So, I inherited a 1963 Pontiac Catalina convertible from my dad, back in 1990. The Roto-Hydramatic transmission got all of about 5,000 miles from three rebuilds at my local transmission shop- total 15,000 miles and it was a real dog. So a friend says, "Throw a Turbo 400 in it!" So, I bought a "Turbo 400, removed the Hydramatic and son of a gun- after having to cut out the floor and welding in a Grand Prix floor pan to allow the Turbo 400 profile to fit, I bolted it in. What? Where does the starter bolt up? My buddy says, "Tow it to my shop- I'll install your starter..." A $400.00 tow later, he says, "Darn! There's no place to install the starter..." So, now I need a new engine. Found a 1968 Pontiac 400, out of a Grand Prix. Installed it, installed the transmission and the starter. Darn! The drive shaft is too long! So, I get it cut and balanced. Wow! What a difference the engine and transmission made to speed and reliability! So, driving back from San Rafael, Ca. one day at about 70-75 miles an hour, the light near Sears Point turns red- Yep, somebody must have sprayed WD-40 on my brakes when I got down to about 30 miles per hour! Luckily, no one was in front of me as I down shifted, standing on the brake pedal- and sailed right through the red light! I stayed at about 25 miles per hour for about 5 minutes, when my brakes came back. Got home, put the "Cat" up on jack stands and proceeded to convert it to front discs. Now she goes like a Banshee and stops on a dime. My son now has her. I agree on the LS1 conversion, everybody is doing them. But on the discs, my personal opinion is get rid of the drum brakes, they were always terrible- we just didn't know any better back in the old days.
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