[Pupsvette76]

i have a 71 nova with four wheel drum brakes and i wanna convert the front to disc brakes
my question is if there are any late model cars whose part interchange with the nova? i have heard that you can use s10 spindles and brakes and also i heard you can use third gen camaro spindles and brakes is this true?

my plan is to go to a junkyard and pull everything off of any car thats setup will work for me and throw that in

[CQNRQY]

Originally Posted by Pupsvette76

i have a 71 nova with four wheel drum brakes and i wanna convert the front to disc brakes
my question is if there are any late model cars whose part interchange with the nova? i have heard that you can use s10 spindles and brakes and also i heard you can use third gen camaro spindles and brakes is this true?

my plan is to go to a junkyard and pull everything off of any car thats setup will work for me and throw that in

I think the late 70s early 80s Montes Regals Cutlass and Malibus would work too
Good Luck
CQNRQY

[poncho62]

The Novas were rear steer (tie rods behind "A" frames) until about 74, I think.....Pretty sure you would have to find pre 74 stuff.

[Pupsvette76]

hmmm there are no late models with rear steer and disc brake that will interchange?

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by Pupsvette76

hmmm there are no late models with rear steer and disc brake that will interchange?

No, no, no. The only spindles that interchange are 1964-1972 A-body (Chevelle, etc), 1967-69 F-body (Camaro/Firebird), and 1968-74 X-body (Nova, etc). These cars use bolt-on steering arms, so the front steer A-body and rear steer F and X-body cars use the same spindles but different arms. Not only are the spindles different from those on late model cars, but the ball joint studs have a different taper angle. Again, NOTHING else swaps. Repro disk brake kits for these cars are plentiful, as are used setups. This also comes up regularly here:

Will 75 nova spindle work on a 71

Front Disk Brakes on 1970 Nova

[55 Bullit]

ok I have done this in the past and it works the spindle is the same (except) where the large bolt goes where you hook the brake springs for drum brakes all I done is took my new caliper bracket bolted the bottom bolt hole where it normally goes (finger tight) and swung it up till it hit that big bolt and scribed a line on the spindle.Then put the spindle in the bridgeport and machined off the excess material make sure your new blot (large one) is long enough to tighten up and hold your new bracket in place you can buy the new caliper bracket and dust sheild off ebay also you use chevelle,nova, montecarlo rotors wheel bearings brake hoses ect and your done you have disk brakes on your nova I hope this hope you out have a great day..

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by 55 Bullit

ok I have done this in the past and it works the spindle is the same (except) where the large bolt goes where you hook the brake springs for drum brakes all I done is took my new caliper bracket bolted the bottom bolt hole where it normally goes (finger tight) and swung it up till it hit that big bolt and scribed a line on the spindle.Then put the spindle in the bridgeport and machined off the excess material make sure your new blot (large one) is long enough to tighten up and hold your new bracket in place you can buy the new caliper bracket and dust sheild off ebay also you use chevelle,nova, montecarlo rotors wheel bearings brake hoses ect and your done you have disk brakes on your nova I hope this hope you out have a great day..

That is exactly correct. You can find more info here:

http://www.pozziracing.com/brakes.ht...Drums_to_Discs

First gen Camaro and 68-74 Novas use the same front suspension.

[55 Bullit]

thank you Joe I was not aware of this site Thank you for posting it it makes things alot easier for the guys who have drum brakes that want to convert them.

[Chopt 48]

It's a straightforward swap if you can find a 71-72 Chevelle, Monte Carlo or other body of that size = Lemans, Cutlass or Regal to get the front spindles off. Trimming or having someone trim the spindle as 55 Bullit said probably makes more sense right now as you can buy the caliper bracket dust shield and caliper and rotor easily enough new. I did the swaps on both early subframes on my 48 and the 51 Merc I had and it is something that anyone can do.