Unless you are positive the rotors and calipers you want will fit your wheels, the first thing you should do is some measuring. The old adage "measure twice, cut once" comes to mind. You're not going to be very happy if the tire shop mounts tires on those trick new wheels you spent a fortune on and you rush home to find out they don't fit over the brake upgrade you just completed. If you are piecing your upgrade together you have some extra measuring and calculating to do. About now you might be thinking, "everyone's doing this upgrade so if I do what they did everything is cool" Well... Yes and no! With so many different wheels out there in so many different sizes... I think you see where I'm coming from! Most of the stock style brakes kits are designed to fit your rally wheels. They should fit almost anything else you could bolt on your cars hubs. If you are doing anything a bit different or just are not sure, it's time to do some measuring.

Quality vendors will have templates available that will insure proper fit. Don't fight them if they insist you use one to check your wheels before they ship you their product. To the right is a shot of one of my wheels being checked with a template. I was happy to see I had plenty of clearance.

A job like this should never be attempted without using the proper equipment (like jack stands) to do the job safely. There are a couple tasks you may have to farm out or improvise to get the job done but for the most part a basic assortment of hand tools is all that is needed. After the wheels and tires come off you may find things a bit dirty. When you get down to the spindles and bearings you'll find lots of grease and when you take the brake lines loose be ready for brake fluid. Do yourself a favor and clean up the old parts as you remove them and set them aside. You may be able to sell the old brake parts to help fund the new or you may just want to box them and put them on a shelf for storage. Who knows, sometime in the future you may be wanting to restore your classic to it's original state. You might as well take the time to clean up under the wheel wells, a little degreaser goes a long way. You may even want to spend some time with some masking tape and a rattle can. After all, it may be a long time before you have everything apart and accessible again.

Out With the Old:

My old stock disc's came apart without giving me any problems, but be aware that over time some parts can seem to become cemented together. Anything Loctite was applied to as well as hot and cold cycles and corrosion all can play a big part in making life tough on you during tear down and removal. Watch for fold over locking tabs on the caliper mounting brackets. Brake hose connections at the hard lines are another place that may require special attention, especially if you plan to reuse your existing hard lines.

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