Bmartin

I'd like to change to a 15" wheel with wheel covers (hubcaps). The problem I am having is finding a wheel with good backspacing. I am currently running the factory wheels which are 16X4" (measured at the bead) with 3" backspacing. I can't seem to find a 15X4" with 3" or better backspacing. Seems a lot of people are running front wheel drive wheels off late model cars, but the narrowest I have found are 15X6". Even with 5.4" backspacing, they are still closer to the outer fender lip. I currently rub the fender and would like to get a better backspacing and smaller wheel/tire to fix it. And no, I do not wish to raise the ride height. Let me know if you have found any options, thanks.

Are those lights only on the P10 or higher scale models? Just curious since my P9 does not have them.

I believe that is the arm on the steering gear box, not the steering arm on the knuckle/spindle. But perhaps I am confused. I though that some parts interchanged, but had different part numbers. Is this the case or did the part numbers stay the same across all models? Thanks.

I found a steering arm on Ebay for 1940-1947 trucks. It looks the same as my Driver side arm, but is labeled as the right side. The part number is 596560 and I was wondering if anyone could check to see if that will fit a 1940 P9. Here is the link: Thanks.

Ha! Its finally cooling down enough to drive without AC here. Cruising season is just beginning. Now If only I could get back on the road....

Not sure where I heard, read, saw this but....There was a similar situation where oil was leaking badly from the same spot. I believe it was the oil that was being pushed throug the bearings/crank actually was pumped out back there and hit that area of the pan. So a simple gasket leak was made worse. Sorry for the lack of detail, but its just too fuzzy in my brain. But at least it may generate some better ideas.

I'm running a 6.5X16, a rather tall tire. But I love the look and the extra whitewall. I think the suspensions on the 40 and 48 and very similar. The entire thing needs to go down, front and back. It actually had a little bit of the tail dragger look before, but its much more pronounced now.

Thanks for the info. Did you ever come across leaking bleeder screws? If so, what was the best way to deal with them. Right now, I think I have all the leaks fixes, except for possbily a right rear bleeder screw. It seems to seep just a tad. I've heard the best way to seal up new brake lines is to tighten, then loosen, then tighten, and repeat that about 3 times. This supposedly seats the flares. Have you come across any other tricks for this?

Thanks, I was wondering what effects the shorter shackle would have, that makes complete sense. I was thinking maybe an inch. If I need more than that, then I'll pulll a leaf or two. Or just 4 link it.....

I'll throw this in here, but I really should put it in the other thread. I put the posie 3' drop springs in the back of my 40 as well as 3" blocks. Up front I've got the Moog Coils, uncut. It sits the same in back as it did with the old springs and 3" blocks. The front its sky high. The previous owner had torched the front coils and killed them. I've got the Fatman dropped uprights to throw in the front once the I get the brakes working..... Before After I'm going to look into shorter shackles in the back when I get a chance. Otherwise its time to pull some leafs. Once I get the dropped uprights for the front, I'll lose my tail dragging stance and that is a must.

I'm taking an educated guess but I would think that the fluid flow back to the master would pull the piston back in, further from the disc. Pumping it up, pushes the piston back out, but it takes two pumps to recontact the disc. Maybe?

Yah, this is with the pressure bleeder on there. I'm starting to think that once the fluid in the pressure bleeder gets below a certain point, its pushing the air through the system. I would have thought the resevoir would need to be empty for this to happen, but its more like as soon as the feed tube can suck any air at all, its pushing it through. Cause it just sits there and bubbles for minutes. I'm going to keep a higher level in the bleeder and see if that solves it. What do you guys use to seal the threads on the pipe thread adapters on the rear cylinders? I was told that brake fluid breaks down the Teflon tape and using loctite was suggested.

Question for those with disc front without residual a 2lb residual valve. How long does it take for the fluid to flow back to the master so that you need to pump the brakes once or twice to get good pedal? Trying to decide if my front residual is working properly. On the calipers, I've swapped both fronts to the ones with the smaller bleeder valve and they are not leaking yet. Just got done swapping the rear wheel cylinders out. Just observing for leaks right now. A weird thing is occurring. If I open up the bleeders just a little, I get air bubbles. If I open up a lot, then I just get more fluid flow, but not bubbles. If I open and close the bleeders, I get air each time, leave open, just fluid. Of course this is being determined visually, looking at the fluid in the plastic tube. Perhaps the tube is leaking are around the bleeder. Does the orientation of the bleeder screw hole in the caliper/cylinder have an effect on how much air is bled? Strange.

