1966 El Camino Brakes - Brakes In a Box

With the hub out of the way, we removed the two bolts behind it, which hold the tie-rod arm from the steering to the back of the spindle. We removed these next, using a wrench on one side and a ratchet on the other. With the tie-rod arm out of the way, we could then remove the other nuts.

The last nuts to be removed on the driver side are from the upper and lower A-arms. We then took out the cotter pins but didn't remove them; we loosened them just enough to give us wiggle room. With a little luck, the ball joints will pop away from each arm on their own. In our case, only the upper ball joint popped loose and we had to rent a ball-joint remover from a local auto parts store. We stuffed it between the lower ball joint and the spindle, and with a couple quick thrusts from a large hammer, it popped loose.

Next we removed the old drum from the suspension. If you have any worn ball joints or bushings, now is the time to replace them. Our lower ball-joint bushing was completely missing, as was the tie-rod bushing dust cap. We also had to fight with the arm that was still attached to the tie rod. After removing the cotter pin and crown nut, a tie-rod tool was used to split them apart.

These kits from Master Power come fully assembled and ready to install. We're showing you the driver side, but the passenger-side install is identical. We started by guiding in the lower ball-joint stud through the bottom spindle and threaded on the nut, just enough to make sure the disc brake wouldn't fall out. We raised the lower control arm until it met with the upper ball joint, then we guided in the upper stud through the top spindle and threaded on the crown nut. We tightened down all the nuts and replaced all the cotter pins with new ones. That's it.

THE REAR
Removing the rear drum takes the same technique as the front but with an additional step. You'll have to remove the axles to get the rear drum assembly off. We removed the rear cover and popped out the C-clips to release the axles. Our original set was a bit warped, so we replaced it with fresh 28-spline axles from Superior Axles. These factory replacements are priced at $230, are 28 percent stronger, come with studs, and boost our confidence in our new assembly. Stay tuned for a detailed step-by-step piece on this procedure in an upcoming issue.

With the rear axles out, we loosened and removed the four bolts retaining the drum/backing plate to the rear axlehousing. It's simple; we just used an impact gun on the front and a wrench on the back. The new kit does not come with hardware, so be sure to keep the bolts with their associated nuts and lock washers in a safe place.

We wanted to make sure the new drum backing plate had a nice, flat surface to attach to, so we used some degreaser and a wire brush to remove surface rust and burs from the axlehousing.

The Master Power Brake kit dwarfs the original rear drum by 11/2 inches. We went from a 91/2-inch drum to an 11-inch drum. Just like the front kit, the rear comes assembled with springs and shoes and is all new parts, not remanufactured ones.

When we first lined up the holes to bolt on the new 11-inch drums, we were a little concerned that the inner diameter of the Master Power backing plate was larger than the outer diameter of the stock 10-bolt axlehousing it was being bolted onto. Master Power's tech line explained that these kits also fit 12-bolt rearends. As long as the bolt holes line up, you're good to go. We bolted the new drum backing plate and tightened it all down using the stock hardware.