Brake and suspension upgrades are usually one of the first things to be done to a newly acquired old car and oftentimes one of the most needed. Big heavy drum brake systems that were antiquated when new don't perform like a modern disc brake system and fail to offer the safety that contemporary brake packages do. But simply slapping on a new pair of binders is not that simple. Many of the existing brake and suspension components need to be addressed as well.
Recently, our buddy Dick "Magoo" Megugorac picked up a '63 Chevy Impala to take out to the local Phoenix cruise nights and was spending many a day with Dean Livermore at his shop Hot Rod's by Dean. While the Impala seemed to run fine and went down the road well enough, it lacked some of the creature comforts Magoo desired. But things like air conditioning, a necessity in the Arizona summer, would have to wait for the most important upgrade to be made first: the braking system.
Weighing the possibilities and various kits available, Magoo decided to go with Classic Performance Products' (CPP) minimum offset disc brake kit for the Chevy's stock spindles. Their kit comes with everything needed to upgrade the old shoes to modern discs, from the master cylinder to the dust caps, including a new hard brake line and hoses. It was also decided at this time that the suspension would get a fresh overhaul as well so new bushings, ball joints, bumpstops, and outer tie-rod assemblies.
We spent a day down at Hot Rod's by Dean and hung out with Magoo while he made the swap and upgrade on the old Impala and while he's more at home working on Highboy roadsters (he's built a few dozen) he found his way around the big Chevy just fine.
Here's the stock suspension...
Here's the stock suspension components complete with the big, stock drum binders. While they worked fine way back in the way back, modern disc brakes provide less fade, better pedal feel, and more consistent performance in all-weather situations.
The first step is to break...
The first step is to break both ball joints free and, while supporting the lower control arm so as to keep the coil spring under pressure, remove the spindle and brake assembly as a unit. The lower control arm can then be carefully lowered to alleviate the load from the coil spring.
With the control arms hanging...
With the control arms hanging free, they can now be removed from the chassis.
The control arms removed,...
The control arms removed, careful attention is paid to ball joint configuration as well as cross shaft relationships and bumpstop locations.
Here's the upper control arm...
Here's the upper control arm with the cross shaft and bushings removed as well as the ball joint.
A quick bath in the sand blaster...
A quick bath in the sand blaster and a new coat of chassis black paint and it's time to reassemble the lower control arm. Note the two mounting tabs on the cross shaft, it can only be installed back on the chassis one way so care must be taken to not install it backward on the control arm as the bushings would most likely be damaged if removal were necessary once pressed on. Also note the new bumpstop, lower ball joint, and cross shaft bushings from CPP.
The bumpstop mounts in a traditional...
The bumpstop mounts in a traditional manner, while the lower ball joint has an interesting method of attachment.
A stud and nut fastens the...
A stud and nut fastens the top of the ball joint, while two bolts fasten from either side. The vertical stud also incorporates the zerk fitting.
The lower control arm assembly...
The lower control arm assembly is now ready for the cross shaft bushings to be pressed on prior to installation on the chassis.
The upper ball joint uses...
The upper ball joint uses a more traditional three fastener approach to attach to the upper control arm...
...and has the zerk fitting...
...and has the zerk fitting built into the ball joint housing.
The upper assembly is now...
The upper assembly is now ready for the bushings to be pressed in as well.