #2 you can fit a 14 inch rim if you'd like and #3 it stops way better than drum brakes. -Josh
