Disc Brakes for an Imperial

[Mr C]

I called Willwood on the phone a couple of weeks ago.
They flat out said no.

That is disheartening...total fail, Willwood!

 

[macr0w]

Yeah, I told my son that Leno probably paid 10 grand or more for brakes on that car.
And to be honest the guy from Wilwood said anything is possible with enough money.

 

[macr0w]

So, today we bought shoes, spring kits and wheel cylinder rebuild kits for the front of this thing.
The booster has been sent off to Booster Dewey.
I have to find someone to look at my drums and see if they can turn them.
How bad is it to run a drum with a groove like the ones in my pics?

 

[macr0w]

My buddy has a 1979 ford f100 that has 5 on 5.5 lugs on drum brakes. We need to look at one of those drums close up.
Wouldn't that be crazy if the hub from my 65 Imperial would fit that drum?
That would open a whole line of drums for us.

 

[JimmyG]

You might want to refer to "Poor Man's Master Cylinder Upgrade" by Gerald Morris, posted elsewhere and available by doing a search. I used a master from a 1968 Plymouth drum system and had no trouble on my '61 Chrysler. His article lays it out very clearly. I have added a posting of the updated fittings numbers for ease of acquiring them. Simple, effective and looks very good. Best of luck. If you decide to go discs, this same vehicle also had disc master cylinders as an option, if memory serves. Also, this master "looks" right when in position.

 

[macr0w]

I just got a call from Roger at AAJ Brakes.
He was very nice. He seemed like a very excited mopar enthusiast.
I talked to him on the phone for almost 45 minutes.
He said he's going to send me an email with a parts list of what we need to convert this 65 to disc brakes on the front.
He has me excited to see what's up with his kit.

 

[macr0w]

So, here's a question for everyone: Can someone show me what kind of master cylinder we would need to run disc brakes in the front and drum brakes in the rear?
Would the MC from a later Imperial work?
What model would it be?

 

[detmatt]

I would think one from a ‘67 would work.

 

[macr0w]

Thanks DetMatt. The 67 came with discs on the front from the factory didn't it?

 

[detmatt]

Thanks DetMatt. The 67 came with discs on the front from the factory didn't it?

Yes and optional on C bodies too.

 

[cantflip]

I just got a call from Roger at AAJ Brakes.
He was very nice. He seemed like a very excited mopar enthusiast.
I talked to him on the phone for almost 45 minutes.
He said he's going to send me an email with a parts list of what we need to convert this 65 to disc brakes on the front.
He has me excited to see what's up with his kit.

So, here's a question for everyone: Can someone show me what kind of master cylinder we would need to run disc brakes in the front and drum brakes in the rear?
Would the MC from a later Imperial work?
What model would it be?

This is a problem that AAJ should be asked... I don't dislike them or even know that much about them... when designing a brake SYSTEM, all of the piece need to work together.

 

[macr0w]

Well, Yesterday I compared a 1979 Ford F100 rear drums to our 1965 Imperial rear drums.
The drum from the Imperial fit on the F100 no problem. They are both 5 on 5.5" The difference is that the brake shoes for the Imperial are 11"x3", The brake shoes for the F100 are 11"x2.5".
The way the bakes are assembled on the F100 looked exactly like they do on the Imperial. The wheel cylinders were the same dimensions, all the springs and the ebrake looked the same.
With that said, what would you guys think about running 2.5" brake shoes on the rear of your Imperial?
The weight of the F100 was 4800 lbs. I know the Imperial is heavier but the F100 is also rated at a half ton of payload too.
If this was a viable option then we could use the readily available Ford F100 drums on our Imperials.
I think I may go buy a set of F100 brake shoes and see if I can install them on my Imperial.
Thoughts? Let me know of any "gotchas" that I'm not thinking about.

 

[macr0w]

I just got off the phone with the lady who answers the phone for the RamManInc.
She was telling me that all the parts in their kit are factory replacement parts for a 67 Imperial and that the rotors and parts can be found at any parts store.
If that's the case why aren't more people doing this type of conversion?
It seems quite simple and easy to configure.
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on his kit and just hope for the best.

 

[Big_John]

I just got off the phone with the lady who answers the phone for the RamManInc.
She was telling me that all the parts in their kit are factory replacement parts for a 67 Imperial and that the rotors and parts can be found at any parts store.
If that's the case why aren't more people doing this type of conversion?
It seems quite simple and easy to configure.
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on his kit and just hope for the best.

There's one simple thing that I'll bet is being ignored by both vendors you've mentioned... The wheel bolt circle. Have you asked either one that question?

It's common knowledge amongst us C and D-Body guys, but get into folks that sell 99.9% of their stuff to A-B-E body guys and their level of knowledge is that some A Body cars have a 4" bolt circle and the rest are 4 1/2".

 

[detmatt]

I just got off the phone with the lady who answers the phone for the RamManInc.
She was telling me that all the parts in their kit are factory replacement parts for a 67 Imperial and that the rotors and parts can be found at any parts store.
If that's the case why aren't more people doing this type of conversion?
It seems quite simple and easy to configure.
I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on his kit and just hope for the best.

How could you understand what she was saying with her head so far up her ***?

 

[macr0w]

There's one simple thing that I'll bet is being ignored by both vendors you've mentioned... The wheel bolt circle. Have you asked either one that question?

It's common knowledge amongst us C and D-Body guys, but get into folks that sell 99.9% of their stuff to A-B-E body guys and their level of knowledge is that some A Body cars have a 4" bolt circle and the rest are 4 1/2".

Are the 67 and later Imperials 5 on 5.5"?
I know the C bodies are 5 on 4.5".

 

[Big_John]

Are the 67 and later Imperials 5 on 5.5"?
I know the C bodies are 5 on 4.5".

Per post #15 on this thread:

Up to ‘67 Imps the bolt pattern is 5 on 5.5” and ‘67 and later is 5 on 5”.

 

[cantflip]

Per post #15 on this thread:

Formals are 5 on 4.5... not that that helps much

 

[macr0w]

Does the 67 still use a 15" wheel?

 

[detmatt]

Does the 67 still use a 15" wheel?

Yes