Can anyone tell me if the disk brakes off of a '70-'72 4dr Buick Skylark are the same as on a '70 chevelle. And does anyone know how to separate the spindles from the ball joints if I don't have forks? And would $150 be too much to pay for the complete set-up if I have to take everything off myself and the the master and booster probably need going through? Thanks, Hugh.
'71 skylark discs work on '70 chevelle
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They will fit and for $150, grab them quickly. To separate the joints, use two hammers.One hammer is placed against the part of the spindle that surrounds the ball joint taper and and then whack the opposite side of the spindle to distort the material that surrounds the ball joint taper. Do this with the ball joint nut backed off about one half to on full turn so that everything stays together when the joint loosens.
Hugh, Not certain about the compatiblity, but have to believe they are the same. i know the bolt pattern for the wheel is. An old trick to seperate front end components without a fork is to take two large hammers using one as an "anvil" on one side of the spindle and hitting it with the other hammer. If done right the impact will loosen up the joint without messing up the spindle. Good luck. Ted
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Everything but the booster is a bolt on swap. The booster is a Chevelle specific item, according to my interchange manual. You can buy new boosters with new master cylinders bolted on. Be sure to grab the proportioning valve off of the Buick. Where did you find this setup? Email me please.
[This message has been edited by Randy Mosier (edited 05-14-99).]
[This message has been edited by Randy Mosier (edited 05-14-99).]
Thanks everyone for the replies. I have had very good luck locating deals lately. Today, I just got back from pulling a tilt steering column and a fender from a '71 4dr chevelle. I got them for $20 each!!! The column even had the wheel attached. The fender was replaced once before, so it is like new. It doesn't have a trace of rust or filler. It did have a dent in the front that was probably caused from somebody's butt or something, but once I got the fender off, I just pushed on it and it popped right out! Can barely tell that there was ever a dent! I am going to pull the disk brake setup off of the Buick tomorrow. Can anyone tell me if the local parts stores have rebuilt power boosters for a '70 chevelle?? Or do I have to send in my cores and get the rebuilds from a chevelle parts company? I know that I can pick up the booster and master for $125 with a core exchange, but I want to know what other options there are. I want to continue on my streak of good deals or should I say STEALS!!!
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Get a copy of Hemmings Motor News. Lots of new and rebuilt master/booster vendors. Both cad and painted versions.
Yes they will. You should get everything off the donor car and I mean everything from the proportioning valve forward. It will still be cheap. I don't know about the Vac Booster. I don't know why they would be any different than the ones that come on a Chevelle. An A Body is an A Body. However, I got mine off a 69 Chevelle. If you have drums on your car, you will have to change the hard line that goes behind the engine crossmember as well as the short line on the driver side(they are a smaller diameter), you will have to change the the lines from the frame rails to the caliper also. I put the brakes from a junked 72 Vista Cruiser on my 67 El Camino. Any A Body with disks will work. They are all the same up through 72 (direct fit). Stay away from the multi piston caliper however. They had some problems. Also get the later one piece rotors.
I've seen the results of someone beating the spindles to break them loose from the ball joints as described in this post. You should avoid that if at all possible. Distorting the taper in the spindle could result in a broken ball joint stud that would at the very least, send you on a one way ticket into the fence, and at the worst, over that cliff in dead mans corner. You get the idea I hope. You can rent the forks from a tool rental place or from someplace like Checker Auto Parts. The Eastwood Company has a screw type separator that presses them out, one against the other. I've got one of these that works like a champ and you don't mess up the protective boots. It will be hard to keep from messing up the boots with the fork. If you intend to use the ball joints already in the car, you can buy polyurethane replacement boots from one of the mail order suspension places advertized in the car magazines. They are far superior to the OE boots. The lower poly boots are easier to install and the uppers will stay in place because they don't use those funky stamped retainers that come with replacement joints. The boots that come with replacement ball joints are junk, especially the uppers. Any questions, email me at [email protected]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
I've seen the results of someone beating the spindles to break them loose from the ball joints as described in this post. You should avoid that if at all possible. Distorting the taper in the spindle could result in a broken ball joint stud that would at the very least, send you on a one way ticket into the fence, and at the worst, over that cliff in dead mans corner. You get the idea I hope. You can rent the forks from a tool rental place or from someplace like Checker Auto Parts. The Eastwood Company has a screw type separator that presses them out, one against the other. I've got one of these that works like a champ and you don't mess up the protective boots. It will be hard to keep from messing up the boots with the fork. If you intend to use the ball joints already in the car, you can buy polyurethane replacement boots from one of the mail order suspension places advertized in the car magazines. They are far superior to the OE boots. The lower poly boots are easier to install and the uppers will stay in place because they don't use those funky stamped retainers that come with replacement joints. The boots that come with replacement ball joints are junk, especially the uppers. Any questions, email me at [email protected]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
[This message has been edited by Harddog (edited 05-12-99).]
You may want to give PST a try at www.p-s-t.com. they make a killer polygraphite front end kit. I figure if you are going to do the job do it the best you can the first time through. If they have the joints you need, you can just dead blow the old ones out of the doner car. On my 68 SS I recently put 81 camaro spindles and 12" disks. If i get a chance i will e mail you a pic of the setup, if i can find it.. Wilwood makes a nice proportonig valve also.
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[This message has been edited by lew (edited 05-12-99).]
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[This message has been edited by lew (edited 05-12-99).]
DZAUTO,
I believe the booster will work but the MC and the proportioning valve are different.
Harddog notes correctly that the hard lines are different between disc and drum cars. I had to change mine when I put 72 discs on a 70 drum car. I think the little bracket that holds the hard line from the prop valve to the LF hose is different also. Some of this stuff is getting a little hazy, it's been a couple years since I did one.
Tom
I believe the booster will work but the MC and the proportioning valve are different.
Harddog notes correctly that the hard lines are different between disc and drum cars. I had to change mine when I put 72 discs on a 70 drum car. I think the little bracket that holds the hard line from the prop valve to the LF hose is different also. Some of this stuff is getting a little hazy, it's been a couple years since I did one.
Tom
I have to add that the bolt-on frame brackets that couple the front calipers' flexible line to the hard line *are* different from drum-disc cars. Make sure you swap these over when you swap to disc; I don't want to tell you the number of times I returned perfectly good disc flexible hoses because they wouldn't fit in the drum brackets! What a nightmare.
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I would take harddog's advice on the removal of the steering knuckle. I've been looking for a "steering knuckle taper breaker" for a long time. When I replaced the springs on my brother's apollo I tried to use a fork, however, it didn't work and I screwed up the threads on the ball joint. I gave up and borrowed my school's "steering knuckle taper breaker".
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