There is a treacherous mix of vehicles on the roads today. Everything from SUVs, trucks, muscle cars, and modern econo-boxes are all sharing the same increasingly crowded stretch of asphalt. The biggest problem with all these different age and types of vehicles is the huge discrepancy in braking performance. While acceleration is king with any self-respecting grease monkey, it's usually not the reason for bumper-to-bumper contact. Let us put it in perspective for you. The car we used for this four wheel disc brake upgrade is a '66 Bel Air that came with factory drum brakes at all four corners. This mid-'60s land yacht weighs in at almost 4,000 pounds and took 210.38 feet to stop from 60 mph. Most newer cars on the road have disc brakes and anti-lock systems, which puts their stopping distance around 160 feet or less. So imagine the outcome if you were behind one of these vehicles when they decided to slam on the brakes. We want the Bel Air to stay nice so shortening the stopping distance was a must if this car is going to be used for anything more that putting around the parking lot. We contacted Stainless Steel Brake Corp. (SSBC) and had it ship out a complete disc conversion, which we coupled with high performance Nitto tires and new Cragar rims. Once everything was installed, the car will have a fighting chance out on the road, and our test data proved it. During the testing, the brakes were working so well we were fighting wheel lockup, proving to us we are at the limits of traction. The Bel Air now comes to a halt in 181.00 feet, shaving 29.38 feet from the overall stopping distance. That could be the difference between just calling the guy in front of you some sort of expletive or calling your insurance company to report a claim. Here are the components for the front of the car. It's SSBC's TriPower three-piston, drum to disc conversion kit with 2-inch forged drop spindles and 13-inch rotors (PN W129-40). The kit comes complete with all the necessary hardware needed for the job. The drop spindles will lower the ride height for improved handling thanks to the lower center of gravity, but will push out the wheels almost a 1/2-inch per side-keep that in mind when ordering wheels. The spindles use the factory steering arms for easy steering hook up. The heart of the kit is the 3-piston aluminum calipers and 13-inch Turbo slotted and drilled rotors. The calipers feature a lightweight aluminum body filled with three 43mm stainless steel pistons that help insulate the brake fluid against fade-inducing heat. Also, they use standard off the shelf pads for easy replacement. The larger rotors give the new calipers a better leverage advantage and combined with the extra clamping force, you can start to see why we needed these on the Bel Air.Here are the components for the front of the car. It's SSBC's TriPower three-piston, drum Since we don't need as much braking force out back as we do up front we went with the Sport R1 Drum To Disc kit for C-clip style rear ends (PN A125-27). This kit features a floating Sport R1 Single-Piston aluminum caliper with built in parking brake. This caliper clamps down on 11.5-inch drilled and turbo slotted rotors. It also comes complete with everything you will need for the conversion and also uses off the shelf pads.Since we don't need as much braking force out back as we do up front we went with the Spor This car will have multiple engines stuffed underhood and some will definitely have low vacuum, so we figured if we could get this monster to stop on manual brakes then it would definitely stop if it was equipped with a booster. Because we are changing to manual brakes we picked up a new 1-inch bore master cylinder and a universal adjustable pushrod kit. Manual brakes require a smaller bore master compared to power brakes to produce the right amount of pressure. The push rod accommodates eyelet, clevis and bell crank style pushrod setups and includes adapters for 10 common pushrod configurations.This car will have multiple engines stuffed underhood and some will definitely have low va A set of 17-inch or larger diameter rims and tires were needed to clear the new brakes and we wanted something that looked period correct, but still offered the size and offset we needed. Enter the 612 series two-piece Super Sports from Cragar. Not only do the wheels have that classic five-spoke design, they also have more backspacing range than we need. Up front we went with a 17x8 with 4-inches of backspace (up to 45/8-inch is available). For the rears we went bigger and picked up a set of 17x9.5 with 5 inches backspace (up to 65/8-inch is available). Looking back, we should have ordered the rears with 51/2 inches of backspacing; luckily, a small spacer fixed our bad measuring job. Rims are nothing more than something pretty to look at unless they are shod with some tires. To make the best use of the new braking performance, we