Corvair Wilwood Disc Brake Swap! 60-0 faster than a McLaren 600LT!!
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- Опубліковано 31 січ 2025
- On today's video, we're making a MAJOR upgrade to the FLOODED Corvair with a Wilwood disc brake swap thanks to Val Doppenberg at Valvair Works. He has designed and manufactured brackets to allow a 12.19" Wilwood disc brake kit to be installed on your LM Corvair with basically zero modifications. The difference is DRAMATIC!!
If interested, you can reach Val below, and make sure to let him know we sent you:
Valvair Works
valvairworks@gmail.com
(714) 261-6978
Instagram @valvairworks
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I PROMISE that interior work is coming next! But first we're making it stop by throwing out the anchor with a set of Wilwood brakes.
If we get another car at the CORSA nationals, what should we buy? Comment below!
Cost of kit all factory parts and any proportioning. Valve installed?
Glad to see Val Vairworks getting some exposure!
Yes, great guy and great products!
Sean, your Corvair series is professionally produced. I accept that you are a DIY guy, but the production quality plus the time spent to edit and research is what makes your videos standout. Thanks (something tells me you won’t be selling your Corvair in this lifetime 😊).
Thank you so much for the kind words. It's been a lot of fun working with this car and I'd love to keep making Corvair videos. Everything is for sale at the right price!
love the calipers,,but the ' racer boi ' disk!!!! wow
Man it stops fast now!
Excellent video! Thank you so much!
Well the proof is certainly in the pudding there, excellent kit and quite dramatically improved braking. Looks fun.
Thank you!
@@AutoAnatomy It's people like you who are driving up the price of the 65-69 Corvairs. I may never be able to drive one again. Curse you Autoanatomy! Nice work, by the way. What else can you do to make this classic even more unobtanium?
Thank you (I think)! I'm having fun seeing what can be done for this little car, and maybe get a glimpse of what COULD have been if Chevy continued to work on the cars. Next up is likely interior refresh and then (maybe) paint?
What would you like to see on the car?
@@AutoAnatomy Well, if you want to paint the car it would be easier with the interior out. But you do raise an important point about seatbelts; especially since you have a steel dash and a non-collapsible steering column. Staying in the seat is a pretty important part of driving. I bet new weatherstripping all around and some dynamat behind the door panels would make a very quiet ride. Either way it's going to turn out awesome I'm sure!
I owned a 1966 Corvair Corsa with factory quick steering, posi traction & 390 cfm 4bbl carb. I also installed a/c from a wrecked Corvair. It was a great daily driver, and I miss it. But that was over 45 yrs ago. Frank from Arizona.
Sounds like a great car! I definitely recommend picking up another one before they get too expensive
Sean, I noticed that you did mention a proportioning valve. Drum braked and disk brakes have different needed pressures.
They certainly move different volumes of fluid. So far I haven't needed a prop valve, but if I install rear discs that may be a necessity.
Another incredibly instructive video for Corvair owners and enthusiasts! The results from this modification are unreal, bringing the Corvair up to modern day sports car level. Amazing! Learning about those adapters for the disc brakes is gold. Outstanding job of laying out and presenting the information in this video. God’s blessings to you too Sean.
Thank you so much! It's been a lot of fun bringing the car up to current technology and seeing what it COULD have been.
Sean
Outstanding video and thank you for getting me in touch with Barry! He was a great help and had everything I was looking for.
Thank you so much, and glad you connected with Barry. He's a wonderful human and dear friend.
Excellent video. Once again, you nailed it! You won't imagine how much I would like to get a hold af your Corvair. I wouldn't fantom what a Corvair in the 70s can do in the 21st century. Thanks. 😎👏👍
Thank you so much, and for your support! It’s turning into a lot of fun to drive
@@AutoAnatomy I bet it is! 😊
Don yenko would be impressed, still fascinating, id do everything you have to a Greenbrier , just to be quirky 😂🎉
Have been researching the Corvair
@@garycorbin2789 Thank you Gary! If I got a Greenbrier, I would definitely do fuel injection and probably some form of AC. Same if I got a wagon.
