I have a 71 chevelle, with those lovely 4 non-power drums. Now that I'm FINALLY getting around to fixing it up, they are my #1 priority to get fixed. I read a write up in this months car craft about the new Baer product that bolts on, and allows you to keep your 15" wheels. uses the same spindles. It's almost $1000 bucks though! I wanted to know if anyone has used this? How does it perform compared to other methods of disk brake swapping? How much do the other methods/systems cost? any info at all on the subject would be helpful. thanks.

Save your money and do a search on this website for disc brake swaps.

Trust me, you can do much better for less than the $1,000 Baer wants for their systems.

Joe

I have two cars with Bear brakes and I could not be any happier. They went together great. They are of the best quality I have seen in the aftermarket. I felt the cost for what you get is very afordable, I did not say cheep. If I wanted cheep I would of just put new roters and pads on the last car I did. I did the rear discs on both cars.

SLO307,

"How do you like the rear disc brakes? Are they bear as well?

Yes they are Baer. Both of the kits were very user friendly. One is on a Currie 9" axle and one is on a 12 bolt. The kits came with new e-brake cables and all the nuts and bolts. It took longer to take the drum assembly off than it took to assemble. The only thing that is not included but is specified is to set the axle end play on a c-clip style axle. I had allready set the end play when I built the diff. I did have to turn the axle down a few thou. for the rotor to slide on correctly.

You might can find/rig a cheaper disc brake setup but you won't find a system near the quality or ability of the Baer system. I have the 13" track system on the front and the 12" touring system on the rears. I didn't care about the original wheels because I am using 17" wheels. Also realize that any "junkyard" system you use will require re-engineering of the e-brake (if you convert the rears. The Baer system makes your 3800 pounds Chevelle stop like a 2003 Corvette.

Regards,

Steve Haraway
1971 SS396

13" Baer Track on front and 11" in rear on my Monte. Great System, Great Quality, worth every penny. I considered the 'junkyard' route but am extremely happy that I did not do it... I bought Baer through www.detroitspeed.com (http://www.detroitspeed.com) and saved over $150 to the Baer quoted price... graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I run Baer's on my car. The price is a little high considering they're put together with parts mostly from GM parts bins, but the quality is top notch and they provide a very complete package.

If you're looking at the Track/Touring system with the PBR calipers, you can put the exact same calipers on your car with some effort on your part in fabbing brackets, rotor hubs, and the like. What you need to decide is if you want to spend additional money to get an out-of-the-box package or do more work yourself and save some bucks.

All in all, I'm happy with mine, even taking into account the price and knowing I could have done it myself.

Troy

When starting with a stock front power disc brake system, would it be better to add rear disc brakes or simply add a Baer front disc system? I'm running the stock 5 spoke SS wheels.

What kind of improvements should I expect?

If you have factory discs up front. If they are in good working order. I would do the rear disc conversion first. The front factory discs work very well.