toymaker199

Hello My name is Christopher. Back in April my 03 Chevy S-10 stolen by some punks who went for a joy ride and rolled the darn thing in a field.
After receiving my insurance money I set out to purchase a new ride. I had already been on Ebay looking for a 50 or older ford to rat rod, never found a good one! Before the check came in i found my beauty. A 1964 Olds 98 with 36,000 original miles on it. I didn't have the money in my hand yet and the bids were at around 2,000 bucks.
I had to have that car. I emailed the seller and gave a little description on what had happened and asked if i could give him the buy it now price for the car if he takes it off of the auction block. He sent me his phone number and i made the call. We chatted for about 30 minutes and gave more detail about the insurance and when i was getting the check and he told to hit the buy it now price and he will see me Thursday. There was a 2,000 dollar fee up front for the buy it now thing but since i didn't have cash he said don't worry about it as i would have the full amount upon pick up.
The next week I went to pick up the car and it was better than i had expected. There were like 20 + photos on ebay and they were good enough that I felt good about getting the car. When i saw it i was amazed. I met Greg the owner and he was a realy nice guy. I made the transaction shook hands and was off.
So there i was the car came from Illinois made it to north Jersey and now i owned it. Goldie it was named and untill the 4th of July I have been enjoying it.
Now the 4th of July... well I have had it to about 6 car shows. My daughter was in the 4th of July parade in Delawere just acrooss the Pa line so I went to see her. I rolled up to the chruch where she was meeting with her karate studio to walk in the parade when an old guy rolled up and asked if I would like to be in the parade. Heck yea so there i was. Me and Melanie were in the parade and everything waas good. Untill... well I lost the brakes and rolled in to the truck in front of me. I could have cryed. That is why I'm here. I need some insight on my car. I will be asking Questions and posting progress on fixing my car and as soon as i can figure out how I will post the pics. Since the car rwill never be original again its hot rod time.

Oldsguy

Wow, what a story! I want to welcome you to CO and hope that you will be able to make repairs. At parade speed hopefully there wasn't much damage. We are looking forward to hearing/seeing more about your car.

Jamesbo

Welcome aboard

Sounds like you got a great car and are really enjoying it.

Note to self, "Always check brakes before joining a parade "

Olds64

Welcome to the website. Bummer that you were in a fender bender. Hopefully it can be fixed easily.

citcapp

Hope your car isn't hurt to badly. Its a common mistake on these old cars to under estimate the shape the running gear is in when we buy them. We forget how old they are and that things like rubber brake lines, tie rods, ball joints and other things are 40+ years old. This is a wake up call to check your ride and make sure it is safe. This applies to tires as well.

Good luck on finding the parts to repair your car.

72 cutlass455

Welcome sounds like a break upgrade will be in your furture. Did you find why the breaks failed ?

Lady72nRob71

Pat, I know who you were thinking about...
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...e-dilemma.html

Yep, very good points indeed.
Unfortunately, it is more important to be able to stop than to go, so it sounds like the whole brake system needs a go over. Rubber parts deteriorate with age, just like my old tires.
Check brake hoses, front and rear, and replace if cracked. If calipers or wheel cyls show any weapage, replace them, too. If master cylinder is very old, it would be good to just replace it, no matter if it leaks or not.

Glad you were not going fast then!

toymaker199

My name is Chris Im a machinist/auto mechanic/fabricator. It was a bad 4th but I will make the best of it. I been looking for anyone who has done a big brake conversion but can't find one. I'm thinking I can use the Global West negative suspension upper and lower arms with 81 Camaro spindles flipped sides as long as the balljoints and spindle are on the same centerline. The spindles will then have to be presses out and switched to the proper sides as the threads I belive are direction specific. What ever i design or find i will post. If there is a big enough market for it perhaps I can produce some spindles. There is a few founderys in my area mabey i can have somthing done with them. I dont think caliper position will matter as long as the brake lines are safe. There are companys that can make custome lines for a small price. As for the rear brakes Strange or moser can make rear axels if they dont already exist for the rear with a 5 on 4 3/4 bolt pattern and 7/16 studs. Nd im sure I can adapt a disk brake kit to it to no problem. I will keep posted.
By the way how do I post pictures on here, I'm good with Myspace and Facebook but never really was a blogger... well untill now. I know i have to use flicker or Photobug.

toymaker199

Yep it had a leak in the front drivers side wheel cylinder. It was dry the week before and sat the whole week. I been unemployed since Feb 2 so i don't go anywhere. Just sit and wait for the call back lol!

wolfman98

You should be able to navigate anywhere on the site so check out some of the tech places. There have been a lot of guys upgrade to disc brakes and you should be able to find out info.

Lady72nRob71

Chris, take a look through this big thread -
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...her-while.html

Richard did a fantastic suspension and brake upgrade on his 66 Cutlass.
Although you both have different chassis, I think you could at least get some good ideas from it.
His handles extremely well and stops great, even with no power brake booster! It challenges my 97 Caddy...

citcapp

Hope you get back to work soon. While you are shopping around for brakes check out scarebird brakes of the web I believe they have a front and rear conversion kit for your car. I converted my 57 Olds to disc brakes all around and it worked out great.

OlBluehairCruiser

Welcome to a fellow new guy. You will find all the answers here as I have. Try looking at Jegs or Summit they also offer disc brake conversion kits for just about anything. I had a similar problem with our 64' F-85 brakes after I replaced Mc,booster,wheel cylinders and new shoes it will stop on a dime all for about $400.00 and my labor....Good luck.

Olds64

There is a supplier called "Disc Brake Mike" that does brake conversion kits for older cars. Check it out:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...8-holiday.html