Like many others, I'm a big fan of Corvairs, which takes me back to my teens. Browsing your video playlists, you are having much fun with the Corvair. The videos dedicated to this old little car on your channel are far greater than those about other cars. You are a new hardcore Corvair enthusiast now! 🎖🏆🏅LOL😁
Thank you so much. I've definitely been a fan of Corvairs for a long time (both my parents had one when I was younger) but have grown even more fond of them lately. Thanks for your support and channel membership!
The 1960s magazines tested acceleration for Corvairs, but one (only one?) tested stopping distance from 60 mph using the factory drums: 143 feet (single test). I don't recall if it was an EM or LM, but it was considered excellent. Those tests were also done with a calibrated 5th wheel but they may have also measured by tape. In your tests I didn't hear your tires chirp, at brake onset but w/o lockup, so I don't think you were aggressive enough. That would explain part of the long distances. TY for the tests.
On the Wilwood set up: no chirp, non-abs, so driver has to modulate to prevent lockup. You don't have a proportioning valve added to deal with the front (large) disks and rear drums that have different requirements (one is self energizing, the other is not). You are not using fancy expensive sticky wide tires. In other words, several small things that would adversely affect the results. Yet you got approx 100 ft from 60 mph --- i.e. doubtful. A stock non-fancy Porsche with factory disks will do it in just under 120 feet, a car that has similar mass distribution to the Corvair. I don't doubt the Wilwood's are better than stock front drums, but the numbers you observed don't make sense. Hunter used to make a drive-on brake dyno that would measure the traction force on each tire during a hard stop (near 2000+). It also measured the total car mass from the front & rear static mass distribution of the car, and then evaluated the theoretical braking effectiveness assuming non-skid 100% traction in a full panic stop. It would reveal if you had a bad brake (of 4), and evaluate the front to rear braking balance and whether proportioning adjustment is needed. I don't know if they still make them, or if they do, if any are still around but they would tell you a lot. Your speedometer may also be off when using non-stock 15" wheels and larger tires; there may be differential GPS tools with enough accuracy to sanity check your data (speedo accuracy would be easy btw). Another simpler option would be a side-by-side 60-0 test with almost any modern car with 4 wheel disks. Consider that a 100 ft stop from 60 mph would beat almost anything on the road, and arguably require a full harness to not contact the steering wheel.
I fully recognize that my brakes were not in 100% perfect condition, but do feel they represented the average driver-quality Corvair brakes. My tires are wider than stock but older so potentially could be a little harder than new. I did my level best to not lock up the tires but you can see near the beginning of the video there is a shot from inside the wheel well that does show the tire chirp just slightly. Could it be done a bit shorter, probably.
As for the Wilwood brakes, I assure you that it would hurt someone that wasn't prepared for how quickly it can stop. I was braced against the wheel and it still was hard to keep my chest from moving forwards under hard decel. I'm planning on putting 3-point belts in the car partly because of how hard it stops.
Excellent job Sean! Car is awesome, from Shaun in Norwich uk 🇬🇧
Thank you Shaun!
Look into some late model seats out of a convertible, a lot of them use integrated shoulder belts. I got some out of a Chrysler Sebring convertible and made up some brackets.
Another good video Sean......Thanks!
@@tommontague5721 Thank you!
the rear brakes do a amazing amount of the stopping work. trw built a 140 ci turbo rochester injected prototype for gm back in 1960, 6 risers port injected. it made some amazing power it would cruise at (no spoilers or wings at on 60 body) at 189 at 190 it went bersurk. it still had plenty of power left. according to the gm test driver i talked too.
I'd love to build some rear disc brakes in the future, maybe in an upcoming video!
