1968 BUDD 4-piston brakes - how to !

JJ440

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Hi everyone, I am new to this forum.

Currently, I am working on the 4 piston BUDD disc brakes on my 1968 Chrysler 300.
These were an option in 1968 and I decided to restore back to factory original. I hope this will help someone in the future.

These BUDD brakes have a somehow bad reputation of getting stuck, pulling to one side etc. and everyone raises an eyebrow once you mention BUDD: "It can't be done" followed by a recommendation to switch to the "better" 1969up one piston brakes. Well, it can be done. It might be a little costly but you end up with one, if not the finest brakes way ahead of it's time in 1968. As far as I know, these were just too expensive for Chrysler and they switched to one piston in 1969.

Work in progress:

- Calipers were disassembled, cleaned, blasted, stainless steel sleeved, new aluminum pistons and new seals.
- Same company made new brake pads.
- New brake hoses in stainless steel flex.
- New master cylinder. This is the large reservoir style with the large 1-1/8 in. piston. The four BUDD calipers move a large volume of brake fluid, do not use the common smaller master cylinder. B and E body Hemi cars used a very similar large master cylinder.

I will post some pictures soon. Happy to be a new member here ! Thanks.
 
It takes a really good shop to rebuild these calipers as getting the stainless sleeves to seat without leaking can be a challenge. The caliper bores are almost always scored because as the piston seals flatten out from use the pistons drag against the bores and score them. This in turn causes the pistons to stick. Glad you were able to find a quality shop to do the repair for you and supply the pads.

Dave
 
I have a few sets, presently, of +++ N.O.S. +++ Asbestos Brake Pads for the Budd Brake System !!!

I can call Canada for FREE, so P. M. me, if you need or want .......
 
I’ve been running the sleeved calipers on my silver car for over 20,000 miles and I love them. I’m currently putting a second set together for my mobile director. I just have to buy one more front brake hose.
 
Multi-piston calipers (but not Budds) were on Corvettes from their first disc brake cars from about 1963 or so. As I understand it, that's where the stainless steel sleeved calipers first came from. It was a ritual to buy all of the new parts from Chevrolet Parts to replace the whole deal, about every 5 years or so. Back then (mid-1970s), it was about $500.00 to purchase all of the parts (ONLY). The synthetic brake fluid also helped these systems live longer, too, as it didn't absorb moisture like normal brake fluid does. Possibly the combination of a possibly mediocre caliper metal mix and the moisture absorption of the brake fluid combined resulted in the degradation of the metal, which might have caused most of the issues? After the stainless steel sleeved calipers came out and proved successful, we didn't sell the number of Corvette complete brake systems that we did before that.

Kind of interesting that almost every OEM caliper has multi-pistons, for a more even clamping action of the pads on the rotors. But at the time when disc brakes were new and better, the single piston design was a stroke of genius that performed well and was easy to rebuild.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
Multi-piston calipers (but not Budds) were on Corvettes from their first disc brake cars from about 1963 or so. As I understand it, that's where the stainless steel sleeved calipers first came from. It was a ritual to buy all of the new parts from Chevrolet Parts to replace the whole deal, about every 5 years or so. Back then (mid-1970s), it was about $500.00 to purchase all of the parts (ONLY). The synthetic brake fluid also helped these systems live longer, too, as it didn't absorb moisture like normal brake fluid does. Possibly the combination of a possibly mediocre caliper metal mix and the moisture absorption of the brake fluid combined resulted in the degradation of the metal, which might have caused most of the issues? After the stainless steel sleeved calipers came out and proved successful, we didn't sell the number of Corvette complete brake systems that we did before that.

Kind of interesting that almost every OEM caliper has multi-pistons, for a more even clamping action of the pads on the rotors. But at the time when disc brakes were new and better, the single piston design was a stroke of genius that performed well and was easy to rebuild.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
Funny thing that you talk about Corvette brakes. Just about every vette that came in for inspection had leaking or stuck calipers.
A lot of customers were shell shocked at the cost of the repairs.
Felt bad for them but they did own a vette so they should have expected big repair bills...
 
I have a follow up on this. How hard is it to get parts for the Budd disk brakes from a '68 Imperial? I would guess the hardest parts are the rotors and the calipers, but how about the pads? Is there a place that rebuilds the calipers?
 
I have a follow up on this. How hard is it to get parts for the Budd disk brakes from a '68 Imperial? I would guess the hardest parts are the rotors and the calipers, but how about the pads? Is there a place that rebuilds the calipers?

