'59 Plymouth Forum

I have a 1959 Plymouth Savoy - 2dr post - flathead 6 - manual trans.

I know that a few of you out there have converted the front brakes to disc brakes. Some have bought a kit, while others have figured out what works. I'm looking to know what works. Such as which spindles to use. For example...has anyone used late 70's / early 80's Plymouth Fury or 5th Avenue spindles and brakes. Which ball joints do I use?

I'll probably use the Ford Explorer rear disc brake setup, because they are still mildly inexpensive and easy to find.

Any info or helpful hints welcome.
Thanks,
Mark Jackson

The Jackson Garage

i do brakes for a living, so i would not suggest rear disc on any daily driver(ford explores have a seperate p-brake, making 2 brakes to service instead of one). however, any fifth avenue, diplomat, etc will work. i have a simirarly equipped sedan and the brakes were rough to say the least, so i opted just to up-grade. the donor car i picked up for $100 was an '89 police diplomat (11" discs, 11" drums). wheels i used were the 15" off of the '89. the spidles were an exact fit, some mix-matching on the tie-rod ends and it still needs some alignment done but for the most part easy bolt-in. same ball joints, the tie-rod ends r slightly different on the bolt porsion, but is only hight, diameter is same. removed non-power assist of and plate behind it on '59 and used the donor car. still working out minor kinks. removed original studs, new p/b fit perfect. on the inside could only access 3 out of 4 studs to install nuts, will try the other one later. the push-rod from the pedal too short, used some 2x2 angle-iron i had laying around too lengthen. rear end fit perfect, same length, u-joint and spring positions. also robbed rear sway off of '89, still need to install but appears like it will work. '89 springs wouldn't work, front eyelet too long. i used majority of original pluming and added compression style connectors where needed. had to attach rubber hose brackets, which unbolted from donor, then was welded onto frame. don't forget the proportioning valve, or the rear brakes will lock up. i attached mine on the wheel-well. one last thing, mine had not power anything so it had no vaccum connection other than to distibutor for timing(1/8 line). mine also has the 230 i-6. i just tapped into the timed vaccum, it will work temp. good boost at 2000 rpm, little to no at idle. will work out all finor fit and performance kinks during tear-down next year. doing away with original i-6 anyways. i would recommend this set-up to anyone on a budget. junkers r plentiful and cheap, new parts r same.

I put front discs on my 59 in the Spring of 2003. IMHO the simplest (and probably cheaper in the long run) thing to do is to buy a basic kit from AAJ (I paid $180). You get 2 adapters that enable you to use 1977 Volare rotors and 2 brackets that will accept '76 Monte Carlo calipers. Then buy the rest from a local parts store: the rotors & calipers, plus brake pads, banjo bolts, wheel bearings, seals, 2 front hoses, lug nuts, dust caps. I'm using a dual master cylinder and power booster (and proportioning valve) from a 1975 Plymouth Duster. That unit bolts perfectly to the firewall and the rod length from booster to pedal is perfect. The rod inside from booster to master cylinder had to be adjusted just a couple of turns to get a better pedal. I also used the Duster brake lite switch by fastening it to a bracket by brake pedal. By using the AAJ basic kit you keep your original spindles and don't have to mess with tie rods or a front end alignment and you can keep your original 14" rims.

that doesn't sound too bad. what kind of money did u spend 4 the whole she-bang? always something to keep in mind if i need it for in the future. does this company offer kits for other cars as well?

one last afterthought, what size r those rotors, 9"?

Not sure what other cars AAJ has brakes for but go to Forwardlook.net. They have a link there. I believe the rotors are 11". Total cost, not including master cyl/ booster, was $204. That covers rotors ($36 ea) calipers (no core) ($18 ea) pads ($17). Remainder of cost is for the small parts. I bought a reman '75 Ply Duster master cyl/booster from Autozone for I think $120, again no core-that added $20. Proportion valve, I got from a friend and brake lite switch from Autozone, I think was about $3. So with AAJ basic kit ($180), and axel parts ($204) total was $384. If you include master cyl/booster cost is $504. But if you want you can just buy a dual master cylinder for about $30. Its a Wagner reman cyl part no. R71258. I forgot what car its for but that one fits perfectly on firewall also. If you go to "forwardlook.net" and check into the archives for "brakes" theres probably a wealth of info there.

Go to page "Disc brake conversion ...."

https://59plymouth.net/showcase/ste ... index.html

Stefan

Thanks everyone of the information. Forwardlook.net had a lot of good info. I am going to go with the AAJ basic kit and get everything else at the parts store. Stefan, great article and good pictures.

The 1959 Savoy is actually going to be the prototype build for my 1959 Sport Fury. The initial plans for the Savoy include a 431 short-rod stroker, later model 727 TF, 3.23:1, posi 8.75" rear end, 4 wheel disc brakes, Classic Auto Air AC, modern interior.

So if anyone needs a 1959 drivetrain, let me know. You can visit the 1959 Sport Fury at our website.

Thanks,
Mark Jackson

The Jackson Garage

Mark,

if the Savoy is "only" the prototype for the SF don't forget to mount also on the Savoy 4 discs. The AAJ Master Cylinder is made for disc - disc and not for disc - drum.

Besides the article will be completed within a couple of weeks with the Rear Disc Brake conversion



Stefan