Greetings All:

New to the forum! I have a 69 Cutlass that I have recently pulled out of storage ... What conversion kits has been used in the past? I have been looking on Summit and Jegs and there are a lot of options ...

The Cutlass has been in storage for 5 years undriven, prior to that it was driven very little due to the poor brake quality ... I am planing to replace the master cylinder and power brake booster out of PM ... I am thinking that I only need to convert the front to disc brakes, unless, I hear otherwise ...

Thanks for your help!

 

There are a whole bunch of companies that offer complete kits for a disc brake swap, including MC and booster if necessary. I've had good luck with Stainless Steel Brakes.

 

Some of those kits you mentioned are "universal" for A-Body cars and do not fit the cutlass very well. Been there! If you decide to go with "right stuff" kit make sure you get the cutlass specific one. Those lines only require a small amount of tweaking to install.


If you search this site, there are listings of what to buy at your autoparts store to make the conversion. Welcome aboard, and good luck with your car.

 

here is the link...
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...sk-brakes.html

 

Check inlinetube.com, probably the only thing that I bought for the Cutlass that just fit right.

 

The 10.75" disc brakes that were factory-available in 1969 fit and work perfectly. See the link posted above (and your Chassis Service Manual) for more info.

 

A slight detour on the thread, since the OP has only 1 post, I suspect he is a newbie...
The above mentioned chassis service manual is your friend! Try to buy an original off ebay or somewhere... the wiring diagram in color alone is worth the price! And the obligatory request for pictures of OP project car of course... Now back to the thread in progress! ;-)

 

Thank you for the link provided above ... Looks like it's not as easy as I originally thought! Prior to finding this forum I was looking at conversion kits on summitracing.com ....

Looks like the first step it to measure the stock wheel to see if I will have enough clearance ... Secondly, there are kits that come with a new spindle and some that use the existing spindle ... Is there a need to replace the spindle?

If I need to replace the spindle, I might as well replace the ball joints as well as all the bushings, to my knowledge these are factory original! The car only has 70K miles, but, it is nearly 46 years old!

I'll be moving the cutlass home this weekend and I'll post some pics once it's in my garage! ...

 

Another detour of the thread, make sure you get yourself a MAW (might as well) protective gear, starting with a good quality helmet. Without it you are gonna start with brake conversion and end up with the body of the frame.

 

Yes, the spindles are different between drum brakes and disc brakes. You most likely will need to change out the bushings and ball joints. when you do the car will handle better as well. I put poly graphite bushings in mine years back, really made the car nicer to drive. I am sure others can steer you to a newer alternative. If you go the uraethane route it is IMPORTANT to use lots of the grease that comes with the kit so they do not squeak. Best luck with your project. You may want to change out the front springs while you are there as well... I had one that was broken...


This would be what you are getting into...
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post264807


Good cheap penetrating oil... Automatic transmission fluid mixed 50/50 with acetone... try it, you will LOVE it!

 

What I did on my 67 442 resto-mod conversion from drum to disk. I got my parts off a 72 Cutlass. Bought new rotors and talked with parts house guy about I'm wanting-willing to wait for a pair of rebuilt GM Moraine calipers to come in. He opened the boxes of rebuilt calipers as they came in. About a week later a pair of Delco Moraine calipers came in. I exchanged them with the ones I got off the 72 Cutlass. Then as mentioned above, I also completely restored the whole front suspension. Since I supplied the labor(sweat equity) I bought all premium grade parts, and 2 inch drop springs. On a 67 A-body, I swapped out the bracket that supports the soft line to the hard brake line, you should not have to do that. The only downside is although I love the stance, the front tires will rub a bit in a sharp turn with any additional passengers in the car, tires a to big 235-60x15's. It was a lot of fun

 

I just inherited a 69 Cutlass and new here myself. Actually looking to do a front disc brake conversion as well. Someone had told me if the car was built in Canada, then the spindles used on the drum brakes, may be able to be used for disc brakes too. Anyone hear of this? Or is this complete bull?

 

I've never heard of this, so I'm going with "complete bull".

 

Canadian built cars used the same spindles as any other. You can machine A-body drum brake spindles to use as disk spindles as described in this website. Frankly, it isn't worth the effort. Since these are the same as Chevelle spindles, EVERYONE sells them. I got a mini-kit from Right Stuff for something like $125. It included spindles, splash shields, and caliper brackets. Everything else is available at your local auto parts store.