Disc Brake ?? Old garage myth ???

[jackb]

OK-I've got the front suspension out of the 63' Cruiser and will have bushings in this week. I pulled the brakes apart, and as usual, this barn fresh car needs attention in this area. There is a fairly deep score in one of the rotors where the pad guide has met the surface and in addition to turning the rotors the calipers will require kits. A couple of questions: 1) Is SI and the other vendors selling off-shore disc brake components ? 2) If I could find NOS, I assume that would be preferable especially the asbestos pads <G>. 3) Is this Stude disc set-up a Jaguar system ? What years ? 4) I have always smeared a thin layer of grease on the spindle before installing bearings/hubs.....shouldn't they be done dry like rear axles ? Any tips for a 1st timer disc brake rebuilder ? Thank you.

[StudeDave57]

Having driven my Cruiser well over 200,000 miles, I've done a brake job or two.
Here's what I know.
I have a set of those 'new' rotors here, but I have no idea where they were made. I've not had to use them yet, so I don't know how well they 'work'.
The caliper kits I've used seem to work okay. When I've had to replace the unit- new calipers have never given me any problems. Most of the time they've come from Dunlop. Did I spell that right? I can also say that the pads usually come from Wagner Brake. I get about about 30-45,000 miles out of them, but I drive hard.

Be sure to shop around, as there are vendors out there who can beat SI's prices on items like these~ click my 'name' on the left to see my profile, and learn more with the 'cool link'.

StudeDave [8D]
V/P San Diego County SDC
San Diego, Ca

'54 Commander 4dr 'Ruby'
'57 Parkview (it's a 2dr wagon...) 'Betsy'
'57 Commander 2dr 'Baby'
'57 Champion 2dr 'Jewel'
'58 Packard sedan 'Cleo'
'65 Cruiser 'Sweet Pea'

edited for spelling [V]

[sbca96]

Well .. there is a right way ... and there is a cheap way. If you are
going to keep an eye on things, you might be able to just scuff the
rotors up and put it back together with caliper kits and new pads. I
would suggest some semi-metallic pads on your grooved rotors. I have
run my 93 Camaro Z28 with the factory rotors to over 200,000 miles. I
just kept replacing the pads and removing the glaze. It developed a
couple grooves over the years, but they never effected the operation.
With the expense of Studebaker replacement rotors ($175), you want to
get the most out of them. The calipers will need to be checked for
pitting (quite common), and make sure you didnt mix up the shims! Its
really dependent on what kind of driving you plan to do with it, will
it just live most its life in the garage, never going over 35 mph on
the way to a local car show, or will it scream down a busy freeway at
well over 80 mph? The amount of money you spend should be based on an
evalution of what demands the car will see. I believe that the shop
manual explains the repacking of the wheel bearings, and such. I have
always filled the inside with grease also - between the bearings. The
rotors are Studebakers own, the caliper wheel cylinders are Jag and
then later used by Toyota and Datsun. I never got my stock calipers
to stop leaking, the pits were too bad, and the 100+ each replacements
got me to just develop my own disc system using modern cheap and very
plentiful parts. You can spend $500 bucks in JUST front cylinders![:0]

Good luck with your project!

Tom

'63 Avanti, zinc plated drilled & slotted 03 Mustang Cobra 13" front disc/98 GT rear brakes, 03 Cobra 17" wheels, GM alt, 97 Z28 leather seats, soon: 97 Z28 T-56 6-spd, Ported heads w/SST full flow valves, 'R3' 276 cam, Edelbrock AFB Carb, GM HEI distributor, 8.8mm plug wires

[JDP]

yes, chances are the caliper will be toast and $400 for new ones, a bit less to have them sleeved. It's usually about as cheap to go with Turner brakes my the time you are done. rear wheel cylinders aren't cheap either.

JDP/Maryland
64 Daytona HT/R2 clone
64 GT R2
63 Lark 2 door
58 Scotsman
52 & 53 Starliner
51 Commander
39 Coupe express
39 Coupe express (rod)