By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

Last summer I installed a power disc brake conversion on my ’66 Impala convertible–it just made sense, considering I was putting a 400+ hp stroker motor in it, and the non-boosted single-chamber master cylinder putting juice to four smallish drums made it kind of a death trap. There was a ton of aftermarket conversion kits available for my ride, and I finally settled on one from Matt’s Classic Bowties.  After laying out all of the parts and reading through the few short pages of rudimentary installation instructions, I was a little worried about the outcome of this project–it was my first attempt converting manual 4-wheel drums to power front disc brakes, and it basically entailed tearing out the whole braking system. So once I started, I was kind of committed. But now with the install complete, I’m amazed by how well it turned out. Other than a few simple modifications, the entire system bolted up smoothly. Wanna learn how to make your big-boat classic stop on a dime? Read on below the jump.

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By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

I’ve been knee deep in the front-end restoration of my ’66 Impala convertible for a few months now and I recently found myself faced with a surprisingly difficult question: power or manual brakes? Getting rid of those old stab-n-steer front drums and single-chamber master cylinder was obvious, but after making the decision to do a full front disc brake conversion I found that car enthusiasts seem to be quite opinionated on the issue of power vs. manual brakes. Some of the sources I tapped claimed the power booster only created more potential for malfunction, and in the event of a stall, the car would be more difficult to bring to a grinding halt than it would be if it just had manual in the first place. Still, others swore that power is the only way to go, for reasons ranging from pedal effort to stopping power. The only opinion everyone seemed to share was that I’d be crazy to not to agree with them. In the end I decided to go with the power brake booster. How about you–what’s your preference and why?

Check out pictures of my new stock-spinal power disc brake conversion kit after the jump.

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By David Belau

dartslantsix

If you followed my independent rear suspension build, you know that I wasn’t happy with how the brakes were working. I decided that what I needed was a smaller-bore master cylinder. This would provide more line pressure and enhanced braking power. Instead of going back to an original master cylinder with a smaller bore, I chose to install a late-model aluminum master. This one’s from an early Dakota, and offers a few advantages–it’s much lighter and it doesn’t leak like the old style.  So what does all this have to do with fabrication? The new cylinder uses 2 studs to mount, whereas the old one uses 4 studs. An adapter plate is needed. These are available from a number of vendors for about $40, but what fun is that? I’ve got more skills than money. Follow along as I make an adapter for about $6.

Continue reading "How to: Simple Adaptor-Plate Fabrication, or How to Save $34" »