[Norritt]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a 1967 Grand Prix and had it delivered straight to mechanic to give it a once over. As expected it needs some work.

Needed new battery, alternator, ignition, fix tail light, fuel gauge, temp gauge, shocks, springs, bushings etc.. All pretty straight forward and easy to handle.

Now decision time - It needs brakes - Do I keep / reline the 8 lug drums or convert to disc and put rally II's on it.

Any thoughts either way (other than keeping it original) - I really like both looks..

If I keep the 8 lugs, anyone have a good lead on someone to reline the drums?

If I convert to disc, any recommendations on where to get what I need.

Any info, advice, comments would be appreciated.

[Stuart]

Do the eight lug drums really need to be relined, or can they just be turned and reused? There are a couple places that can reline them - I don't recall names or addresses but I know they've been discussed in this section in recent months. Someone else will be able to provide information, or you could maybe find posts about them using the advanced search function (I don't think the search will work using '8'. try using 'eight' instead.)

As far as converting to disks, they'll probably perform better but drum brakes (if properly set up with good linings) will work pretty good - the main thing is they aren't as resistant to fade as disks, so if you live in hilly country or are in the habit of making repeated hard stops that can be a problem. For one hard stop every now and then, like most people will see in average driving, they should be okay.

Personally I think your car looks better with the eight lugs, but rally II wheels will look good as well. It's your call. I believe the rally II wheels weren't available from the factory on big cars until 1969, so they won't be 'original' if that's a concern.

[AZ64GP]

My '64 GP wasn't an 8-lug car so I went with the disc brake conversion. 8-lugs look great, but nothing can touch how discs will perform. I bought the complete kit (i.e. rotors, master cylinder, booster, calipers, brake pads, bearings, etc). from Master Power Brakes. They make kits for the '60s GM B-bodies and many others. I had some issues with the kit installing it, but MPB was helpful and the kit comes with instructions. I don't know how the kit performs since my car isn't back together yet.

Scarebird Classic Brakes is also an option for a disc conversion and he is frequently on this forum. I don't know if he sells a complete kit, but he includes the brackets needed to make the conversion and then you have to buy the other pieces. I haven't purchased from him, but from what I hear he has a good reputation.

[Goatracer1]

I also used Master's kit on my 1964 GP with good results. And installed 15" Rally II wheels. They have been in use about 4 years and I am very happy. I had 8 lugs on my 1963 Bonneville and was never satisfied. Also it's had to find 14" tires now.

[Norritt]

I am leaning to disc / rally's conversion kit - that said, what do I do about the rear brakes?

[AZ64GP]

You can use regular drum brake backing plates (not sure if there is much difference from your 8-lug set up...someone else more knowledgeable can confirm) and do drum brakes. I kept the stock rear drums in back of my car and only did disc up front. Parts can be found at our host's site as well as Rock Auto, etc.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably do disc in the rear too. By the time I bought new drums, pads, etc with all new hardware, I probably could have converted to rear disc for about the same money.

Both of that companies I mentioned in my post below offer kits to convert the rear to disc brakes for our cars. Just be sure if you do all disc or disc/drum, you let the company know you're buying the kit from. The proportioning valve will be different depending on what brake set up you choose.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Stuart

As far as converting to disks, they'll probably perform better but drum brakes (if properly set up with good linings) will work pretty good - the main thing is they aren't as resistant to fade as disks, so if you live in hilly country or are in the habit of making repeated hard stops that can be a problem. For one hard stop every now and then, like most people will see in average driving, they should be okay.

I agree, but would like to point out that the 8 lugs should perform better than a traditional drum/drum setup, because of better cooling of the aluminum and size of the drum.

Originally Posted by Stuart

Personally I think your car looks better with the eight lugs, but rally II wheels will look good as well. It's your call. I believe the rally II wheels weren't available from the factory on big cars until 1969, so they won't be 'original' if that's a concern.

x1000!

K

[Poncho60]

Std and 8 lug drums are same size. Just difference in cooling efficiency.

[Norritt]

Another part playing into it is the car was not originally an 8 lug car. It had option code 458 (Custom Wheel Discs). Makes sense why the caps on these 8 lugs are not the right year. Side note anyone know what the custom wheel discs looked like?

I don't know...still very undecided. I do know relining the drums is going to take time (disassemble, ship out, wait for 4 weeks, get back etc), where disc is more instant gratification

[Stuart]

As mentioned, if you do convert to disks on the front all you need to do on that back is get a pair of conventional brake drums, the innards (shoes, hardware, etc.) are the same.

There are a bunch of factory brochures and catalogs you can look at here, to get an idea of what the wheel discs looked like: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/stati.../dirindex.html for some reason the Grand Prix specific brochure is not available but you can look at the prestige or accessory catalogs.

[stevep]

Go with 15" Rally II's and front disc. The rear drums are fine. The spindles are the same disc and drum on your car.
Go to www.scarebird.com.

[Marv]

I bought a Master Power kit and it is awesome. Great quality parts and good tech support