At this point, its arguable that Canadian YouTuber and Tri-5 fanatic Dan from DD Speed Shop is the undisputed king of low-budget, ratty 1955-57 Chevrolet project cars.
Working on his latest project, a 1956 210 coupe he scored for a paltry $300, Dan shows us his best solutions for rebuilding the front suspension at home as well as replacing and upgrading the drum brakes.
While the bushings are pretty straightforward, the key to making the whole rebuild cheaper and easier to find replacement parts is the Speedway Motors 1955-57 Chevy Car Front Disc Brake Kit, which costs around $260.
This upgrade improves braking, gets away from the potential disaster of a single pot master cylinder, and changes the bearings to a traditional tapered roller bearing from the more troublesome ball bearing style from 1956 factory spec.
- Bolts onto stock ’55-’57 spindles with no machine work
- Includes 11″ rotors and 1969-72 GM calipers (7/16″-20 inlets)
- Brake pads, bearings, seals, hoses, and hardware are included making this a complete bolt-on kit
- May not clear some 14″ wheels
The kit includes new calipers, bearings, hoses, and rotors which are 11″ hats and GM calipers common to Chevelles, Camaros, and most any other GM car of the 60’s and 70’s.
Most parts stores stock the entire setup, so sourcing a replacement part takes minutes or hours rather than days. While it isn’t a proper restoration, it costs about the same or less than replacing the stock bearings and brakes, and it’s a lot more convenient for cars that get daily driven or road-tripped regularly.
If you’re in the market to rebuild or restore early GM brakes and suspension, this just might be the cheapest option on the market. Whether it’s right or wrong to the next owner, this is definitely the best bang for the buck in a hot rodder’s book.
- 0:00 What Are We Working On Today?
- 5:15 Floor Patching
- 9:29 Control Arms Are Ready
- 12:28 Pressing In Bushings
- 15:38 Front End Dis-Assembly
- 22:19 Front End Going Back Together
- 29:13 After Market Disc Brakes
- 35:13 New Steering Components
- 38:08 All New Front End
More About the 1955-57 Chevy Car Front Disc Brake Kit
Order this kit at Speedway Motors: 1955-57 Chevy Car Front Disc Brake Kit
Just what’s needed to update your classic Tri-Five Chevy! Eliminate those archaic ball bearings and gain first-class stopping power all at once with this front disc brake conversion kit. Rotors and caliper brackets bolt onto your original spindles with no modification or machining required. Calipers mount to the front of the spindle.
This disc brake kit will increase the total front track width by 1-3/4″ (7/8” per side).
- Uses 11″ rotors and 1969-72 GM calipers (7/16″-20 inlets)
- May not clear some 14″ wheels
- Bolts onto stock ’55-’57 spindles with no machine work
- Includes rubber brake hoses
This kit will not work with the original ’55-’64 Chevy 4-wheel drum brake master cylinder. It does not have the capacity to supply the proper amount of pressure for front disc brakes. For best results, we recommend using master cylinder booster kit 910-31974 (disc/drum) or 910-35557 (disc/disc) with this front disc brake conversion.
Front drum-to-disc brake conversions also require a proportioning valve to be installed in the rear brake line circuit. The proportioning valve modulates pressure to the rear brakes which is necessary to prevent the rear brakes from locking up in an emergency stop situatiuon. Recommended master cylinder booster kits 910-31974 and 910-35557 incude an adjustable proportioning valve to allow for a proper installation of front disc brakes.
Some grinding to the steering arms may be required to achieve full turning radius.
