72 Front Disc Brake shields?

[Joe67]

The shield that bolts to the front spindle with three bolts on my '72 Chevy chassis. What is this for?

I'm debating cleaning up and painting mine or just leaving them off.

What to do...

[basketcase]

They keep road debris, mud, rocks ect out of your brakes. I put new ones on mine. The replacements have a rolled front lip like the '73 and newer ones that do an even better job and they are cheap. Tiney stones that get between your brake pads and the rotor and imbed themselves in the pad material put those deep grooves in your rotor surface that you often find when doing brake jobs. Most hot rod or show car brakes don't use them so I guess it's up to you if you want the protection or not.

Tom

[Joe67]

That's a good enough reason to keep them

I've done everything else right so far, no reason to stop now. Thanks

[dennislbrooks]

Basketcase --where are they cheap from?

[cdowns]

i've seen really nice custom ones made out of stainless steel frying pans //when polished to a mirror like finish they'll make you go faster and stop better

[70short/step]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i've seen really nice custom ones made out of stainless steel frying pans //when polished to a mirror like finish they'll make you go faster and stop better

They also do make them from the aluminum fry pans. They looks great also!

[dennislbrooks]

$55 a pair or so seems to be about the going price for them --- I mis-interpretted cheap.

[cdowns]

the dollar store and big lots near me has frying pans for $5-$10 each
and i see them all the time at yard sales for a dollar or less

[dennislbrooks]

Sounds like maybe a good idea. What size frying pan and do you have any pics of the final product. thanks

[cdowns]

i know i've got an article in a mag will see if i can dig it up// basically you want one that's a bit bigger that your rotors/remove handle/cut notch for caliper ,spindle clearance ,drill holes for mounting and just basically trim for clearance pretty easy to do very common on hotrods//

IF doing this !!! DON'T LET MOM CATCH YOU !!!!!

[dennislbrooks]

If you get my drift, I could probably take a couple out of the kitchen cabinet and they would not be missed. 8-)

[Joe67]

I gave mine a nice sanding and a few coats of gloss black with some clear. They cleaned up nice

[basketcase]

I guess cheap is a relative thing. It was new vs. trying to find something usable in the bone yards here in the rust belt. Not to mention the time involved and it was winter when I did this. When I got mine they were not in any catalog that I had either. I have since gotten a couple new catalogs that list them. CCP has them for $49./pr. My original ones that came on the '72 donor truck were very rusty. I bought new ones from GM. The '71/72 ones were no longer listed so, knowing that the '73-'87 stuff is nearly identicle I bought the '73-'87 shields. They were around $23./ea. I can't find the receipt right now but I remember posting with pictures of the modification I had to make. I think it was on another thread not started by me and I can't find that anymore either. Sucks getting old.

Anyway. The newer GM ones don't have the cutout for the lower control arm clearance but they do have the rolled front edge which I like. I used the old shield for a pattern and traced the opening on the new ones. Then drilled a hole to get started and cut out the hole. Dressed the edges with a file and they look like factory.

I like the frying pan idea. I wish I would have read this before I spent the money on new ones. Anyone have pictures of a finished and installed frying pan shield?

Tom