Got the flaring tool and did my first flare on the right front wheel connection. I can see it is a slight bit off... wonder if it will seal. In any case, I now need some stiff wire to rough out the shape for the rest of the segment I'm doing.

The 3/16" stainless hard line arrived today and I bent up a new right front line with the stuff. I have the factory part duplicated but plan to take the line back to the firewall and up to the proportioning valve where the factory line stops at the distribution block on the frame. Now I just need my flaring tool.

More Disc-Oh!

The passenger side is now converted over to disc. This side went much easier since I had done all the pathfinding already on the driver's side.

I did have to remove some material from each lower A-arm to allow for the nut and lockwasher sticking out further than the head of the original bolt on the lower front of the Scarebird caliper plate. Since I had to put the bolt head on the side of the plate facing the rotor, there was not much choice or else I would loose a bit of turning radius.

Brake hose used on the driver/left side is Raybestos BH36845 (15"). Brake hose used on the passenger/right side is Raybestos BH36960 (17") The BH36960 is the right hand side for the '79~82 Eldo and it has a metal clamp which will bolt to the upper ball joint nut. But the tab that goes under the nut is a bit large on the side that points to the rear and the hole is a tad too small. So the hole has to be enlarged and the tab trimmed. Easy with a grinder and a Dremmel.

Both of the front wheel disc conversions are now complete, as far as I'm concerned. Everything is done except for running hard lines to the hoses. Once plumbed, I will need to check that the banjo bolt is tight enough not to leak, but that is all. Getting the new 3/16" stainless steel line next week so I can begin that fun process next weekend. I've been working at getting the old lines loosened and out. Finally got the line to the front right out by snaking out towards the rear of the car. The left front will be easy. I'm not sure I am going to replace the rear circuit hard lines right away. I'm thinking I will just tie that into the master with existing line and see how everything works.

 More work on the driver's side disc. The dust cap didn't fit well because the outer spindle washer is slightly too big and needed to be ground down a little. I also got a Ford-style cap and tried using it. Might have worked if I had gotten a clue about the washer first. Ended up making a hybrid cap with the GM seat and Ford dome. Maybe the passenger side will go easier.

I mounted the loaded Raybestos caliper after thoroughly cleaning the rotor. The inner pads were just a teeny bit wide and stuck in the caliper bracket. Ground about 1/8th inch off each edge and it fits fine.

Knowing that it probably wouldn't work, I tried to mount the original wheel back on the car and, as expected, it hits the caliper. I tried the wheels off of the '76 Electra and they fit fine. I tried the chrome smoothies I bought for the '49er and they scrape the caliper worse than the original wheels do. So, now I just hope my wheel covers will fit the Electra rims. I did try Bolo's old rims just for grins, they do fit but are too deep.

Disc-Oh!

Well I tried to finish up the upper brace for the master but all my drill bits are dull as a butter knife. So, moved along to the driver's side brake drum to begin the disc conversion. I had to improvise with the instructions a bit since following them about the lock washers made the rotor hit them. Also the lower front bolt has to be cut short or it will hit the lower control arm on sharp turns. But that's minor stuff. Another surprise is that the two lower bolts hold the upper and lower parts of the steering knuckle together so you must support the lower control arm to keep it from flying down under spring pressure. At this point I have the caliper bracket on, the bearings packed and the rotor attached. The dust caps are too small so I'll need to look for larger ones.

Bracket Engineering

The new booster and master are 1-1/2" longer than the original, and I deemed that too long to keep the mounting position as it was. So the bracket had to be cut down and re-engineered for the new booster. I ended up with a good fit. The new setup mounts on the firewall just fine and clears everything. I had ordered a rod extension kit but since I lowered the position of the booster, I didn't need to add any length. I had the forethought to lock the bellcrank in the at-rest position with the old booster before modifying anything. That made it easy to position the new rod and clevis to the locked bellcrank. Brains are amazing things when you use them. I still need to fab up the upper brace arms to the top of the booster or mounting studs for the master. I don't know what to expect from the rest of this job, but I am pretty happy with the results of this phase.

More Disassembly

Had to remove the inner fenderwell access cover to get the last bolt out of the bracket, but I have had that panel off many times before so I'm used to it. The new booster arrived today and I was able to eyeball how the bracket will have to be modded to work. I clipped the upper supports off of it to start. Naturally the bolts for the new master fall in all the wrong places. I'll make it work somehow. The old master and booster were about 11" tall and I could go 12" easily. The new booster is only about 5-1/2" alone so as long as the new master isn't more than 7" I should be OK. Otherwise, I will have to shorten the bracket so the booster mounts lower down. One way or the other...