Caliper sleeving or conversion.

[63stick]

I'm now starting the front brake overhaul and deciding whether to re sleeve my calipers which are in good condition with stainless while there out. or convert to a Taylor system. I'm not planning on using it a lot. I would rather keep it stock as much as possible.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also Any recommendations for someone that sleeves the old Bendix. 

One more thing, All the Superchargers I see are that lovely Studebaker orange. Mine is black from the factory, like the McCulloch on my Golden hawk. Did the color get changed early on. Mine is 1086.

[Avanti1963!]

There is no definitive answer on the original supercharger colors.  Some believe that very early Avantis had black then they switched to orange for the duration.  Rebuilt superchargers were definitely black.

[64StudebakerAvanti]

If your caliper pistons are in good condition, why sleeve? It would make more sense just to rebuild by replacing the seals etc.

Otherwise, the Cobalt replacement cylinders seem to be a good option.

https://mossmotors.com/8777-2-cp-cobalt-brake-cylinder-axle-set?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzaqmz_-s_wIVgZqGCh2kYwuqEAQYFSABEgJSg_D_BwE#829=2405?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=shopping

 

Sumitomo cylinders are over $250 each on parts geek.

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1963/jaguar/xke/brake/caliper_piston.html?brand=genuine

 

The Turner brake conversion is another possibility allowing for relatively less expensive parts. Not sure what the Turner package consists of now, but when I purchased 20 years ago, Turners used Mustang rotors and GM calipers.

Sleeving has gotten more expensive. Apple hydraulics now wants $135/cylinders for sleeve and $165 for rebuild.

 

https://www.applehydraulicsonline.com/collections/dunlop/products/copy-of-jaguar-dunlop-caliper-cylinder-sleeved-and-rebuilt-1

 

[64StudebakerAvanti]

Bob Ziff at Avanti parts and Restorations is showing new replacement pistons for $155 each.

https://avantiparts.biz/cylinder-assembly-front-disk-brake/

 

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I, too, would vote for the Cobalt wheel cylinders if keeping the original Bendix/Dunlop disc brakes.  They are a better, more modern design than the originals.

I, personally, have converted my Studebakers to modern disc brakes, either Turner or Hot Rod & Brakes (have used both).  The HR&B disc kit has gotten good reviews & costs $150 or so less than Turner's kit.  Jim Turner now uses Chrysler minivan calipers in order to avoid the clearance issues the previous GM calipers sometimes had.

One note on rotors: I have just had to replace the rear rotors on my Olds Aurora due to rust (flunked Va inspection after only 1000 miles, 2 years).  I'll never again buy non coated rotors.  The coated ones cost more (20% ?), but I want to do my brake jobs only once.  One can also paint rotors and I have done that.

So, the good news on supercharger colors is that you can paint yours either orange or black, whichever you prefer.  I made a major mistake in having mine painted black. 

--Dwight

[mfg]

16 hours ago, 63stick said:

 

All the Superchargers I see are that lovely Studebaker orange. Mine is black from the factory, like the McCulloch on my Golden hawk. Did the color get changed early on. Mine is 1086.

Orange definitely ‘shows’ better under the hood… but for my money black is definitely correct, at least for an early Studebaker Avanti like yours!

[mfg]

3 minutes ago, Dwight FitzSimons said:

 

So, the good news on supercharger colors is that you can paint yours either orange or black, whichever you prefer.  I made a major mistake in having mine painted black. 

--Dwight

Hardly a “major mistake” Dwight!

The supercharger on my fairly early ‘63 is painted Orange… and it looks nice…. however, if I was an authenticity nut it would be painted black!

[Dwight FitzSimons]

23 hours ago, mfg said:

Hardly a “major mistake” Dwight!

The supercharger on my fairly early ‘63 is painted Orange… and it looks nice…. however, if I was an authenticity nut it would be painted black!

Most, if not all of us love these cars because of our memories of them, and my memories of superchargers are of orange ones.  Restoring them as original takes us back to those times.

