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From: Billy-Jack Ebare
Email: ebare73@yahoo.ca
Remote Name: 24.70.144.97
Date: January 02, 2003
Time: 10:40:25
Herman. Last summer I changed my front brake system in my 1958 Plymouth belvedere over to a much safer disc brake system. Because I (like so many others) don't have access to a vast fortune, I improvised. I used front spindles out of a 1985 Chrysler 5th avenue. They fit perfectly. They accept the original ball joints and tie rod ends from your car, and fit into your front end without any major mods. The only adjustment that I had to do was cut about one inch off of each tie rod adjuster. (This allows for future allignment, as the original length of the adjuster is too long to facilitate wheel allignment with the new spindles). I had to improvise a bit with the rubber brake hoses to. However, if you have access to scrap yard(as I did)measure up what you need, and go searching. Of course, once you find a set that suits your needs, you'll want to buy new ones. I used Ford truck brake flex hoses. I found them to be of sufficient length. I might be wrong with this, but I am almost cetain that all Forward Look cars use the same front spindle assembly, but maybe someone else can shed some light on this. I have a friend that is in the process of changing his 1960 Desoto Adventurer over to disc's, and we found the same parts that I used will also fit into his car. One more thing that I should mention is that once you have installed the new brake system, you will find that you have lost a bit of your turning radius. When I say a bit, I mean that you won't be able to tell you lost anything once you have driven the car for a while. You should also take note the you will notice that the tops of the wheels will lean in slightly more than of original. Most of this is corrected in the allignment, and the rest is the nature of the beast as they say. The allignment shop that did my front end allignment said that my car lined up perfectly. After 2000 miles there is still no evidence of front tire wear... Have fun with this project which ever path you choose to take. I just thought that I might be able to save a fellow Forward Looker a few bucks. God knows we can all use some of that when you're in a hobby like this one. Billy-Jack
