[Amc-list] American brakes, pleasant surprises

["Swygert, Francis G MSgt 436 CES/CECM" <Francis.Swygert3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, you CAN run 63-64 Classic Six front drum brakes. They have a
slightly larger wheel cylinder and a 1/2" wider drum, IIRC. My first
brake upgrade was just that on a 61 American wagon. Stopped like it had
discs on it! I also installed the Classic dual master cylinder and rear
wheel cylinders to complete the transformation. 

If you want to go with disc brakes the standard 70-83 Concord/Spirit
brakes work. Because of the steering arm you have to reverse them (put
left on right, vice-versa) so that the caliper is in the back, not the
front, and will have to notch the dust shield to clear components. That
upgrade was done to my 63 American 440 sedan. 

The steering arm has to curve between the drum and wheel because of the
short wheelbase and pivot line of the steering knuckle. Got to keep the
Ackerman angle correct! I thought long and hard about how to get 14"
wheels on there!! Some stock steel 14s will fit with a 1/4" spacer and
disc brakes, but only 6" ones. Not sure if they would with the wider
drums. I thought maybe a rack and pinion conversion would work, but the
tie-rod end needs to be on a line drawn between the existing location
and centerline between the trunnions -- right where the inner edge of a
rotor (or drum) is located. A rear steer setup would be way to much
trouble to even think about, and then the ends would be way inboard --
another headache to get steering geometry and clearances in order. So
there are no easy upgrades. 
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