Awesome Video Was wondering what the cost for converting a 1965 corvair, can you post the parts list, thks
I'm happy to email you a list. Shoot me an email at autoanatomy@icloud.com and I'll send you the parts list.
how is the foot pressure in comparison just got a 1968 corvair for my mother as it was her first car and the brakes are abit too hard to press for my comfort for her to drive it.
I’d say it’s pretty comparable to the stock Corvair. It feels like many cars from the 60s without power brakes
Hey there Sean, I know this isn't your department, but I didn't get notification from UA-cam of your new vid. I check in every so often and there you are.
BTW the brakes look fantastic! Be well. I'd be interested in knowing the cost for all the upgrades.
Yeah, I notice that occasionally I don't get notifications either for videos I want to watch. No idea how to change that.
As for the brake costs, I'd say count on about 1600 for the brakes, hoses, and MC (including shipping and taxes).
Would have been super cool if you shared the Summit Racing link to the Wilwood DynaPro kit that you used.
Here you go! www.summitracing.com/parts/wil-140-13203
Any plans for putting disc’s on th rear? 😊
@@user-kf8qc7cx4n Would love to. Have a few other things that need to get done 1st but that’s possibly a future upgrade
Hey Sean, were you not able to lock up the front tires with the stock drums? I'm looking at doing this upgrade and I know I need more tire because not only does the car not stop in a reasonable amount of time, but adding pressure locks up the tires (185/70-14) with the stock drums. What size tires are you running on those 15 X 7 Camaro rims? Radial T/A's looks like?
If I tried the front drums could lock up but I didn’t want to damage the tires. So I got it as close to lock as possible. Currently have 205/60/15 Radial TAs on there
Great video, I've been searching for a Wilwood setup for my Corvair. Question: the link to the Wilwood kit you used has different rotors than shown in your video - is that an upgrade? Thanks
Sorry, looked them up on Wilwood and found the options. Thanks!!!
Yes, there are a few different rotor options for you to pick from.
Thanks Sean for doing this...What was the total cost?
I can email you a breakdown, if you give me your email address
With aluminum rims instead of steel rims you sill dissipate heat quicker and that will allow the drums to stay cooler and continue stop brake fade. I still agree that the discs will do a better job of stopping and less fading.
I wonder why you are using copper lines as they do not hold up as good as stainless steel will.
Interesting point about the aluminum wheels. I could see both sides, whereas the steel wheels heat up slower they are also significantly thinner, rejecting heat faster than a thicker wheel. However, aluminum rejects heat fairly quickly as well. As for the copper nickel brake lines, they are superior in almost every way compared to the original steel lines. They don't rust, don't oxidize, etc. They may not be as hard as stainless steel (or as shiny), but I think they're every bit as durable. Thanks for checking out the videos!
Thank you for such an excellent presentation. As I am rebuilding my 65 Corsa, I want to do this, too. Do you recommend the wheels, tires, and brakes you installed, or have you now found better, and possibly cheaper ones?
I would absolutely recommend the brakes. As for the wheels/tires, I'm sorta looking for some 17" Torq Thrust wheels, if some came along. But I'm happy with the Camaro wheels that are on there now
Hi! Could you please tell what is the exact part no of that 12.2 kit? Looking through all these kits, but there is a lot of them for different models
www.summitracing.com/parts/wil-140-13203
Why couldn’t the Wilwood supplied washer not be used? Is it a question of thickness?
To which washer are you referring?
@@AutoAnatomy outer wheel bearing washer. The one you modified.
Can you leave a link to the wilwood kit?
www.summitracing.com/parts/wil-140-13203
Sean, I am having trouble locating contact information for Valvair Works. Could you please share this info as well? Thanks.
Try emailing him at valvairworks@gmail.com
.
As a Corvair enthusiastist since '66, i can tell you that the rear brakes need to be done first not the front.
Someone commented on a previous video about the feasibility of using C3 Corvette rear hubs/brakes on a Corvair. Might be an interesting experiment.
Sean’s results would seem to indicate that you’re wrong. He cut the stopping distance in half!