Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we're
free at last!
It somehow seemed fitting to quote the late Reverend
Martin Luther King Jr., it being the weekend of his
holiday and all...
Today I picked up one machined Supra rotor and one
machined Budd brake hub from a '68 Imperial from
Grizzly machining, on Washington Ave in Baltimore, MD.
Upon initial inspection, they did a wonderful job.
The new hub/rotor setup seemed virtually identical to
the original setup in outer dimensions.
After work i eagerly rushed home to install it.
Sufficed to say that whatever could have gone wrong
went wrong, at least initially, and I'll spare the
details for now (look for my upcoming book, "Tales
from the Budd Side" for all the horrific details of
this and other automotive exploits of my last 10
years), but eventually the rotor got bolted to the
hub, the hub got secured onto the spindle, the caliper
slid over the rotor, and the tire went back on the
hub.
Statically, everything appeared OK. There were a few
clearances that were cutting it close (the caliper is
a mere 1/4" from the hub center) but the wheel rotated
freely, the rotor was dead centered, with no runout
(and it was never even machined on its faces!)
Next came the trial. Now, this is what would be, to
my mind, the critical test. With a Budd rotor on one
side and a Supra rotor on the other, would our tasters
be able to tell the Folger's difference?
Absolutely not. The car rolled freely, with no pull
on the steering wheel, and when the brakes were
applied, the car stopped straight and true, with no
noise, binding, sticking, or vibration. I did a few
hard stops from 40 mph to 0, and then put the car
away.
I did not venture out for long, as it was rush hour
and I would rather attempt any high speed runs during
periods of lesser traffic. But I am very encouraged
by the initial tests, and anticipate having the right
side machined by next week, to give me a completely
new rotor on each front wheel.
As for the machining cost, it was $100 to turn the one
hub and one rotor. Thus, the predicted cost will be
$200, plus the cost of the rotors, which was under
$100 for the pair, shipped to my door. Figure in the
new hardware I bought, and its about 300 total for
both rotors. Not bad...not as cheap as i thought it
would be, but still 1/2 the cost of the almost
completely NLA Budd rotors (at $300 each).
I did not take pictures. i was in a hurry to try it
out, but I plan on documenting things and updating my
website within the week. When i do, rest assured you
will all be re-informed of the URl to visit. For now,
rest assured that things are looking up for us
wobegotten '67/'68'69 owners afflicted with the
dreaded Budd brakes.
=====
--Mike Pittinaro
'Tis Christmas again
Have a happy holiday
Imperially
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