Jetstar 88 9.5" drum conversion? jdorour?

[Canuck]

Hello. I should start of by introducing myself, my name is mike, people call me junior. Thanks for the forum and the chance to be a part of it.I own two olds, my 1981 olds cutlass sedan (my first car) and my newer car my 1964 olds Jetstar 88.

Now for my problem and question. I recently aquired a 64 jetstar 88 4dr. So i have read around the net that the brakes being 9.5" are very small for this car. As i plan to use this car as my daily driver (since my cutlass was recently the victim of T-boning), i would like to upgrade the brakes to maybe 11" brakes from another older b-body.

So...my question is what is the easiest way to upgrade my brakes with the least amount of modifications to my car. Would brakes for a 64 jetstar wagon do the trick or are their any other cars out there that would have some donor drums that would be easy to install.

I have heard people talk about kits by http://www.praisedynobrake.com and http://www.mpbrakes.com but i am not sure which kits will fit my application. Would i be looking under fullsize gm or under cutlass?

Thanks

Michael

PS I also read a post by Jdorour that said the rearend from a 98 was a bolt in for the jetstar and that it came with larger brakes...if so, is this a viable solution (are these rearends/brakes readily available online, or are they gonna be hard to come by). Thanks again.

[Oldsguy]

Junior, welcome to the site. I can't help you with your brake question except to suggest checking with a company called PST. They specialize in front suspension stuff and might carry disc brake conversion kits.

[jetsled]

contact Mike Pemberton.....<mike@discbrakemike.com>...he does magic...sells you a parts list of local available parts and brackets to convert yours...I am working with him now on my 64 jetstar 88....If his kit won't work I will ship him my spindles, he will make a bracket..then you can order from him...(easier to get him to work for two sets than one!!! He is REALLY helpful

[TheAcolyte]

Junior,

I just joined the list myself and own and have been driving daily since 1993 a '64 Jetstar 88 (cf. my website). To my knowledge, no conversion disk brake kit exists for this model, mainly because it is an "odd ball". It was the only year that Olds attempted to put a mid-size engine, tranny and brake system on a full-size (B style) body, so there are a few parts that are unique to that model and year only, and.... yep that's right! That includes a few front-end parts!

However, you might be able to get away with simply upgrading to a larger drum size, though again, I have never attempted this. I solved my brake issues (which were many over the years) by obtaining brake shoe pads made of that elemental, organic material that was originally intended for the car (the newer stuff never seems to quite work right). There are still suppliers of these pads (as they can be sold, but not manufactured), however, you have to provide the shoes.

In any case, hope that helps.

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by TheAcolyte

........ To my knowledge, no conversion disk brake kit exists ........

http://www.discbrakemike.com/

This thread is a year and a half old. It was only a year old, when message #3 was posted.

Originally Posted by jetsled

contact Mike Pemberton.....<mike@discbrakemike.com> ........

Norm

[Oldsguy]

Acolyte,

I don't recall welcoming you to our site so I am now. Noticed that we are in the same neighborhood, we'll have to get together this spring and compare notes, etc.

[TheAcolyte]

Dear Dan,

Yes, I live in Midtown (KCMO), and I would love to see your '46! My dream car is actually a 1948 black coupe with a red interior!!! So yours is rather close in styling.

Louis Tofari