L77F85

so after nearly a year of searching local wrecking yards & classifieds i finally found a '68 El Camino SS being parted out complete with it's stock front disc set up. i almost passed on the car because i know in '68 disc brake cars originally had the rare 4 piston calipers. car was close by so i decided to take a look happy to say a p zcrevious owner converted the car to single piston calipers. unfortunately the car is equipped with the discontinued 2 piece rotors so i assume i'll need to replace these. either way i'm stoked. i'll be able to run my rare original 14x6 inch "HF" code stock steel disc brake wheels & new bfg tires that i just purchased. as a brake newbie i do have some questions.

1) how do i identify the specific year this set up is from so i can buy the "correct" rebuild parts? i think it's a '70 set up because the proportion valve looks exactly like the "one year" 1970 prop valve shown on supercarsunlimited website.

2) which parts are worth rebuilding myself? sending out for rebuild or replacing? do parts like prop valve & distribution block ever go bad? rebuild or replace original master cylinder & booster? steel brake lines replace or keep?

3) which online parts store are guys getting your parts from?

4) if i can turn the original 2 piece rotors are they worth keeping or better to replace them?

here are some pics of removal. i decided to remove the spindles with rotors & everything attached. i know some will disagree but opted *not* to use a spring compressor to remove the front coil springs. i just loosened castle nuts & used the BFH/pickle fork method. 3 swings everything came out easily. removal of all components took a little under 2hrs.

L77F85

think the 3lb sledge was like $10 & the 16" pickle fork was $10 from HF

L77F85

be replacing the stock drums on my '65 F-85 Deluxe. pleased that i'll be able to hide my front disc set-up behind my 14x6 stock steel wheel "HF" code disc brake wheels

joe_padavano

That "one year" metering valve was used from 1967-1970, so that's probably original to the car (or the car was converted by a P.O.). Note that the master cylinder is not the original one but a generic aftermarket unit (as told by the non-GM cap). Probably not a big deal, but if you want correct appearance, get a correct MC.

Frankly, Raybestos rebuilt sliding calipers are $20 each (plus core) from RockAuto. Not clear it's worth your time to rebuild them. Do get new caliper mounting hardware and bolts if the rebuilts don't come with them. The dist block and metering valve can leak. They have o-ring seals and are easy to rebuild if needed. Get new hoses also. Frankly, the only used parts I'd keep are the spindles and caliper brackets (and frame-side hose mounting brackets. The metering valve can be reused, and your original dist block can be used. You can bend new lines if you like, or just spring for aftermarket stainless pre-bent.

RockAuto is usually cheapest, but comparison shop. I've found that for heavy items like rotors and calipers, it may be cheaper overall to buy locally from NAPA rather than to pay for shipping and core return.

Just get new one-piece rotors (around $50 each and it will cost $20 each to turn the old ones). The sliding calipers easily compensate for the minor dimensional differences between the one-piece and two-piece rotors. Get new bearings and seals while you're at it.

L77F85

Thanks for the informative reply Joe. I will look into getting that stuff done

junior supercar

actually 67-69 metering valves has a large hex nut on the front. this is the 70 only valve that someone swapped onto the car.

I take it your "rare" HF code steel wheels are date coded 65? I have a bunch of HF code steel wheels, so the date code must make it rare.

66-3X2 442

I always turn new rotors,always. If you don't think that they do not warp in the box,think again.

L77F85

Since you have so many would you consider selling a single? I've been hard pressed finding another HF. No the car is a '65 i sold the stock 14x5 drum wheels. Im almost positive the HF wheels i have are dated '68. Bought them so I could keep the stock look & still run disc.

Thanks for the info on the valve

L77F85

Good to know. I would of cleaned them up & mounted them. I'll do that when I buy new rotors. Thanks