out of commission, cant drive my dart anymore

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if you are switching to disc from drum and have to change the master anyway, now is the time to consider power brakes...
 
mopower440 said:
Brake hoses, does anyone know if the front rubber brake hoses are the same between the 10 inch drum and the kelsey hayes disc? I also need to figure out what master cylinder to get.The car does NOT have power brakes. I dont think the current one will work being it currently has drum all the way around..
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NO, Disc brake hoses, and Drum brake hoses ARE NOT the same thing.

68-72 front disc brake hose?
 
hemi71x said:
NO, Disc brake hoses, and Drum brake hoses ARE NOT the same thing.

68-72 front disc brake hose?
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Well, im still confused..i am not seeing the difference between the hoses in the picture in that post, and the next problem is i dont know what year the KH calipers came off of, so im still back to not knowing the correct part# for the hoses i need. I replaced the hoses on my car a while back but they are for the factory drums..and when i look them up at oreillys, it gives me the same part# for drum or disc..
 
Your making a mountain out of a mole hill here.
Just go to any parts store and order up any of those part numbers listed by the company, for DISC brakes.
The calipers don't care what hose is bolted to the hard line.
No difference in a caliper, unless your getting deep into rebuilding them, internally with differences in dust seals.
Don't care what the O'reilly's catalog, computer listing is telling you.
The part number isn't correct for both drum, or disc, two entirely different animals.
 
hemi71x said:
Your making a mountain out of a mole hill here.
Just go to any parts store and order up any of those part numbers listed by the company, for DISC brakes.
The calipers don't care what hose is bolted to the hard line.
No difference in a caliper, unless your getting deep into rebuilding them, internally with differences in dust seals.
Don't care what the O'reilly's catalog, computer listing is telling you.
The part number isn't correct for both drum, or disc, two entirely different animals.
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ok, thats what i will do, and why i got you on here, i need a proportioning valve for this swap and am thinking you maybe used to sell them or something? I know you can by adjustable ones and this and that, but i want to do this as simple as possible, which im assuming is getting an old factory one that came from an A-body that was disc front and drum rear from the factory..
 
Yes, i used to sell prop valves when i had them in stock, to sell.
But the supply of old disc brake A body cars in the Pick-N-Pull wrecking yards have dried up, gone away, a long time ago, even for California.
Haven't found one, had one, to sell in a long time.
Repops are available in the $80.00 + range, but it's hit or miss if your going to get one that works, or doesn't leak.
Your options are finding an excellent used one, or aftermarket, new adjustable one.
 
hemi71x said:
Yes, i used to sell prop valves when i had them in stock, to sell.
But the supply of old disc brake A body cars in the Pick-N-Pull wrecking yards have dried up, gone away, a long time ago, even for California.
Haven't found one, had one, to sell in a long time.
Repops are available in the $80.00 + range, but it's hit or miss if your going to get one that works, or doesn't leak.
Your options are finding an excellent used one, or aftermarket, new adjustable one.
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Dang, well that sucks, so as far as originals, what works, only units used on the KH cars or will 1973-76 A-body single piston disc prop valves work as well?
 
I bought parts according to this thread. The hoses have been superseded to another number, I'll find it in a bit. I'm going to start the install tomorrow on my wagon, so I can let you know how everything works in a couple weeks.
 
That's the distribution block. You still need the holdoff valve for the rear brakes.
 
My car came original with K-H brakes. The prop valve started leaking about 6 years ago. I tried rebuilding it but couldn't get it to not leak. So, I went with an adjustable one from Summit. Works fine but disappointed I could get my original working.
 
I have a stupid question about the lower control arm..The pivot shaft attaches the control arms to the K member but the pivot arm is just lightly pressed into the LCA bushing, so when tightening the nut on the pivot shaft, what keeps the whole shaft from spinning?
 
mopower440 said:
I have a stupid question about the lower control arm..The pivot shaft attaches the control arms to the K member but the pivot arm is just lightly pressed into the LCA bushing, so when tightening the nut on the pivot shaft, what keeps the whole shaft from spinning?
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The hole it fits into the K-frame is a tight fit, that's what holds it as you torque the nut down.

