I'm getting ready to a front disc conversion on a '73 Grabber. From what I've read in the archives of this forum the standard opinion seems to be to pick up the correct spindles and basically buy everything else new. Does everyone agree with this? Is there a particular place to pick up the calipers, rotors, etc., or are we just talking a local parts house like a NAPA? Is it all available? Thanks! Big Al
You will need the old Calipers as both a core and for parts. The new caliper will only include the side with the piston so make sure you get the calipers and all associated parts ... Hopefully the old ones are already assembled so you can see how the two halves fit together. Any Auto Parts store will have or can order all the parts you need ..
If you do have the olds parts keep the rotor you might be able to have it turned. They can check to see if its any good. The calibers come complete including disc pads and hardware. I found that out when I did by convesion on a 70. You can turn the old ones in for core.
My calipers came with both halfs also grab the prop valve, master cylinder, brake booster if it is there, and the lines from the master cylinder to the prop valve. check the lines to sometimes they are still good , the master cylinder you will probably want to rebuild or buy a new one. but it still may be good if the car you are geting this off was on the road before you got the parts.
and as far as the master cyl goes, when you buy the new one, make sure you specify that you want a MANUAL brake master cyl. it will require less pedal pressure to stop the car than the master for a power brake maverick. uhhhh as far as pads go, raybestos make what if i remember right is called raybestos plus. i use these. i found that these pads make less of that filthy dust than bendix or any other pad. my .02
This is just my take on this, and I did this conversion last year. None of the major places take cores on these calipers anymore, which is sad because there is an ending to what they have some day. The pads that Scott was referring to were the Quiet Stop Raybestos pads but when I tried to get them I could not find a part # for them, Scott if you have a # for them I would also like to get them as they did a great job on my 97 lowrider F-150 with billet whells. I replaced my master cylinder with a manual disc brake unit, direct fit. Replaced rotors, figured if I was in this deep it was better to have everything new. The only thing you need from the original calipers is the slides that the calipers ride on and the bolts. If you do a seach under my name I posted all this info. I got some good info from Mavaholic which helped and my car will throw you forward it stops so good. Also I bought everything from O'Riely automotive, I don't know if they still offer it but when I did it if you bought lifetime pads from them you got 10% off everything you bought brake related and the rotors were already about $30 cheaper than Autozone to begin with, I would call around and do a price comparison. Hope this helped.
Excellent info Ward! Is there a real difference between the manual drum master cylinder and the manual disc?
The new caliper will only include the side with the piston Huh, what calipers come in two pieces? My '76 calipers were each one huge piece that covered both sides of the rotor. I just did the conversion to my '70 in April. Picked up loaded calipers at Advance for $32 each, used the old ones for a core at $5 each. 'Is there a real difference between the manual drum master cylinder and the manual disc?" Yes. Besides the larger reservoir the disc side has a lower rated residual pressure valve. Drum brakes require 11-15 lbs of residual pressure to keep the wheel cylinder seals from leaking. Calipers don't need this because their seal is a positive type so that they can self-adjust. I know people sometimes use the drum/drum MC in a swap and say they work fine, but I often wonder if maybe they wouldn't work even better if they used the correct parts.
Personaly i like the feel of the master drum/drum master cylinder better i have used both and decided to stay with the drum/drum there is not real stopping difference just a differnce in the force required to push the pedal down. The drum/ drum requires more force but less travel but to me i think it gives a better feel of the road. But one thing that is weird is if you drive a non power brake car for a long time and then drive a power brake car it just doesnt feel right any more. also just my 2 cents Ps remeber the prop valve or the block. these also determine the pressure sent to the frount and back the drum/drum one is 50 frount and 50 back where as disk/drum one is 70 frount 30 back
The drum/ drum requires more force but less travel... I wondered about that, I noticed the pedal moves farther now, wasn't sure if that was normal or not.
I have read most of the discussion about installing disc brakes. I have a '72 maverick it is a six cylinder 200 engine, so it has 4 lugs. What does one do about the rear wheels, I am o.k. with drums but I want the 5 on 4 1/2 wheel patter so that I do not need to carry two spare tires. What does one do for the rear axles?