I never noticed any pulling with the Budd brakes on my '67 LeBaron. There is a shop in Northern Virginia called White Post Restorations that brass sleeves (they may also do stainless) calipers. Not cheap, but over the long run, money well spent as you'll never have to replace them. They may re-build as well, worth asking. The D-10 pads can be elusive, but they ARE out there. There is a LOT of information on the Imperial Mailing List (IML) home page on the Budd brakes. In the early 2000's Dura Brake on the west coast, was making the rotors, and they MAY still be available. The rotors DO turn up on eBay, but aren't cheap. CalipersOnLine supposedly has the calipers, but there are differing reports (on this site) on quality. Read up before buying.

Re-doing the whole system isn't cheap, but in terms of stopping power, well worth it. Hope this helps.
 
I used calipersonline.com for the set I have 20k mikes on and I just bought rotors last week from Dura Brake through eBay. They still might have one set but if they don’t you might have to wait a month or two. I’ve also got a decent personal collection of D10 pads both new and good used(not for sale) and I think Craig @mobileparts has some NOS available right now. Brake hoses are now available at the parts stores again but the last 2 sets I bought were from a Ford Bronco, they’re identical except 1/4” longer.
 
I have never seen a set of BUDD brakes, but from the description, they sound similar to the Kelsey-Hayes 4 piston calipers that are on my 65 Mustang (manual, stock). The difference is that the K-H calipers have stainless steel pistons.?

I like the setup very much.

39D061FB-F149-4251-8B5B-DCEABDFBEBFD.jpeg
 
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum.

Currently, I am working on the 4 piston BUDD disc brakes on my 1968 Chrysler 300.
These were an option in 1968 and I decided to restore back to factory original. I hope this will help someone in the future.

These BUDD brakes have a somehow bad reputation of getting stuck, pulling to one side etc. and everyone raises an eyebrow once you mention BUDD: "It can't be done" followed by a recommendation to switch to the "better" 1969up one piston brakes. Well, it can be done. It might be a little costly but you end up with one, if not the finest brakes way ahead of it's time in 1968. As far as I know, these were just too expensive for Chrysler and they switched to one piston in 1969.

Work in progress:

- Calipers were disassembled, cleaned, blasted, stainless steel sleeved, new aluminum pistons and new seals.
- Same company made new brake pads.
- New brake hoses in stainless steel flex.
- New master cylinder. This is the large reservoir style with the large 1-1/8 in. piston. The four BUDD calipers move a large volume of brake fluid, do not use the common smaller master cylinder. B and E body Hemi cars used a very similar large master cylinder.

I will post some pictures soon. Happy to be a new member here ! Thanks.

Hello,
maybe you can help me. I have bought a set of calipers rebuild by Cardone Industries. One piston was leaking, so we took the pistons out and found one of the rubber seal rings had folded over, still in its groove, and caused the leak.
How do I get the pistons back in without this happening again? Is there a tool like a piston ring compression tool or some trick I do not know of? Thank you!
Regards,
Holger
 
Hello,
maybe you can help me. I have bought a set of calipers rebuild by Cardone Industries. One piston was leaking, so we took the pistons out and found one of the rubber seal rings had folded over, still in its groove, and caused the leak.
How do I get the pistons back in without this happening again? Is there a tool like a piston ring compression tool or some trick I do not know of? Thank you!
Regards,
Holger
No it just some careful twisting and wiggling, using some DOT5 brake fluid as a lubricant helps IMO. Whether you put in a new seal is up to you. Is it badly distorted out of the caliper? Depends on how long it's been in that state will depend if it seals properly when it's put back in right.


.
 
This part of the never ending joy of Car-Don't rebuilds, very poor quality.

Dave
 
No it just some careful twisting and wiggling, using some DOT5 brake fluid as a lubricant helps IMO. Whether you put in a new seal is up to you. Is it badly distorted out of the caliper? Depends on how long it's been in that state will depend if it seals properly when it's put back in right.


.
The seal just flipped on its side, still in the groove, it is still good. The caliper even seemed to work after installation and build pressure. Started to leak a little later. Do you split the calipers? There is little room in there to work.
 
The seal just flipped on its side, still in the groove, it is still good. The caliper even seemed to work after installation and build pressure. Started to leak a little later. Do you split the calipers? There is little room in there to work.
Yes you do have to take the calipers apart 'split' and make sure you pay attention to cleanliness, ie wash your hands (or change gloves) before you handle any brake parts, oil/grease don't go well with brake fluid and parts. Remove the caliper from the car and do it on a well lighted clean work bench. Work smart, it makes everything so much easier in the long run.


.
 
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