I'm going to test fit the disc brake setup I took off an '86 Comanche (the hubs have rotors that pop off, same as 4wd '84 to '89 XJs) on my Isabelle's '68 Rebel before putting the old disc setup from my '82 Spirit on there. (I'm swapping in and Eagle front axle soon, IF I ever get my time off for vacation!) Jim Blair, Lynnwood, WA '87 Comanche, '83 Jeep J10, '84 Jeep J10 From: tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx> To: "AMC, Rambler, Nash, Jeep and family" <amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [AMC-list] rosie went for a drive Message-ID: <c81e13650911030911x2f55e570m2fbb13c34b12575f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 05:49, Frank Swygert <farna@xxxxxxx> wrote: >> Tom also used larger front drums. You can take them off a Gremlin or just >> about any other AMC though. Still 9", but 1/2" wider than yours. > On the early americans the old wheels have gotta go if you want to do *anything* with brakes. Those wheels are downright *peculiar*. Almost no one will want to drill brake drums, and without the vents, they're as bad as ever with water. You could not drill the backing plates and just drill the 12 holes in the drum itself and eliminate or vastly reduce the water problem. With both mods, 50 - 60 mph for 20 minutes down a steep twisty mountain road (speed limit: 20), No engine braking, the 9 x 2.5's lost no braking power. >> I'd think seriously about a Scarebird kit unless you find a good set of >> 79-83 AMC brakes. Those are hard to find in salvage yards, especially with >> good turnable rotors. >> > For a driver, I think scarebird is now the overall best choice -- though I have not used them yet. The AMC parts are getting hard to find and expensive. Rotors for my 63 Classic, which has a '79 AMC disc setup, will cost more than half of the entire set of stuff needed for a Scarebird conversion. The NEWEST AMC disc brakes are 20 years old. My wagon needs rotors; I bought them new who knows when, and there's not enough metal left for another turn-down. I'm right on the fence right now about just switching to the scarebird setup instead of paying $200+ for rotors. The calipers are a decade old and won't last much longer. In August I did the dreaded "pad slap", just slapped on some eBay pads I had onto the old rotors. I guess that was a decision by default, new brake setup in the spring. Plus with Scarebird you get a new grease seal surface, all my old spindles have grease seal journal wear. (And I can sell the AMC brake kit of parts and recover some money :-) _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ AMC-list mailing list AMC-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx http://list.amc-list.com/listinfo.cgi/amc-list-amc-list.com