disc conversion kit comparison - would love some advice

after the accident, I am definitely converting to power front discs in the 72. I have purchased a whole new UMI rear suspension kit, and am considering some ebay front control arms to go with the discs. looking at disc brake kits, I have discovered these two that look promising. I want to make sure I get everything I need to change over at once, as money is tight and I want the car on the road by spring. can anyone give me an opinion on which will be better? the summit racing house brand kit is about 130 bucks more....you can guess which one I am considering purchasing. would really appreciate any advice one way or the other. thanks, Zack http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-bk1201/overview/ http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rsd-afxdc01c/overview/

 

No to ebay front control arms
Theyre just china made tubular versions of stock cast...no geometry change..
As for kit they look to have same setup..
Not sure if theyre using stock d52 caliber/pad but since its 11in rotor and not 10.5 id say yes

You can also upgrade to wilwood dual d52 pistons and use a 94 96 d614 impala ss pad

Ive also seen a 4 piston front disc kit for 2nd gen camaro that should work on our car too but never really checked into it but 4 piston in 15 in rim would be cool

 

So the drum brakes caused your accident? Disk brakes are better under repeated heavy breaking like road racing or trailer towing. Under normal driving condition drum brakes will lock-up a wheel just as well as disk brakes. The problem is most people NEVER flush their brake fluid and any moisture that gets into the system goes to the lowest point, the wheel cylinders, then they rust/seize and don't work. This can also happen with a brake caliper.

Anyway, there are kits on Evil Bay that look almost the same for less money. This one has slotted and drilled rotors: http://www.ebay.com/itm/64-74-GM-CHEVELLE-Front-Disc-Brake-Kit-COMPLETE-XDrilled-Gas-Slotted-Rotors-/281241803350?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1969|Model%3AFirebird&hash=item417b515a56&vxp=mtr

 

Theyre all mos5 likely same kit
Mb matt? Over pro touring.com should have it the cheapest vs anywhere else

 

well, a pilled-out elderly gentleman made a left turn in front of oncoming traffic (me) with very little space to spare, but I can't help but think that if I had had disc brakes, that things would have gone differently that day. I pulled the car out of a field, replaced wheel cylinders and shoes, and flushed real good when I got the car, and drove it on the manual drums for 6 months with no problems before this happened. of course, I never had slammed down on the pedal that hard. car was totaled, I kept it and its being re built now. have made a lot of progress but, although it now x'es out on the frame rack, I was advised to swap out all my steering linkage and front end crap..due to the fact it is probably tweaked. this doesn't concern me because the old rusty tie rods need to go anyhow. but I figured that it would be easier to buy new, non-rusty, tube arms with bushings already in than to re use my rusty, possibly bent, shot stamped ones. may end up saving up and just getting the $1000 UMI front a-arms to match the rear ones I bought, but that will mean $600 more, which is several pay checks away for me. this sure is a fun hobby!

 

Zack, contact underdog, Steve Caruso here on the board, he is a MBM dealer and I suspect he will give you a unbeatable deal on the parts. And he is a super nice guy.
Here is a link to one of Steve's threads,
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?276848-Close-out-sale

Mike

 

You can get a set of spc tubulars for 650ish

 

I converted power front drums to disc on my 71 Skylark. I bought my kit from Pirate Jack's.
Everything included- including master and OE type, 11" power booster. Pretty easy bolt on. The only trouble I had was getting the new (included) prop valve installed.
I did not bend new lines, I was able to tweak the originals but it was no party.
They claim the rotors don't fit under 14' wheels. My 14's touched the calipers ever so slightly. I resolved that issue with minimal filing.
I have some 15's ordered from "underdog 350"

 

They look almost exactly like mine....... .


If you don't mind me asking....how much did you spend?

Scott

 

sweet car! I just bought the same kid from pirate jack's in Asheville NC from ebay. after this, I just need some tube arms and a new front end kit and I pretty much have a new car.

 

I paid 525.00

Notice, that included drilled and slotted rotors as well as stainless flex lines.

If I remember correctly, Pirate Jack was asking 550 or make offer...

If you go this route...offer lower. You can always increase your bid.

Good Luck.

 

I bought the Generic Summit brand 7-8 Years ago. They still work great. I ordered the kit without the booster. I already had power Brakes. I have another set in boxes under my Gran Sport waiting for an install. $485 or something like that. Jegs sells them too.

