Guys my buddy has this Wagon and the brake drums are shot. He would consider a disc brake upgrade,is their anyone offering a kit? Is their a source for drums? Was told later AND spindles are same as early. His brakes are 1.5X 10" AMC guys chime in. Thanks.
AMC used bolt on spindles (4 bolt flanged) for many years. It is likely the spindles and brake assemblies from various AMC models through at least the '70s, and probably later, will bolt on.
I ve read the AMC disk pad are difficult to find. But there s a conversion kit from Scarebird. You ll have a lot of info on http://theamcforum.com
Hey greg, if I remember correctly, AMC Spirit front Hubs/rotors bolt right on, you might need to make a custom mount for the caliper to clip on to, but it's pretty straight forward other than that. Lug pattern stays the same I believe too.
The advantage with using the Scarebird bracket you get to use modern available parts. The AMC parts are getting hard to find and are costly. We just did a Scarebird conversion on a 62 Rambler Classic SW and total cost was under $300 for the conversion. From Scarebird: This setup alloys Toyota Previa rotors (10" diameter) with 1979-85 Eldorado hoses and lightweight 1985-90 Chevrolet Celebrity HD calipers and pads, giving you an excellent ]system that requires only light machining* to your OEM drum hub and preserves the original factory geometry. This will fit inside your stock 14" wheel also. You can easily do this for under $250, and will work well with your stock drum master. (we do recommend you change to a dual disc master with an adjustable bias valve in the rear line We bought parts from Rock Auto and all the local parts houses. The AMC hub was turned down to fit inside the Previa rotor by the local NAPA store. We fitted a 1974 Hornet disc drum master cylinder[/COLOR][/FONT] with a slight mod to the mounting holes of the mc. The car stops great now. Scarebird makes conversions for many different makes other than AMC. Check them out. Nick
All the AMC brake packages interchange as long as you change the spindle too. The big car wider drums fit and stop just about as good as disc when put on the small American and Nash Rambler, but the spindles are a bit thicker on the base to make up for the wider drum. The only AMC disc setup I'd consider using is the 79-83 Concord/Spirit/Pacer brakes. Earlier ones work just fine, but rotors are unique to AMC and getting expensive -- $100+ for new ones, no telling what they will be 5-10 years from now! Even the 79-83 rotors are $60+ now, and some auto parts stores don't have a supplier. You have to go to AMC vendors like Kennedy American or APD to get the older rotors. That's another reason Scarebird is the way to go! The Previa isn't sold over here any more and I don't know about a rotor source years from now, but they are cheap enough to buy an extra set or two and grease up for storage.
I know at least one good reason to swap to disk brakes ... Once or twice, under the rain, my Ambo 66 drums were flooded with water .. Result : no brakes at all ! Nothing. Nada. Rien . Quite scaring
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