68CatLowRider Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hello, 1st time here. I have a 68 Wildcat. I am in the process of customizing/upgrading my Cat. I was wondering if anyone out there who knows if there is a disc brake kit for this vehicle or if another Buick had disc brakes that will fit onto this vehicle. I have checked all of the normal places: Jegs, Summit, PST etc. Nobody has anything! If anyone has any info it would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 Howdy and welcome!In the later 1960s, disc brakes were transitioning from "high performance" to "mainstream" equipment on North American vehicles. EACH GM division had their own engineering and design areas too (unlike the "combined" way things are done now) so that what was on a Buick was not what was on any other GM vehicle, in many cases. Therefore, what fits a 1968 Impala will not usually fit a 1968 full size Buick.Back then, Buick was using a particular aluminum brake drum. Many customizers polished them for looks on their open wheel hot rods. Seems like somebody in Australia is reproducing them? Maybe somebody near Grapevine, TX too? Perhaps somebody at V8Buick.com or in the Buick Street Rod group has some additional information?Basically, it doesn't require a "disc brake" to stop a vehicle, so long as the drum system is adequately sized and has some "better" brake linings. Fade resistance is one reason the disc brakes became popular, plus probably lighter weight too (as things progressed).If you desire to add disc brakes to your vehicle, finding a donor vehicle in the salvage yard would be the best way to do it. NO Internet Shopping there, typically. NOR a "kit" either. The "kit" will be the parts from the donor vehicle in the salvage yard (spindles, calipers, metal lines, master cylinder, power brake vacuum boosters and brake pedal linkage, proportioning valve, etc.) that will then become the basis for converting your existing vehicle. There might be other years of Buicks that might fit, which the salvage yard people's Hollander Interchange Manual will specify.Once you have the parts from the donor vehicle, you can then use many of them for "cores" for the reman parts you'll replace them with. Plus then you'll also know about how everything goes together and should be reinstalled on your vehicle.If you haven't done one of these "conversions" before, you might be well advised to just rebuild what you have. MANY of those magazine or television show build-ups are NOT completely as comprehensive as they might appear--by observation and my own experiences!!! They'll show you the major stuff, but not all of the support activities that have to be done too, with all due respect, Brad54.ALSO, most of the aftermarket items might not be quite as strong for day-in-day-out street driving as the OEM parts are. Many are more racing oriented than street oriented, by observation. It might be a noted name brand, but that doesn't mean it'll work on a street-driven vehicle, although many have expanded their product lines for street-driven/track-raced vehicles in more recent years. Just changing the brake items at the wheel is a very small part of the whole situation as you'll end up changing the whole brake system in many respects.By the way, I think that body style will look really nice with the lowered ride height or air bags (so you can raise it and not drag the rear bumper off) and possibly some 16" or 17" wheels. LOTS of neat lines on that car!Just some thoughts and observations,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55PackardGuy Posted July 30, 2005 Share Posted July 30, 2005 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Back then, Buick was using a particular aluminum brake drum.</div></div>The wonderful old Buick "Al-Fin" finned aluminum brake drums! I had these on my '65 Electra and always thought it had EXcellent braking for a big heavy car.What may be more of a safety concern than the drum brakes is whether your car has a single or dual braking system. The dual system is certainly a great safety feature--IF you pay attention in the event that half the system goes out, and don't drive around with only two brakes working. THEN it becomes a liability.IMHO if you have the finned aluminum drums and a dual braking system, you are in good shape, as long as you familiarize yourself with how the system responds and drive accordingly. I believe ANY braking system will experience some degree of "fade" following a very hard stop, and you need to remeber that you will have diminished braking capacity for a time following such a hard stop. How long it takes for full recovery of braking power will depend on how hard the stop was, and how well the system dissipates heat. Basically, the brake fluid will provide less pressure until it cools sufficiently.Another thing that is murder for heating up brakes is "riding" them down steep hills. This can produce a lot more heat and fade than a fast, clean stop. If you lock up the brakes during a tire-screeching stop, there may be little or no heat buildup from friction--because no moving parts are rubbing against the brake linings. But steady brake friction at high rotation speeds, especially at "impending lockup," will create a tremendous amount of heat and boil the brake fluid, which will result in big-time fade.Never heard of polishing those finned aluminum drums, but I bet they do look good depending on the wheels you have. With the old stamped steel wheels, you only got to see them when you removed the wheel, but they did look impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 On one of the car shows on cable tv a while back, they were installing a set of "covers" over the existing front brakes to simulate the Buick aluminum drums. They were doing a "period correct" Ford roadster street rod, so having the faux Buick drums was necessary for the correct look. When they got the covers installed, it looked like a normal drum brake system, but had more common items "hidden".There is an additional reply in the General Forum on this same cross-post. Lots of reality in it too.Enjoy!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68CatLowRider Posted July 31, 2005 Author Share Posted July 31, 2005 Thanks for the info. It looks like I will be sticking with the drums afterall. For the price of converting it really isn't worth. I will spend my money on other needed parts!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55PackardGuy Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Question: what year did Buick go to a dual braking system, and was this ever used on drum brake cars or those with discs only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68CatLowRider Posted August 1, 2005 Author Share Posted August 1, 2005 My Cat has a dual system. Works like it should, lost a wheel cylinder and she still stopped pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55PackardGuy Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 That's great it has a dual system. I'm worried about '67, though, as I plan to look at a '67 Riv this summer. I sure hope it has the dual system. What a pain if it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Guy, my understanding is that the 1967 models were the first Buicks to have the dual braking system. You should be fine with the '67 Riviera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55PackardGuy Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Oh boy, that makes me even more eager to look at this car. Fairly low mileage, (supposed to be in the 60's somewhere), claims to be a California native, it's that brownish-gold color with black vinyl top, rallye wheels, black interior. Has a bench seat, though, but it's power. 430/4 of course. Should definitely be worth a look. It hasn't been run much this year, and the owner said it would not start last time I called, so I'm supposed to go look at it once he has it running again. Could be soon--could be never. Ya never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BqUICK Posted August 6, 2005 Share Posted August 6, 2005 Hmmm...I have been this way before!Option 1: Stock Bendinx or Moraine est. $500 - $1000 including rebuildOption 2: Austrailian single piston est. $1500?Option 3: Copy my 4 Piston Race setup est. $1700 - $1900 Wilwood or BaerThe 1969 Electra "GSX" Road Racer has 4 wheel disc brakes. It uses front spindles that were made for the 1969 Buick disc brake option. I had my fabricator make some brackets for Wilwood Forged Superlite Calipers. This took a couple of hours, figure $160-$190 for brackets. Stock calipers weigh about 29lbs, I weighed my BENDIX units. They are known to stick but I have not had that issue. A set of Wilwoods are a couple, maybe three hundred a pair. Ok, so you have $400 - $600 if you do it yourself or get a buddy who won't soak you!If I do it we have to take apart the racecar and copy the brackets and fab them, add about $100 bucks. (Provided your spindles are like mine) I am working with BAER to come up with a setup for big Buick. I have not gotten a price yet, but will let you know once they have figured it out! Stock rims WILL hit slightly! Some slight changes can fix this problem however. Keep in touch at maj2nd@aol.comGod Speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68CatLowRider Posted August 8, 2005 Author Share Posted August 8, 2005 Thanks for the info BqUICK. Gonna stick with the drum setup, all new parts for under 200.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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