WILWOOD BOLT-ON BRAKE SOLUTION

BOB RYDER . September 27, 2022 . All Feature Vehicles

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Flexing Brake Muscle on a ’71 Chevelle

Braking can sometimes be a challenge with early-model cars and trucks equipped with factory front and rear drum brakes. Throughout the years we’ve seen a noticeable increase in engine horsepower that equates to increased speeds. When a forward-moving vehicle brakes, the vehicle’s weight is transferred to the front wheels, causing a multiplied effort of the front brakes that includes increased friction and heat which contribute to brake fade and wear. While braking, the vehicle’s forward weight transfer causes the front wheels/tires to wander from left to right. We’ve found that disc brakes are much more effective at decelerating and stopping a vehicle.

After racking the ’71 Chevelle, Edgar removed the wheel and combo tire from the factory front disc brake hub and rotor assembly.

The factory disc brake caliper and pads were removed from the mounting bracket, backing plate and hub and rotor assembly.

Chevrolet began producing mid-size cars in 1964 with the introduction of the Chevelle, which ushered in the muscle car era. The ’64 Chevelle was offered as a standard model and could be upgraded to a Malibu or Super Sport SS model. Chevrolet changed the Chevelle’s body design every two years, but the chassis stayed the same from 1964-72. Front disc brakes were introduced to the cars in 1967, which dramatically improved braking performance.

Because of their styling and performance, there’s been an increase in popularity for larger diameter wheels and tires. The added diameter size creates a centrifugal weight factor during rotation. The further the rotating mass is from its center axis, the more the centrifugal rotating mass weight is multiplied. Because of this, it’s essential to upgrade to a larger diameter brake rotor and caliper with larger brake pads. The increased braking surfaces will compensate for the larger, heavier rotating mass, improving braking and handling performance.

Edgar removed the dust cap from the hub and rotor. He used a pair of needle-nosed pliers to remove the cotter pin from the spindle. He unthreaded the castle nut from the spindle, and removed the hub and rotor assembly.

Next, he unbolted the front brake backing plate and removed it.

Then the factory disc brake mounting bracket was removed from the front spindle/steering knuckle.

Wilwood Engineering, a major high performance and racing disc brake aftermarket manufacturer, recognized the need for improvement in Chevelle brake systems. The Wilwood front disc brake kit made specifically for the 1967-72 Chevelles will increase braking performance, and Wilwood has made it easy for muscle car enthusiasts to install its brake kits for all Chevelles with 17-inch or greater diameter wheels. Wilwood (P/N 140-7675) forged Dynalite big brake front hub kit comes with 12.19-inch diameter, 32-vented, cross-drilled, ball-milled iron rotors with forged aluminum Dynalite, black anodized, four-piston calipers, as well as aluminum rotor adapter hats and aluminum hubs.

We visited Bill Richman at RRC Fabrication & Speed in Upland, California, to document the installation of a Wilwood front disc brake kit installation on a ’71 Chevelle. Follow along as we watch Edgar Tinjaca install the Wilwood forged Dynalite front big brake kit.