New owner and need advice(coz im new to it all)

[Robmeoff]

Hi there, Got myself a nice 55 belair 4 door and would like to do a few changes. It has a fresh 350 crate engine and TH350 fitted and id ike to do the mods below.Any advice would be great.

I d like to put power brakes/disc front end on. Which kit/s are the best easiest etc??
Also want to upgrade to power steering, which kit is the way to go?
And...
want to change to Alternator instead of generator. Which one?
lastly,
Air conditioning. Which kit is the way to go.

would it be best to go the serpentine belt route??


Cheers, Rob

[NickP]

Welcome aboard Rob! All of the items are certainly doable. Do you have a budget assigned for all of it or each item? Will you be performing the tasks? What wheels are you presently running? Each brake kit, has it's own peculiarities and requirements. What have you researched so far? AC can be mild to wild depending upon controls wanted (manual or digital/electronic). Are you wanting to add bling or stay with a unassuming under hood look? Serpentine can be costly especially if from the AC manufacturer..

[chevynut]

Welcome to the site Rob. There are many kits available to add disc brakes to a tri5, but the biggest difference between them is if you also want dropped spindles. There are fewer kits, maybe 1 or 2, that work with stock spindles.

As far as power steering, the CPP 500 box seems to be the preferred choice now. The rack and pinion setups are more expensive and cause other issues because they're rear steer (behind the spindle). If you change the box, you will probably have to go with an aftermarket column too unless you can modify the stock one. It would have to be cut off of the stock box and the proper rag joint installed.

For alternators, it depends on how much current you need now and perhaps in the future. You can start as low as around 60A or less and go to 200+. If you don't want to add a better crossflow radiator and electric fans (big power hogs) you can probably get away at the smaller end.

AC? Vintage Air is the best, imo, and is kind of the "standard" out there. You can buy the whole setup for around $1300 and I don't think others are much cheaper. The kit comes with the compressor and bracket. You'll probably need a bracket for the alternator.

A serpentine kit with all the accessories is going to run around $2000-2500 and includes the alternator and A/C compressor plus more. You can get the VA AC without the compressor if you go that route.

In the end, it depends on your budget and what you want the car to be.

[JT56]

Welcome Rob, all the reply's are on target. I have the CPP 500 box and can't go wrong with it, nor the Vintage Air. If you decide the serpentine setup is more than your budget...I have some Allen Grove brackets and stuff for the short water pump.

[Robmeoff]

Awesome stuff.I will be doing it myself, don't really want to add bling other than I want it to look nice and tidy and as for budget? well cheaper the better but then if need be spend the right amount on the right gear. I have 15" standard hub cap rims with Cokers on them at present so the discs shouldn't be a problem. Whats the consensus on drop spindles? are they good?
Do CPP run forum discount codes?
I'm trying to ascertain if ive got a short water pump, ill measure it tonight.

[Rick_L]

Rob, welcome to the site.

Short water pump = no gap between the backside of the pump and the timing cover.

Long water pump = about a 1" gap between the backside of the pump and the timing cover.

No measuring needed.

I don't think CPP has discount codes on any site, certainly not this one. I would stay with Heidts or Earle Williams on the spindles.

Accessory drive has many choices. There are many levels of cost, and reliability. The system must match the water pump, or you can change it to match the system you prefer. Most serpentine systems will require a reverse rotation water pump. Another thing to pay attention to on the accessory drive is how bulky it is, particularly if you have a stock V8 radiator which mounts behind the radiator support. The 6 cylinder radiator mounts in front of the support, and you can move the V8 one there if needed. Putting the radiator there will crowd the a/c condenser but it will usually fit.

[markm]

Drop spindles are not necessary for disk brakes and will probably not work with your current wheels.

[enigma57]

Welcome aboard, Rob! Many ways to accomplish the mechanical upgrades you plan. Some more costly than others, but in the great majority of cases, you get what you pay for.

Just wanted to add...... When converting to disc brakes, avoid the kits that use small 'metric' calipers and rotors from the late '70s/early '80s GM A-body cars. Use the kits that adapt early '70s to 1981 Camaro or late '70s to late '80s GM big car brakes instead. Much better stopping power.

'64 - '65 Pontiac GTO power brake booster is a bolt-on if you want to save a few bucks over the aftermarket type brake boosters and master cylinders. Just use '66 and later dual master cylinder and proportioning valve that is compatible with the front and rear brakes you select and split brake line for front and rear when you add dual master cylinder.

Also regarding your 15" wheels...... If they are stock '55 wheels, you may need to go with later model wheels to clear disc brakes, as they are made for that. If you stick with steel wheels, you can upgrade to 7" wide rims if offset is correct for your car and run modern radial tires that have a wider tread than your narrower '55 wheels will accommodate. P215 65 X 15" tires as used on late '80s Camaros fit well. You can go a bit wider with 60 series tires (225 is safe, 235 is pushing it clearance wise) if you wish, but a good 215 radial is really all you need for daily driving. These later wheels will not have the 'bump's on the rims to retain your '55 full wheel covers, but you can use '55 small caps on later wheels. Can also add trim rings if you wish to dress them up a bit more whilst retaining a vintage 'look'.

Look forward to hearing more about your build.

Happy Motoring,

Harry

[markm]

When using stock spindles most kits use 11 inch rotors from 68-72 Chevelle / 68-74 Nova, get a kit that uses the D52 pad/ caliper from same era. My 55 has the aforementioned rotors with metric calipers and does not stop as good as 56 with D52 stuff.

[chevynut]

The problem with the 68-72 Chevelle rotors and calipers on stock spindles is that they move the wheel mounting surface outboard 7/8" per side which is significant imo. The if you use tires of any size (like a 225+) you can have rubbing problems with the tire outboard so far. With typical zero offset wheels the outside of the tires would be over 70" and it will probably rub the fender on turns with the suspension compressed some. It's especially bad if you plan to drop the car at all with cut springs. If you compensate with wheels with more backspacing it helps and doesn't look so weird.