wrapped the rims with Nitto's NT420 tires, 225/50R17 up front and 275/50R17 out back. The NT420 feature a treadwear of 300, so they will have more grip over the previous tires.A set of 17-inch or larger diameter rims and tires were needed to clear the new brakes and To start, the car was strapped to the lift and Jason Scudellari proceeded to tear down the front. He removed the brake assembly and spindle as a complete unit, then removed the steering arm on the bench. After cleaning off years worth of road grime, the steering arms got a fresh coat of black paint.To start, the car was strapped to the lift and Jason Scudellari proceeded to tear down the The forged 2-inch drop spindles were bolted up to the stock ball joints. This is a great time to replace the ball joints if they show any signs of wear. Ours were OK. After the spindle was in place, Jason bolted up the freshly painted steering arms with the provided counter sunk hardware and reattached the steering linkage.The forged 2-inch drop spindles were bolted up to the stock ball joints. This is a great t The bolts were torqued to specifications laid out in the instructions. There will be a lot of new hardware being installed and everything will be torqued, so if you plan on doing this conversion make sure to have a torque wrench on hand before you start.The bolts were torqued to specifications laid out in the instructions. There will be a lot The supplied bearings were packed full of grease before being installed on the rotor. The seal is carefully tapped into place with a plastic tipped hammer.The supplied bearings were packed full of grease before being installed on the rotor. The Before the rotor is placed on the spindle, the entire spud is coated in grease including the area where the seal will ride. After the rotor was slipped over the spindle the outer bearing was installed followed by the washer, castle nut, cotter pin and dust shield. You can also see the caliper bracket that was bolted to the spindle right before we got all greasy lubing up the spud.Before the rotor is placed on the spindle, the entire spud is coated in grease including t The calipers come preassembled so the whole assembly slips over the rotor and attaches to the bracket mentioned earlier. There are two spacers provided in the kit that must be placed between the caliper cage and the bracket. These will center the caliper over the rotor for optimum performance and pad life.The calipers come preassembled so the whole assembly slips over the rotor and attaches to The kit comes with stainless steel flex lines that feature a banjo fitting on one end and an EO-style fitting on the other. The banjo fitting will be sandwiched with two copper washers before being installed on the caliper. The other end snaps into the factory brake line bracket and has the correct threads for the factory line. With that Jason turned his attention to the rear.The kit comes with stainless steel flex lines that feature a banjo fitting on one end and The axles need to be removed for the job and to get them out the inspection cover was unbolted and the old fluid drained. This gave Jason access to the cross pin that slides out after the little retaining bolt was removed.The axles need to be removed for the job and to get them out the inspection cover was unbo The caliper mounts to the bracket with two slide pins, which allows the caliper to move with the axle. The axles in a C-clip style rearend will have a small amount of side-to-side movement and having the calipers on slide pins will eliminate pad push back that can happen with fixed style calipers on c-clip rearends.The caliper mounts to the bracket with two slide pins, which allows the caliper to move wi Just like the front, all of this stuff will be replaced with new disc stuff. The only thing that needs to be retained is the e-brake cable. Jason tore off the brake shoes so he could pop the cable free from the mechanism.Just like the front, all of this stuff will be replaced with new disc stuff. The only thin Now the cable was removed from the backing plate. A funky clip, it has some pretty stout ears to hold it on. The best way to compress the ears so the cable will slide out of the backing plate is to find a boxed end wrench (14mm in our case) and push it over the clip.Now the cable was removed from the backing plate. A funky clip, it has some pretty stout e Now the rear brake line was undone from the wheel cylinder and backing plate unbolted from the rearend housing.Now the rear brake line was undone from the wheel cylinder and backing plate unbolted from After a little bit of cleaning to the area, the flange bracket was mounted to the housing and then the caliper bracket was bolted to the flange bracket. These brackets can be clocked to position the caliper in different locations. We decided to position the caliper up and to the back to match the front.After a little bit of cleaning