But, when my '64 Avanti was mechanically restored I specified black for the blower because I thought orange would clash with the red R3 engine color.  I now think differently.  Of course, I can easily paint the blower Chevy orange, but that will leave the capscrew heads painted, which they aren't supposed to be.

So, the major mistake is that I will have painted capscrew heads.  Can't we all agree that painted bolt heads on a blower is a "major mistake?"

--Dwight, powered by Studebaker & Packard

[Avanti1963!]

Dwight, are we certain that the superchargers from the factory had unpainted screws?   I would think that the supercharger was painted as an assembly such the the body including screws were painted orange, but not sure on this. 

Is there any documentation to state one way or the other?  

[Dwight FitzSimons]

8 minutes ago, Avanti1963! said:

Dwight, are we certain that the superchargers from the factory had unpainted screws?   I would think that the supercharger was painted as an assembly such the the body including screws were painted orange, but not sure on this. 

Is there any documentation to state one way or the other?  

I don't know the answer to that question, but I now have a whole new mission in life: determining the color of those screws!

[Avanti1963!]

Go for it Dwight.  We are all counting on you!!!   lol   

I'm getting ready to paint mine so I'm actually interested in knowing.  

[63stick]

Thank you for the various websites and info. Made me rethink it. I checked them all out. I just checked out the installation instructions on both Turner and HR&B. The latter requires modifying the brake lines and installing valves. I don't want to change anything that can't be reversed, such as brake lines. I'll probably call and talk to both of them. I am defiantly going to install one of those kits. Cost wise it doesn't make sense to rebuild my calipers, plus I'll have better braking. 

I disassembled my calipers and cleaned all the brake fluid out, sprayed them with WD40, bagged them and packed them away. So, it's getting new brakes for sure. 

My R2 has 19k on it and has never had the blower worked on. ALL the bolts are black.

[63stick]

Talked with HR&B today. Turns out that only Studes with the master under the floor need the valving not the Avanti. And no problems clearing my Halibrands. Ordered the kit today.

 Thanks for the suggestions!

Ordered a set of U joints and the rubber seals behind the door interior handles from one of the big parts suppliers and they arrived yesterday. Oh my God, how can someone with any morals send something out that made my original ones look new compared. The pitting on the caps is so bad, you could never press them in. One was wrapped in white paper packing and it spilled brown powder (rust) all over my counter top. The whole thing was nothing but powdered rust. and $75 ea.

The seals literally fell apart in my hands. Cracked and powdered. My originals that have been in the weather since 1963 are so much better. Makes me sick.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

On 1/28/2026 at 11:34 PM, 63stick said:

Thank you for the various websites and info. Made me rethink it. I checked them all out. I just checked out the installation instructions on both Turner and HR&B. The latter requires modifying the brake lines and installing valves. I don't want to change anything that can't be reversed, such as brake lines. I'll probably call and talk to both of them. I am definitely going to install one of those kits. Cost wise it doesn't make sense to rebuild my calipers, plus I'll have better braking. 

I disassembled my calipers and cleaned all the brake fluid out, sprayed them with WD40, bagged them and packed them away. So, it's getting new brakes for sure. 

My R2 has 19k on it and has never had the blower worked on. ALL the bolts are black.

Good job!

Great!  Now I can catch up on my sleep.  Thanks.

--Dwight

[Dwight FitzSimons]

"Talked with HR&B today. Turns out that only Studes with the master under the floor need the valving not the Avanti. And no problems clearing my Halibrands. Ordered the kit today."

More information that should be shared with all.

One thing I will add:  One might want to ensure that the rotors and calipers are "coated."  After having my Olds flunk inspection due to rust on a 2yo rotor I'll never again buy uncoated rotors or calipers.  I paint those on my Studebakers, but the factory coating is probably better and painting them is a hassle.

So, if Turner's & HR&B's full kits don't include coated rotors & calipers then one might think about buying their basic kit & buying the rotors & calipers at NAPA, or other FLAPS.