PONCH

 

Heres the 4 piston front disc kit that works with allot of 15s
http://www.jegs.com/p/Wilwood/Wilwood-Dynalite-Pro-Series-Front-Brake-Kits/1632428/10002/-1

 

Brian,

I'm thinking of going with Pirate Jacks, but I've read concerns about the 1 inch bore of the provided master cylinder being too small.
Do you know the bore of yours?
And are you happy with the braking performance?

Thanks,

Chris

 

Hey Chris.

I'm not positive of the bore size of my master cylinder, but if I remember correctly, 1 inch may be a good guess.

I can tell you that my brakes don't work good enough to drive the car. But let me explain why.
When I was doing the conversion, I discovered one of my rear wheel cylinders was froze in place and not providing any braking at all. So I replaced both back wheel cylinders along with new rear shoes.
As I mentioned before, it was a bear to mount the new prop valve, only because I refused to bend new lines. After fixing the leak from the original front hard line to the prop valve, and getting the prop valve mounted, I had had my fill of the conversion process. So I took a break for about a week.

I then had trouble with the new proportioning valve being stuck in the forward position, thus getting no fluid to the new calipers. Pirate Jack warns of the prop valve getting stuck either all the way forward, or all the way to the rear and they tell of how to remedy the situation. I followed the instructions that were included with the kit and within a short time, my prop valve began working properly and I was able to bleed the new front calipers without any problem.

The wife was asking when she could have her garage back, so I began to hurry.
I think I may still have air in the rear lines. I bled them, but maybe not very well. I know the rear shoes are not adjusted properly. When I apply the emergency brake, the emergency brake pedal goes almost all the way to the floor. This will be an easy fix.
I took another break and moved my Skylark back to it's resting place in my mom's garage. I drove it there, being super careful, because if I had to stop quickly, it was not going to happen. She only lives about a mile away, all side streets.

Then came the Holidays, overtime at work and now, the weather is too cold for me to work on the car.
I'm sure once I get the rears adjusted correctly and do a proper bleed of the system, my brakes will be up to par- at least I hope.

Make no mistake, I am not hating on Pirate Jack's. I am happy with the fitment of the kit. I got the drilled and slotted rotors as well as the braided flexible lines.
I took the time to spray the new parts with heat resistant clear lacquer to avoid rust. They all bolted up nicely.
I need to adjust and then, rebleed everything, I bet the brakes will be fine.
It's going to be at least a month before that happens but I'll let you know.

 

Thanks Brian, I need to save the cash so its a month or so away for me anyway. Being too cold to work on a car is an alien concept for me- my workplace hit 37 deg Centigrade two days this week.

All the fridges in for repair were struggling- not to mention the repairers !


I look forward to hearing how yours works out. Heat reistant clear is a good idea- thanks for mentioning it.

Regards,

Chris

 

-15 celcius here most of this past week.

 

OK Premier350, here is the latest...

I brought the car home last weekend to do some troubleshooting on my brake problem.

The rear shoes needed adjusted pretty badly. I now have them adjusted good.

Road test showed a little improvement.

Bled all four wheels again. I didn't find any air in the brake lines. I still have a spongy pedal and poor braking. All literature I have read says a spongy pedal indicates air in the system.

I guess my next step will be to remove the master and bench bleed it again. Then bleed all four brakes again.

Ice storm coming tonight with lows in the teens for the next week. This project will have to wait for a few more weeks.

 

Try taking the cover off the Master, fill it up, then open all four bleeders abit and let it gravity bleed for an hour. Make absolutely sure ya don`t run dry in the master or you`ll have to start all over. When done, snug up rite rear bleeder, then driver side rear bleeder, followed by rite front bleeder, and finally driver side front bleeder. I have had difficulty before and resorted to this method after trying regular bleeding and power bleeding to no avail. Sometimes slow is the way to go, allows air bubbles an opportunity to work their way up to the master cylinder and out the top. Jim/Rott

 

Some people pump the pedal when they bleed brakes. It seems there is a chance of introducing air into the system doing it that way. When I bleed I open the bleeder, have someone push the pedal to the floor, close the bleeder and let the pedal up. That's it!! No pumping in between. As mentioned, gravity bleeding is good too. Sometimes air will work itself out on it's own.