In a message dated 2/24/03 6:02:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time, PawtguyRI@xxxxxxx writes:
Hi all......got unwelcome news from my mechanic today, the entire brake system is shot on my car- plus ac compresser committed suicide so now I have a few questions.....his supplier asked if I had an "early" or "late" 69 model...since apparently all 69s had Budds I cant understand why he would ask that....are ac compressors easy to find for this car?. used on other Mopars?..a local Mopar junkyard has 2 69s in the yard but I havent seen them yet- forgive my ignorance as I have little experience w/ the fuselage era...
I have recently purchased a 69 LeBaron and been through the Budd brake thing. Mine is a late production car with Budd brakes. I am not convinced that any other than a small handful of the last 69's got anything but Budds. Hopefully your rotors are good enough to reuse, preferably without turning. If they have to be turned, be very specific to have turned the bare minimum as they are the most difficult item to replace. I got rebuilt calipers from the local Advance Auto store for approx $113 each, though the listing they show for D85 front pads is incorrect (D10's are what you need). Brake maintainance on these cars (67-69) is something that should be done regularly, both to insure that no damage is done to rotors and to verify that calipers are not leaking. Leaks from rebuilt Budd calipers tend to be common. I had a '68 a few years back that needed front brakes when I purchased it; one rebuilt caliper leaked upon installation and another began to leak approx 4 mos after installation. I hope the rebuilders are doing a better job now, but I will keep a close watch as I have a lifetime warranty on the units I just installed. I hope I do not have to get to much experience replacing calipers, but realize that it is a possibility.
The compressor is a common Chrysler item used for lots of years and can be gotten rebuilt for approx $100, so it may not be worth looking for used.
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