Team Chevelle banner

68 to LS brake conversion questions

11K views 40 replies 7 participants last post by  Philip  
#1 ·
i have these two questions please help me out with both.
1968 Chevelle with discs up front.
i am going the LS rout and would like to know which is the better easier way.

Could i go either way here with no issues?

1-Have the rotors on the car turned down and converted to hubs?

2-Use 1966 front drum hubs on my 1969 spindles for this swap?

thanks guys for your help
 
#5 ·
i have these two questions please help me out with both.
1968 Chevelle with discs up front.
i am going the LS rout and would like to know which is the better easier way.

Could i go either way here with no issues?

1-Have the rotors on the car turned down and converted to hubs?
OR
2-Use 1966 front drum hubs on my 1969 spindles for this swap?


thanks guys for your help
i have spent hours searching this

Can some one please help me out.
this is the last piece of my puzzle.
 
#8 ·
i found this post on the
http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-134295.html

by
1964novass
17th-October-2009, 09:32 AM
I did this a while back. It is easy to do! If you are into the pro-touring look it is perfect. You do need to run at least a 16" wheel though. All you need to do is have the upper mounting boss on the stock spindles milled down so it is even with the lower holes. (Easy, any machine shop can do this or yourself if you have a mill). Then you can buy a set of drilled and slotted LS1 rotors on ebay. When you get them, you will have to take your stock hubs and have them turned down on the outside edge so that they fit into the LS1 rotors. (again, easily done on a lathe) You are also going to want to get new wheel studs. The length will depend on the wheels you are running. Then, you are also going to want to pick up a set of LS1 calipers from a local bone yard or ebay. They are cheap. Now, the key to the whole deal is the caliper mounting bracket. I have a diagram of this. All you have to do is print it out to the scale that I have on the image. This bracket should be made out of .250" steel plate. You could probably use aluminum too if you wanted. Then you can pick up grade 8 hardware to mount the plate to the spindle and then, put on your hub, slip on the rotor and then bolt on the caliper to the plate! The holes in the rotor might be larger than the diameter of you wheel studs, no big deal. You can check out my pictures of it and get the diagram for the caliper mounting bracket at this address.
http://www2.enter.net/photoalbum/ind...ername=yodacat
If you have any questions, let me know.
Good Luck,
Luke

there was other links mentioned also dealing with this - good luck
i would try the 66-hubs :)
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
68 to LS FRONT Disc brake conversion

68 to LS FRONT Disc brake conversion

I am finally going to start on this

The Car
1968 Chevelle 1969 Front disc brakes parts on the car (spindles, Calipers and rotors)

The parts
1966 Chevelle Drum brake set up (Spindles and Hubs)
1998 F body Rotors, Calipers, Caliper baskets and hose adopters
F body to A Body conversion Brackets

The plan
Is to REMOVE the 1969 brake set up of off the car.
Install the 1966 Chevelle Spindles and hubs.
Install the adopter brackets onto the spindles along with the rest of the Fbody Brake stuff.(caliper basket, Calipers, Rotors and hoses)

Do i need a new brake proportioning Valve????????
What do you think??????
 
#14 ·
i wish i was asking about a BBC cam, i would have gotten 2k replies by now. but asking about slowing down and stopping parts and you get crickets by comparison.

once i finally do this i will do a step by step write up with what ever part numbers or at least application info just to help the next guy.
 
#15 ·
Sorry I just noticed this thread or I would have responded sooner.

No reason to spend money on new hubs. I just turned down my drum brake hubs on my '67 project. I put them on a brake lathe & machined them until they fit over the Fbody rotors.

If you're not adding rear discs, you don't need to change your proportioning valve. I'm assuming you have a GM disc brake prop valve on your car now, which is fine.
 
#16 ·
thanks you very much for your reply

do you know if 66 spindles and rotor/hub are interchangeable with 69 spindles and rotors ?
example
1- 69 spindles and using 66 hubs on them?
 
#17 ·
66 Chevelles didn't come with disc brakes from the factory, so there wouldn't be any rotors to interchange.

However, the drum brake spindles & hubs from a '66 would work fine on your '69 for the F-body conversion. Just do what I did & have the hubs turned down in order to mount the new 12" rotors.

You could also use your '69 disc brake spindles with the '66 drum brake hubs, but you would need a spacer between the upper spindle boss & the F-body caliper mounting adapter plates.

A-body disc & drum spindles from 64-72 are almost identical. They are also the same as 67-69 Camaros, & 68-74 Novas. The only difference is the width of that upper caliper mounting boss. The drum brake version has more material; I think it's about 5/8". If you do a search here on drum brake spindles, there is a great image which shows them side by side.

Hope this helps.
 
#20 ·
Dude
i procrastinate about procrastinating

all my parts are still in boxes
 
#21 ·
trying get this done this week but its extremely frustrating getting info.

I think

1-I can go about it two different ways ONE WAY is with spare parts that i have.
A 66 Drum brake spindle and hub.

2-The other is the stuff on the car
69 disc brake set up.

i am hoping to use the 66 stuff so that i can have less down time and pre-assemble every thing make it pretty and then just drop it in.

on the 66 side this is what i have
Image
 
#22 · (Edited)
Image


is this because the spindle has to be machined down to match up the lower mounting bolt to the top?
 
#25 · (Edited)
I have a different bracket but it looks like you got it right.
Mine will not get done until sometime in May. The bracket I bought works with either drum or disc spindles and I am using the drum hubs because IIRC the disc rotor moves the wheel out farther then the drum hub does.