--Dwight

Edited 4 hours ago by Dwight FitzSimons

[63stick]

Dwight, I will assume the Olds is not a show car but a daily driver. My car will not be out in inclement weather and it's in a climate controlled building. Coated rotors still rust. I have them on my ML550, Mini, Escalade, MDX, 2500HD and a Suburban. Calipers stay nice, but rotor faces still rust. If I drove them daily rust probably wouldn't build up. Once they get rust on them, they don't clean up real nice and they chew up the pads. Did your car fail for the rotor faces, as I can't see the rotor hubs failing as every car out there would fail.

[mfg]

On 1/26/2026 at 3:53 PM, Dwight FitzSimons said:

I don't know the answer to that question, but I now have a whole new mission in life: determining the color of those screws!

Dwight, if you’re referring to the screws which retain the rear scroll cover to the scroll housing, they were definitely painted, along with the rest of the blower, as a complete assembly… however, leaving them unpainted or cad plated sure looks nice!!

[Bob Preston]

13 hours ago, 63stick said:

Ordered a set of U joints and the rubber seals behind the door interior handles from one of the big parts suppliers and they arrived yesterday. Oh my God, how can someone with any morals send something out that made my original ones look new compared. The pitting on the caps is so bad, you could never press them in. One was wrapped in white paper packing and it spilled brown powder (rust) all over my counter top. The whole thing was nothing but powdered rust. and $75 ea.

Would you care to share which supplier sent the dried out, rusty parts? I’ve recently ordered from 5 different suppliers in Indiana, Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Massachusetts plus a few miscellaneous items from the local NAPA. One sent unacceptable rusty components (brake discs) that were returned for a refund, less shipping and a 15% restocking fee. Another sent worn, corroded parts (control arm bushings) and incorrect parts (stabilizer bushings). So far I’m just eating the cost of those parts. Ordered from another supplier and the parts are new and correct. In fact the stabilizer bushings are marked USA. 

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I hadn't heard of coated rotors until recently, but I think they are a good improvement, both for function & appearance.  I assume that the coated rotors & calipers will rust eventually (like everything under the car), but at least that will be delayed & reduced.  I have repro Halibrands on my Studes, so appearance matters there.

All of my modern cars have see-thru aluminum wheels, so the rotors & calipers are visible.  The Olds is a 2003 Aurora Final 500, and although it's a backup driver at this point, it has sentimental value too.  All the mechanic said was that there was rust on the inner surface of the rotor.  I assume that means rust on the wiped surface, which likely means that either: 1) the car isn't driven enough & lives outside (true), or 2) the caliper is sticking and not pressing hard enough on the rotor.  It's a one-cylinder, sliding caliper, so either the piston is sticking or the sliding mechanism is sticking, or 3) both.

One other possibility, and I have seen this on Studebaker rotors, is rust on the periphery (& the hub side) of the rotor advancing so far that it "rounds off" the inner & outer edges of the pads.  Technically, at least, that would change the coefficient of friction a little bit (between the rotor & pad) because iron oxide is harder than iron (or steel).  I used to laborously chip off that rust buildup on my Stude rotors with a chisel.

--Dwight

[Dwight FitzSimons]

24 minutes ago, mfg said:

Dwight, if you’re referring to the screws which retain the rear scroll cover to the scroll housing, they were definitely painted, along with the rest of the blower, as a complete assembly… however, leaving them unpainted or cad plated sure looks nice!!

I guess I could paint the blower, then replace the capscrews one at a time with unpainted ones.  I agree that unpainted ones look better.

[mfg]

1 hour ago, Dwight FitzSimons said:

I guess I could paint the blower, then replace the capscrews one at a time with unpainted ones.  I agree that unpainted ones look better.

I think I’d put two extra screws to hold rear cover in place, soak actual screws in paint stripper to clean them down to bare steel… then hit them with a self etching primer for good adhesion … then spray them silver and install on freshly painted supercharger…. Nice detail!