disc brake conversion

[mjwhite130]

I know this has been talked about before but I need some help. I just bought a 65 rivi and I want to put on disc brakes in the front. I was told by one brake company to install 70 skylark front end. Would this just be spindles or what and is that the best "front end" to use. Also I am confused about the "A" "B" body etc. What is the 65 Riviera. Any help would be greatly apprieciated.

Thanks
Mike

[Nick Stratta]

Hi,

The Riv is a body style on its own. Although in some years I think it was shared with the Olds Toronado and the Cadillac Eldorado.

The A body is a Skylark/ GS/ Pontiac GTO/ Olds Cutlass/ F85 or similar.
A b body is a Caprice, Le Sabre or similar -t eh full size passenger cars.
The C body is the big Caddies like the De Villes.
Teh Camaro and TransAm etc are F bodys.
All are GM body sizes and platforms. The theory goes that parts from the differnt bodies are interchangeable - largely.

If you're told the front end off a '70 Skylark will fit then fine. Make sure you get the 12" brakes for your 15" wheels and check the bolt pattern to see if they fit. Some don't. Some early a bodies use a 4.75 PDC stud patern and some a 5 inch. Some early A bodies have 11" discs too - the biggest you cen get under your rims teh better you'll stop. Also you'll need to make sure you can clear the caliper. Best thing is to take a wheel along and try it physically, If that's possible. Otherwise you may need to take the wheels and tyres off the donor car.

I'm surprised you have been advised to go with A body kit since here in early A body land [I have a '65 Skylark] the thing is to go for B body spindles. They give much better handling than the original A body stuff. Plus they give a 2 inch drop. You can also put C body stuff on if you change the rims also. I'm putting a full set from an '81 Buick Le Sabre Limited [ b body] onto my '65 Skylark. They are 11" discs and fit into my 14" Rallye wheels on teh Skylark - just. The only thng I'm kicking myself on is not grabbing teh gas pedal when it was going to match the brake pedal it took with it all at the time.

I'd get a good set up off a running car that is being parted out, not a junkyard set. If you do, by the time you've replaced all the barings and had the discs skimmed it'll cost you more than if you went to the specialists!

Buy everything - spindles, discs, calipers hoses, backing plates, bearings complete, master cylinder, proportioning valve, pedal and pedal box
becuase they all work together. Put in new lines whilst you are at it.

You'll have to figure out how to fit them to your upper and lower A arms. I'll have to either use b body ball joints and re-machine the hole on the lower arm and dress backt eh top ball joint plate to avoid fouling or machine the ball joint holes on the b body spindles to fit the different taper of the a arm ball joints - life is never simple!!

Also check the drop in ride height. You can do this by measuring the distance between the centre of the spindle and the top of the upright. - remember th car hangs on teh top arm, so a longer distace means the car sits closer to the floor [think about it and maybe draw it out on a peice of paper].

There is an ad on the classifieds here under parts for a 70 Skylark set up for a Riv. You may want o check it out, also the Global West web site.

Please let me knwo how you go, I'd be interested.

best regards [img]smile.gif[/img]