The sight of a large-barge Chevy rolling down an American highway carrying the typical nuclear family used to be a sight so common it would hardly attract a second glance. In fact, the sight was so familiar; the story of a family making a long trip in a wagon or full-sized car has woven itself into many a plot line on the silver screen. Without fail, at some point in the story, a bridge would be out, or Bambi would suddenly appear in the middle of road, and the driver of the large barge would have to stand on the brakes and send the car into a skid. The occupants inside would roll and tumble like rocks in a hubcap as the vehicle swooped and swerved to avoid certain tragedy. It was always funny on the big screen when we witnessed such events, because nothing bad would really happen to the people inside. Clark Griswold would eventually get to WallyWorld; Lucy and Ricky would arrive with their long trailer; the Bradys never had to use the brakes on their wagon at all.
Of course, those are just entertaining stories, and we all know what can really happen in an emergency stop situation. It can be anything but funny. Rather than wait unprepared for the aforementioned situation, it's time to give ourselves the home court advantage and swap out the old stock drums in the front for a shiny new pair of discs. These days, you can get disc brake upgrades as a prize in a box of cereal or sitting on the shelves at Megalow-Mart. Well, that may be true in some areas, but we took a different route. There was no need to scour a local salvage yard or run around town to various parts houses. Our fingers did the walking as we searched Performance Online's Web site, and there we found what we needed-a disk brake upgrade kit for '65-'70 Impalas. The price was right, too, at only $549. Since the Bel Air wagon is the same as an Impala minus trim, this kit was all that was needed. The brake kit comes complete with:
* Rotors
* Small "GM" calipers
* Bearings
* Seals
* Hoses
* Grease caps
* Spindle nuts
* Mounting brackets
* All necessary hardware
* 7-, 8- or 9-inch booster
* Master cylinder
* Prop valve
It also all fits on the stock spindles. Before we installed the brakes, we took the wagon and conducted some 60-0 mph deceleration tests. The Bel Air would regularly stop in the 220-foot range; not bad for a car its size running all drum brakes, but this wouldn't be if we settled for "Not Bad." So off we go.
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 Minus the booster, here is...  Minus the booster, here is everything needed for the install. The only thing you will have to buy is grease to pack the bearings. |
 With all the old brakes out...  With all the old brakes out of the way, it's a simple matter of removing the backing plate. |
 Finally a day later, a Sawzall...  Finally a day later, a Sawzall was used on that stubborn bolt and wheel cylinder, after that, no problems ... or so we thought. |
 Now the spindle was thoroughly...  Now the spindle was thoroughly cleaned with some brake cleaner. All grease and metal shavings from the sawed-off wheel cylinder were removed. |
 It turned out the removal...  It turned out the removal wasn't as simple as anticipated. The bottom two bolts came out just fine, except for the top; that was a different story. On both sides of the vehicle, they were torqued down so tight that an impact wrench barely got them undone. |
 As you can see in this close-up,...  As you can see in this close-up, this particular bolt got stripped clean by the air wrench. This bolt was the source of many an under-the-breath expletive. A propane torch was tried, hitting it with a hammer, and soaking it with lubricant every few hours until the next day, and still it would not let go. |
 Believe it or not, the stub...  Believe it or not, the stub came right out of the spindle with just a twist of the hand. |
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 Now the spindle was thoroughly...  Now the spindle was thoroughly cleaned with some brake cleaner. All grease and metal shavings from the sawed-off wheel cylinder were removed. |
 The first step is to bolt...  The first step is to bolt down the caliper bracket onto the spindle. Instructions are provided with the kit. |