I'm tired of my front drum brakes going soft in my 68 Cutlass Supreme and it is time to get a front conversion kit. Summit offers a couple kits from Right Stuff. One with the booster and master cylinder and one with just the disc brakes. Which kit would I be better off going with? I have original 4 discs on my 4 door Holiday Sedan 68 Cutlass Supreme. I am on a tight budget and need something as low cost and easy to install as possible. any othet suggestion kits in that price range is welcome. Thanks

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/rsd-afxrd01

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/rsd-afxdc01c

 

Hello:
I would go with the complete conversion kit, I bought a kit from another supplier for my 66 Cutlass, the price was right and even included free shipping. It was one of the easiest upgrades I have done to the car, the only modification I had to do was enlarging 4 spindle mount holes to 1/2" You will be much happier with all new items, if you use the short kit with no MC or Booster and choose to add them later, you should rebuild the MC and possible bad booster. Everything in the kit is new and besides it will make the underhood detailing look much better you will also do, after all Springtime and Cruising season is coming up. I upgraded my rears to 11" drums, I bought backing plates from a member on here, everything else was new and I had less than $225.00 in the rear conversion.
Thanks, Ron

 

Go with the complete kit from right stuff or inline tube. You will get all necessary parts like proportioning valve, disk brake MC and the prebent lines.it makes easier to install

I pieced mine together from different parts and it wasn't that much cheaper and I had to bend and flare my own lines.

 

Perfect. Thanks guys. Any idea what a shop should charge to install the front kit?

 

Shouldn't be more than a few hours labor for a competent shop. I would visit a few and ask how often they get old cars in, and do they take a little extra time to do it just right. Some shops only want you in and out as quick as possible, so they can get the next car on the rack. These old cars aren't always a quick job.

Or visit a local car show or cruise night and ask around for people's opinions.

 

I have a choice between a 9" booster and 11" booster, both kits ranging the same price. What do you guys recommend for my 68 Cutlass Supreme w/ 350 Rocket?



9" booster kit

http://www.jegs.com/i/Right-Stuff/965/AFXDC01C/10002/-1

11" booster kit

http://www.jegs.com/i/Right-Stuff/965/AFXDC06C/10002/-1

 

I would go with 11" booster.

 

The 11" booster has just about 50% more diaphragm area and thus 50% more assist than the 9" booster. The stock booster was 11". If the car has power drum brakes now, you don't need a booster at all. The disk M/C bolts to your current booster.

Frankly, I've just purchased the mini-kit from Right Stuff. Spindles, caliper brackets, and splash shields only. Get the rotors, calipers, and hoses from any auto parts store rather than paying shipping on heavy cast iron. The frame brackets for the hoses are also available repro and are inexpensive. Bend your own lines. Get a M/C from the parts store. Get a metering valve or combo valve (your choice) on line.

 

Joe, he is looking for a kit that he can take to the mechanic shop and have them install it.

 

Yeah, I want something in one box ready to easily install. Just want to get it done and I will be paying someone else to do it so the more minimal work involved the better.

 

I got 2 quotes from two shops that always have classics in the shop. Looking at 5 hours labor $500-$600. Costs as much if not more than the kit.

 

$100-120/hour is a bit high, for what should not be considered custom work. Some shops have their normal labor rate, and then a higher custom work/fabrication rate.

That said, I do as much of my own labor as possible but when I bring the car to a shop, I go where I'm confident it will be done right, the first time. I don't really price shop labor.

 

Yeah, the rate is $97 an hour but the shop is very knowledgeable with classics. They have a perfect condition Super Bee and I've seen an original perfect condition W40 442 there being worked on as well.

 

Do you guys think this job is easy enough for a novice to complete? I'm not a mechanic by all means but I do have basic mechanical skills. I've done simple replacements before like replacing differential oil, replacing radiator, replacing clutch fan, replacing thermostat. I haven't ever attempted to do anything this big before but watching a few videos online it seems straight forward. Fund are just really tight and if I could save $600 on installation, it would allow me to finally get my car running.

Would I need to replace the ball joints at the same time? Most of the tools (coil spring compressor, ball joint separator, ball joint press, race driver) I can rent from my local Pepboys/Autozone.

Can this be accomplished with hand tools or would I need airtools? My car has been sitting for 3-4months now, just want to get it rolling again.

 

So long as you respect the stored energy in the front springs, yeah, this is a bolt-on swap. Ball joint replacement is a MIGHTASWELL, as is bushing replacement. The downside is that you do need to remove the springs and control arms to do the bushings, which means that you need to deal with the springs - if you are just replacing the spindles, you can leave the shocks in place, which will hold the springs in place. Expect to have issues with pre-bent brake lines fitting and requiring tweaking. Understand the need to properly bleed the brakes. You'll want to get an alignment once it's all together.

 

The spring tension is the part that had me nervous. I really don't want to remove it. Same with tweaking anything like the brake lines as I don't really have experience there. I can follow instructions as long as I have them in front of me but to make mods is something that I don't think I could do. At this point I dont want to make it too complicated. Not sure if I should leave the ball joints and bushings in place to make it easier.