Church Boys Racing brackets, spacers used on disc brake spindles only.

Image


The 2001 Camaro Z28 brakes. The set purchased for the Nova looked worse but it is all cosmetic.

Image


I have already converted the Nova rear brakes and it was easy. The rears were swapped IE: left on right, right on left to get the park brake levers to pull forward. A bracket to secure the cable at the differential was fabricated. The F body cables were shortened to fit the stock frame bracket and intermediate cable. New rubber boots for the levers were purchased and all the parts were cleaned and painted.

Nova install photos, notice the shim used between the mount bracket and the mounting flange. It was needed to center the abutment over the rotor.

Image


Image


Image


Image
 
#26 ·
Philip- Could you please put up some pictures of the front set up?

I guess to use the brackets on the 69 spindle i would need that bushing in the picture?

BTW nice work on that rear set up.
once i am done with the fronts ill start the parts gathering for the rears.
thanks.
 
#28 ·
David the spacers used with the disc spindles are 1/2"x1 1/8" with a 5/8" hole.
Because of other cars in the shop that need to be done before I can work on mine I will not be able to start on the front for another month. When it is time to do it I will do a step by step how to with photos. I know that is not much help to you now.

The procedure from a bare spindle, either disc or drum is to bolt the bracket to the spindle with hex head bolts. The abutment bolts to the bracket and the caliper mounts on the abutment. The drum hub will need to have the outer diameter turned down to fit inside the the Camaro rotor and it would be good if the outer edge has a bevel cut into it. Longer wheel studs will be needed due to the thicker metal on the rotor. If cutting down a disc rotor to use for a hub the rotor will need installed on the hub and the bracket may need to be shimmed to center the abutment over the rotor. Centering it is very important to check with either hub. The CNC brackets I purchased are designed to center over the drum hub, but will still be checked.
 
#29 ·
One more thing if you use these spindles the space in this photo needs to have a washer in it or a little metal removed from the top mount. If it is just drawn down with a bolt it could cause binding of the caliper.

Image
 
#30 ·
#31 ·
The two surfaces have to be the same height to prevent the caliper from being mounted in a bind. BUT before doing any machining it is necessary to see what needs to be done to center the abutment over the rotor.
Tolerances were not as tight in the 60's as they are today. There were +/- figures that parts were machined to because within those tolerances the parts would function as designed.
Before doing any machining bolt up your spindle, bracket and abutment. Determine what if any shimming or machining will need to be performed to get it mounted correctly.
So step one decide which spindles you will be using for the conversion.
Step two have the drum hubs or disc rotors machined to fit inside the rotor.
Step three bolt the bracket on the spindle finger tight , do not bend the bracket with the bolts to fit the mounting bosses.
Step four install the hub on the spindle with the bearings properly adjusted.
Step five install the rotor on the hub and secure with a couple of lug nuts.
Step six bolt the abutment to the bracket.
Now you can determine if the abutment needs to be moved either way to be centered over the rotor. If it needs to be moved towards the spindle machining will have to be performed, if it needs to be moved away from the spindle shims will need to be inserted and maybe the same amount of machining and shimming will not be required at both mount locations.

The abutment and placement over the rotor

Image


Image


Image


Spindles may not be the same either, each one will need to be checked to see what is needed.
On the photos of my rear brake install the need for a shim was pointed out, the other side did not require one. The tolerances on the position the brake mounting flanges were welded to the housing were within spec but not the same.

Keep in mind your life and that of other people will be at stake if the brakes fail. There can be no compromise, install the parts to work as designed, use the proper fasteners and if any shimming needs to be done use material that will withstand the stress placed on it.
 
#32 ·
The two surfaces have to be the same height to prevent the caliper from being mounted in a bind. BUT before doing any machining it is necessary to see what needs to be done to center the abutment over the rotor.
Tolerances were not as tight in the 60's as they are today. There were +/- figures that parts were machined to because within those tolerances the parts would function as designed.
Before doing any machining bolt up your spindle, bracket and abutment. Determine what if any shimming or machining will need to be performed to get it mounted correctly.
So step one decide which spindles you will be using for the conversion.
Step two have the drum hubs or disc rotors machined to fit inside the rotor.
Step three bolt the bracket on the spindle finger tight , do not bend the bracket with the bolts to fit the mounting bosses.
Step four install the hub on the spindle with the bearings properly adjusted.
Step five install the rotor on the hub and secure with a couple of lug nuts.
Step six bolt the abutment to the bracket.
Now you can determine if the abutment needs to be moved either way to be centered over the rotor. If it needs to be moved towards the spindle machining will have to be performed, if it needs to be moved away from the spindle shims will need to be inserted and maybe the same amount of machining and shimming will not be required at both mount locations.

The abutment and placement over the rotor


Spindles may not be the same either, each one will need to be checked to see what is needed.
On the photos of my rear brake install the need for a shim was pointed out, the other side did not require one. The tolerances on the position the brake mounting flanges were welded to the housing were within spec but not the same.

Keep in mind your life and that of other people will be at stake if the brakes fail. There can be no compromise, install the parts to work as designed, use the proper fasteners and if any shimming needs to be done use material that will withstand the stress placed on it.
thats why i am asking so many questions and looking for clarification on the answers i get. as id rather not do this over doing it with short cuts or improper information.
thanks for your help.