So to update this, I still have leaks. It seems to take a couple times for me to find the leaks. I keep pressurizing the system and letting it sit. My pressure bleeder bleeds down after a couple minutes so I can't just pressurize and leave it, so its not the best scenario. Anyway, Looks like I currently have one good and one leaking. The good one actually has an 8mm bleeder screw in it. While the leaky one has the standard 10mm. If I can't get it to stop, I may try to pick up a right one with the 8mm bleeder. I also had to block off the rear brakes with a cap. Looks like the original wheel cylinders have had enough bleeding and they are starting to seep around the threads too. I've bled them a hundred times over the last year so that is not surprising. I have some new ones waiting to go in. From the other post: I checked into AFCO, their site only shows up to a 2.75" bore. I believe the ones we are using are 2 15/16" bore. CPP's site was a little overwhelming. I did not locate anything directly for a Caprice but there were a lot of kits for camaros and such. But did not see any calipers separate. I did locate what I think might work from Wilwood: http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKits/BrakeKitsProdFront.aspx?itemno=140-11291-R&year=1980&make=Chevrolet&model=Caprice&option=With+OE+11%22+Rotor+Spindles But you need new brake lines since the banjo is a different size. I'll need to give them a call if I go that route.

Yah, I have been having issues with the calipers. I think I found some wilwood calipers that are a direct swap, but need to research how the dual pistons will work with my master. I've also got yet another set of remans in there right now, that have not leaked yet.

Well, I'm still working the bugs out of mine. One thing I would suggest is to find a kit that has the option of buying new parts instead of remanufactured. Most of my issues seem to be centered on the remanufactered parts.

I bled the master and the system again and got no air. Still no change in pedal.

I'll try posting in this topic to avoid forum clutter: Disc Brake Pedal Feel: I've got the Rusty Hope disc conversion on the front and stock drums in the rear. I currently cannot find any more leaks in my system. I have a dual master cylinder with a single residual valve for the front (2lbs) and one for the rear (10lbs). Both valves are Jegs brand. I have bled the system using a pressure bleeder and am not getting any air out. My brake pedal does not have the consistent travel I expected. The first press goes about 1/2 to 3/4 through the pedal travel and feels a little soft, the next press has good feel and firmness, the third and later presses are a slight improvement over the 2nd. If I hit the pedal again within a few minutes its stays pretty consistent. If its sits for 5 minutes or so, it goes back to the longer travel. I've tried adjusting the stock rears so the drums are locks and put the rear proportioning valve to full on. I did see slight improvements. When it sits over night is when I see the biggest increase of first press travel. I was under the impression that with the residual valves, I would not experience this type of behavior, at least due to the fluid draining back to the master. What are some of your experiences with this type of setup and what pedal feel did you have? Are the residual valves supposed to be perfect or do they drain down over time? Perhaps some other causes? The only other 'issue' I have is a mild sticking/dragging of the front calipers. I have not driven on them yet and am expecting them to 'break in' once I do. They also release after a minute or two.

Just to update this, I did get all the leaks to go away on the front calipers. I used the new washers from napa that were actually a little thinner and I used the chevy application banjo bolts instead of the ones called out in the install instruction since they are slightly shorter. I tightened down the bolt, tapped with a hammer, and repeated until the leaks stopped. I believe I'm somewhere in the 40+ ft/lb range for torque - alot. For the bleeders, I just kept tightening them till they stopped leaking, again more torque than I believe should be required. Post to follow with questions on pedal feel.

Keep in mind the Butchs Cool Stuff setup is for someone who has switched to an automatic transmission already. It will not work with a clutch pedal. Ask me how I know!

I've actually been through a bunch of calipers so far. I think I've got the best I'm going to get from NAPA.

I went around to some different parts stores today. Everyone's remans are made by Dorman except a completely loaded caliper w/brackets by Wagner. I called the dealership and they are discontinued, so no new ones being made. I swapped out my bad caliper at NAPA for one of my old ones. I was only have minor leak problems with that one so I hope I have two decent calipers to work with. I plan on tightening everything till it either stops leaking, strips or brakes at this point. If that doesn't work, I'll pick up the Wagners and try again. One of the parts guys mentioned that one of the hot rod brake manufactures may be having new ones made for their kits and to check around. So I may look into that.

I annealed the washers and then used Plymouthy's method of tapping on the bolt head and then tightening. The leaks are now just a small seap instead of a drip. So it looks like I'm heading down the correct path. I bought some extra washers from NAPA but they were thinner. Plus the caliper with the helicoil is leaking profusely from that bleeder. I'm going to call a couple dealerships today and check the price and availability of a brand new Chebrolet caliper. What is the proper torque spec from Chebrolet?

From what I have read, heat up the copper till it glows red, then toss it in some water. I did not find whether you need a sooty flame or not.

All my stuff has been purchased at NAPA. I've had bad luck with NAPA for a while and prefer O'reillys. But I went with Charlies recommendation. In reality, they are all probably rebuilt by the same company. I was actually tempted to go to the dealership and price all new parts, but it seemed everyone had good luck with the NAPA parts. The sealing surface of the caliper looks rough but flat. The bleeder valve was stripped at one time because it has a helicoil in it. and you can see the boss is a little bent. Probably out of a wrecked vehicle. These are some good ideas, I'll give them a try tomorrow.