I'd highly recommend getting an adjustable prop valve if you can afford it, the factory prop valve kinda sucks it gives too much pressure to the rear brakes IMO.
 
str12-340 said:
if you are switching to disc from drum and have to change the master anyway, now is the time to consider power brakes...
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I personally think power brakes are a waste on A-bodies, they're light enough you really don't need it. My Duster is perfect with the '73-up front discs and no power assist, have to press on the pedal harder but they still stop excellent for a 50-year-old car. And the pedal feel is phenomenal, very easy to sense when a wheel is about to lock up.
 
The tread title makes it sound as if the car broke in half or the OP lost his eyesight. It may appear daunting but a front end rebuild is not like a total loss.
 
Kern Dog said:
The tread title makes it sound as if the car broke in half or the OP lost his eyesight. It may appear daunting but a front end rebuild is not like a total loss.
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Well guys, i hope i am not screwed here, but i have a problem. I have started tearing the front end down today. I got one side completely off the car, unfortunately i had to remove the upper and lower arms, hub, and drums all as a unit because i absolutely could not get the lower ball joint to pop loose. I had my 150 pound grandson standing on a 6 foot pry bar while i beat the snot out of it with a 10 pound sledge hammer and it will not pop loose for nothing..I have beat the thing till my arms went numb..I already got new upper arms to go in, so now im going to half to buy lowers also which really sucks but its do-able. Now the real problem: I go to the drivers side and the upper control arms bolts are frozen to the control arm bushing inner shell and will not come out!! I can turn the whole bolt but they will not come out do to being frozen to the inner shell. I have had all this soaking all week in PB blaster. Every day i went out and sprayed everything. What do i do? I finally gave up after an hour of trying to get them out and came in the house..
brake1.jpg
arm.jpg
 
Kern Dog said:
What about the "hot wrench" ? (Torch)
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i dont have one but will go buy one if that will work..? just hope i dont set the car on fire because of all the penetrating oil on everything..do you think that will break in loose? it also sucks because i cant get a good whack at the bolts with the hammer because of the inner fender being in the way. The other side came right out no problem.
 
mopower440 said:
i dont have one but will go buy one if that will work..? just hope i dont set the car on fire because of all the penetrating oil on everything..do you think that will break in loose? it also sucks because i cant get a good whack at the bolts with the hammer because of the inner fender being in the way. The other side came right out no problem.
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Torch that sucker until it gives way, heat always worked for me. All that will happen with the penetrating oil is it will smoke, might flare up a bit but I doubt it'll set your car on fire. IMO any real garage should have a fire extinguisher anyway.
 
You don't want a torch to cut into the tabs. I don't think you can't get the bolt out unless it is free from the inner sleeve of the bushing, or just cut the ends off of the bolt. See if you can borrow a Sawzall and with the blade moving slowly, see if you can get it in between the control arm and body tabs to cut the bolt on both sides. You have to cut it inside of the body tabs for it to release easily. You may have to raise the arm up for the inner cuts. It may be slow.

For the ball joint studs, are you hitting the stud end, or the side of the cast knuckle, 90 degrees to the stud axis? You want to do the latter. I have never seen/had one not pop out like that. Or, go to a parts store and rent/borrow a large pickle fork and try that. (And you removed the studs nuts, right?)

BTW, the fit of the pivot into the LCA bushing should be tight.
 
tab.jpg
brake1.jpg
WOW!!!! All i can say is my body is beat down! I will need a pry bar to get me out of bed tomorrow!..lol..I have ruptured discs in my neck and lower back and im gonna be hurtin boys! Anyway, i went to oreilys and got a propane torch and came back and put the flame where i could get the part of the bushings you can see cherry red and i beat and banged and pried my rear end off over and over again and FINALLY, they came out! Thank God! You wanna know what REALLY made me mad..The bolts did not have any rust on them,,so i dont know why they would not budge. The other side came right out..So, im a happy camper! The only bad thing is, one of the little tabs that are used for the adjuster broke, not sure what its called but i took a picture of it with my finger pointing at it..I hope this wont be a problem..?? I thank all of you for your guidance and patience with this!! I have a rebuilt set of upper control arms ready to go in but was hoping to save my lowers to rebuild and use, can anyone tell me how in the world i can get that dang lower ball joint to let loose? I did all i could do while it was still on the car and could not get them to let go..I was hitting the cast knuckle where your supposed to hit it, along with my grandson standing on a prybar. Ive never had that issue getting them to separate on any other vehicle. Now that everything is removed from the car, what can i do to get it apart? As much as i hammered on the thing, i hope it didnt hurt the cast end of the arm..
 
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