Hello Olds family, I have a questions or questions. I have a 1964 jetstar 88 and I found it hard to find new parts. I was only able to find one disc brake kit for the fronts. Its from summit and it requires a 17 in tire min. I really don't have the money to do both the brakes and new rims this summer. Is anyone aware of any other kits? Also what is the bolt pattern of the rims? Thank everyone!

 

First, the 1964 J88 is a one-year-only car and is unpopular for hot rodding, so don't expect to find a lot of bolt-on parts for it.

Second, the front spindles of the J88 use the same wheel bearings as a Cutlass. The Cutlass 10.75" rotors bolt on. You will need to modify the Cutlass caliper bracket to fit the J88 spindle. This involves welding new tabs onto the bracket. The A-body disks came from the factory with 14" wheels, but understand the difference between GM's disk brake wheels and drum-only wheels. Your original wheels are the drum only and will not clear. If you get a set of the later disk brake wheels for a Cutlass, these will clear just fine.

 

Thanks Joe!!

 

I owned a Jetstar 88 for five years back in the '90s, and it always stopped just fine with the four drum brakes. Keep them in good shape, and they will serve just fine. I never saw the need for disks.



Your bigger problem in terms of safety is that your car has only a single master cylinder, not the much safer dual systems introduced a bit later and standard equipment on all cars ever since. I don't know what's involved because I never tried to do it, but if you really want to strike a blow for safety, I'd forget about converting the front brakes to disks and instead look into converting to a dual master cylinder system.

 

Would any happen to know what type of dual master cylinder would work? I only see a single for the 64 jetstar 88. Thanks guys you have been a true help!

 

A single master cylinder was all there was on any Oldsmobile in 1964 as a dual master was not standard equipment until a year or two later, so any dual master cylinder you use will have to be adapted from a later car.

 

As noted, a 1967-up dual circuit M/C will bolt up to your booster. The problem is the length of the pushrod between the booster and the M/C. Single circuit M/Cs use a longer pushrod that will not work with the new M/C. Inline Tube sells the shorter pushrod for like $6 or so, but you might need to disassemble the booster to install it.