to the area, the flange bracket was mounted to the housing Now that the brackets are installed and bolts torqued to spec, the axle was slid back in the housing. The C-clips and cross pin will be addressed after the passenger side conversion is finished. The new 11.5-inch rotors slipped right over the axle and Jason temporarily held it in place with a lug nut.Now that the brackets are installed and bolts torqued to spec, the axle was slid back in t The caliper mounts to the bracket with two slide pins, which allows the caliper to move with the axle. The axles in a C-clip style rearend will have a small amount of side-to-side movement and having the calipers on slide pins will eliminate pad push back that can happen with fixed style calipers on c-clip rearends.The caliper mounts to the bracket with two slide pins, which allows the caliper to move wi Here is a good shot of the e-brake assembly and how it uses the factory cable to function. You can also see that just like the front, the rear stainless steel brake lines mate up to the factory brake lines. With the completion of the other side Jason moved onto the master cylinder.Here is a good shot of the e-brake assembly and how it uses the factory cable to function. Before installing the new billet master cylinder Jason worked all the air bubbles out by bench bleeding the master with DOT 3 fluid. This master has ports on both sides for multiple line routing we used the ports on the out side which is the same location as stock. You have to bleed all four ports whether you utilize them or not.Before installing the new billet master cylinder Jason worked all the air bubbles out by b With the old booster and master removed from the fire wall the new unit slipped right into place. This car had a single reservoir master on it so a few new lines needed bending and flaring. We also installed an adjustable proportioning valve in the rear line. This will allow us to dial down the rear brakes so they won't lock up when all the weight shifts forward under a hard stop.With the old booster and master removed from the fire wall the new unit slipped right into Because brake lines are subjected to a lot of pressure (1500psi and more), all the lines need to be double flared to prevent leaks.Because brake lines are subjected to a lot of pressure (1500psi and more), all the lines n Inside, the new adjustable pushrod kit was used to tie the brake pedal to the master. Here, Jason has the ends installed so he could measure the distance between and cut the center piece to size. Since this is adjustable he was able to make the rod a bit longer to take up any slop in the pedal.Inside, the new adjustable pushrod kit was used to tie the brake pedal to the master. Here The system was bled starting with the furthest caliper (passenger rear) from the master and then working our way to the closest (driver front). Since the calipers are shipped dry this will take some time. Once all the air is bled from the system, you should see upwards of 1500 psi in the front and about 900psi in the rear. The rear will be less, thanks in part to the proportioning valve. That completes the transformation and once Jason strapped on the new rolling stock the car was taken out to bed the pads. Bedding the pads is a necessary step in any brake install and SSBC has mapped out how to do it in the instructions.The system was bled starting with the furthest caliper (passenger rear) from the master an 60-0 Test Results Before: 210.38 feet After 181.00 feet Price Breakdown $1,820.00 FRONT DISC KIT $1,420.00 REAR DISC KIT $1,200.00 CRAGAR RIMS $510.00 NITTO TIRES $425.00 BILLET MASTER $68.00 MOUNT & BALANCE $59.00 ADJUSTABLE PROP VALVE $58.00 PUSH ROD KIT $49.00 PSI GAUGE KIT $15.00 LUG NUTS $5,624.00 TOTAL Here is a nice shot of the car with all the new goodies installed. The wheel and tire combo looks perfect on the car and the brakes fill them up just right.Here is a nice shot of the car with all the new goodies installed. The wheel and tire comb Once the pads were bedded we took the car to the El Toro test facility and watched as it came to a stop almost 30 feet less than before. We were fighting wheel lockup so we know the brakes are working. Now we will need to focus our attention on the suspension to control the dive so we can adjust the proportioning valve and add a little more rear brake pressure.Once the pads were bedded we took the car to the El Toro test facility and watched as it c SOURCES Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation 11470 Main Street Clarence NY 14031 800-448-7722 www.ssbrakes.com El Toro Field / AMCI El Toro Field Irvine CA 92618 www.eltorofield.com Nitto Tire 6021 Katella Avenue Suite 250 Cypress CA 90630 877-565-8448 www.nittotire.com Cragar Industries, Inc. 2188 Highway Avenue Northwest Milford IA 51351 712-330-8407 www.cragar.com By Calin Head Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
