When I picked up the convertible, the front end shook and it was nearly uncontrollable when I hit a pothole. The pothole problem turned out to be the front right lower control arm not being tightened down, so the camber went all over with every bump. After fixing that, it still shakes. I decided to get a fresh starting point by replacing the control arms, the strut rods, the spring perches, and the idler arm. I think the shake may be the idler, so I will replace that first and give it a test drive. I ordered all the parts at once though, so no waiting a week in between for parts.

Since I am tearing it down that far, I decided to go ahead and replace the front drums with disc. Keeping with this car’s plan, I ordered the CSRP stock style brake kit from OpenTracker Racing. That’s a lot to replace all at once, but it’s all things I have done at least a couple times before, so I have a pretty good idea what I am getting in to.

I started with cleaning up the spindles from Coupe2. Since I took those off and replaced them with the 70 disc, I figure I can get a head start before I take anything off the convertible. They were in great shape, just dirty. I had to do some wire brushing to get started, then some time in the media cabinet. To finish, I used some metalic paint from the local auto parts store I had in the garage. I do love the look of that paint, and I think they turned out awesome.

The CSRP directions were excellent. Following them had the caliper bracket mounted first. They are directional, and only one works right. The pictures in the directions helped to make it easy though.

Next came the dust shield. It is also stamped L and R, making it easy. The 4 bolts came next. It’s clear which hole gets the long bolt. Directions included torque specifications, so I got to use my torque wrench.

The metal colored paint adds some nice contrast. Not that anyone will see it again, but I like it. I might also note the box of gloves in the background there. I went through a few of those with this assembly. I bought a box of 100 at Harbor Freight for like $7. Must have for the part where I was packing bearings. Grease takes forever to wash off otherwise.

Next step was to grease the bearings and load the spindles. The seal goes in with a little tapping from the ball peen hammer, holding the inner bearing in.

Outer bearing installed, and spindle spun to ensure it doesn’t bind before I tighten down the retaining bolt to spec and install the locker. I didn’t take pictures of the dust cap because I got frustrated and had to beat the crap out of to get it to seat, leaving it looking a bit less than new. I will hide my shame under a nice set of wheels.

Next comes the calipers. Each side is different, so I made sure the bleeder is up to know I got the correct side. It just bolts on with 2 bolts and a little loc-tite.

Calipers installed, ready for pads.

The rattle guard goes on next. Then the crossover brake tube goes on to connect the far side pistons.

The final piece was attaching the braided hose which will connect to the car’s hard line on the frame rail.

With that, they are all set, and ready to be installed on the car.

Next step is to start the tear down. I think the 5 lug drums were installed not long ago, so tearing it apart should not be that difficult. Not like trying to break free a 50 year old bolt. I have the new parts, just need to get the spot in the garage swapped out so I can get to work without worrying about rain, both on me and in the convertible with no top.

Future project might be to find the right diameter pipe to set the center caps right without beating them up so much…