Disks all around?

[Bob Riding]

I'm getting to the brake stage on the '40 wagon. I have decided to at least go disc/drum, or perhaps disc/disc. Someone was saying that by the time you gather up and pay for all the drum parts, you could just about go with discs all around (whether Charlie's kit, Plydo or ECI, ). I have all the old drum parts from the car...Plus the hassle of adjusting the shoes, etc...Any thoughts?

[Norm's Coupe]

Bob,

We were talking about the cost being about same just for the front brake conversion. Would probably be about the same difference for all 4 wheels though. Disc brakes will cost a little more though, but much less hassle with them and a lot better stopping. No adjustments needed. Actually, with the fronts only you only have to worry about the rear drum brake adjustment. Those are a lot easier to adjust than the fronts anyway. Guess those looking can more or less eliminate PlyDo for the time being. They seem to be out of commission according to some since the owner died a couple months or so back. So........it's either Charlie's kit or ECI. Don't think Charlie or ECI sells a rear disc system though.

[Don Coatney]

Bob;

Jim Yergen installed discs all the way around on his woody wagon. He can give you a good idea of the costs.

[Andydodge]

I've been running 4 wheel discs on my 1940 Dodge Sedan since about 1978.......I have Australian PBR 10.5" vented, Ford/Mopar pattern on the front and up till about 3 yrs ago had vented discs on the rear made up of 1971 Oz Valiant vented front rotors/1976 Ford Falcon rear calipers all mounted onto the late 50's Mopar rear end, worked o/k with a pendant pedal setup with the PBR firewall mounted Booster & dual circuit Master Cylinder.....I replaced the complete rear end as I had a few problems with axle bearings on the Mopar rear end with a complete disc rear end outa a 1990's Oz Ford wagon........bolted straight onto the 40 Dodge springs..........still stops on a dime.......no adjustments, no mongrel brake drums to try and remove......o/k, my setup is not available in the USA but if you intend to drive the car on a normal, regular basis I would recommend at the very minimium to run discs on the front.....my 1940 Plymouth Coupe is gunna get the 4wheel disc treatment eventually........have the diff, just gotta get the discs, etc.......

[Bob Riding]

Sounds like front discs for sure, and maybe rears too...good advice!

[Mark Haymond]

I have front disks on my 47 Plymouth project car and plan to keep drums on the rear. Most of the stopping power is done on the front tires and much smaller brake forces are needed at the rear tires. For this reason a lot of modern cars are designed with disks on the front and pretty small drums (or smaller disks) on the rear. You probably would not get any stopping improvement with rear disks, though you would have the advantage of ease of maintenance.

[Don Coatney]

Mark;

You need to connect with Bob Riding. He lives in Clovis. I paid him a visit when I went to Fresno on my last California trip. I will be in San Francisco next month but I dont think I will have time for any side trips this time.

[PatS....]

AAJ has a kit for rear discs on the original rear end. I think that's what Jim used.

The bonus is that if you use Cadillac calipers, you get an ebrake setup built in...just need to hook up the cable.

AAJ website:

http://www.aajbrakes.bravepages.com/rearbrakes.html

(horrible popups, but just x out of them)

[Bob Riding]

hey Don; What's bringing you out to "Bagdad by the Bay"?

Mark;

You need to connect with Bob Riding. He lives in Clovis. I paid him a visit when I went to Fresno on my last California trip. I will be in San Francisco next month but I dont think I will have time for any side trips this time.

[Jim Yergin]

AAJ has a kit for rear discs on the original rear end. I think that's what Jim used.

The bonus is that if you use Cadillac calipers, you get an ebrake setup built in...just need to hook up the cable.

AAJ website:

http://www.aajbrakes.bravepages.com/rearbrakes.html

(horrible popups, but just x out of them)

Pat is correct. I have the AAJ setup on all four wheels on my '41 P12 wagon. Didn't have to worry about the rear wheel emergency brake setup since I kept the original emergency brake on the transmission.

Bob,

I had to change out the spindle uprights on my front end and use P15 uprights in order to have the three tab mounting brackets for the front discs. My '41 had four tabs. I assume your '40 would be the same. No problem with the switch, bolts right in. Also, that way I didn't have to alter the original '41 parts and I have everything there in case I or any future owner wants to go back to the original

Jim Yergin

[Don Coatney]

hey Don; What's bringing you out to "Bagdad by the Bay"?

Bob;

Another business trip. Due to the Thanksgtiving Holiday we need to cram 14 days worth of work into 10 days so we can all go home and eat turkey.

[Bob Riding]

Ah, the relaxing Holidays...catch ya next time

Bob

Bob;

Another business trip. Due to the Thanksgtiving Holiday we need to cram 14 days worth of work into 10 days so we can all go home and eat turkey.

[Bob Riding]

Thanks Jim...any pictures of the wagon as she looks now?

Pat is correct. I have the AAJ setup on all four wheels on my '41 P12 wagon. Didn't have to worry about the rear wheel emergency brake setup since I kept the original emergency brake on the transmission.

Bob,

I had to change out the spindle uprights on my front end and use P15 uprights in order to have the three tab mounting brackets for the front discs. My '41 had four tabs. I assume your '40 would be the same. No problem with the switch, bolts right in. Also, that way I didn't have to alter the original '41 parts and I have everything there in case I or any future owner wants to go back to the original

Jim Yergin

[Jim Yergin]

Thanks Jim...any pictures of the wagon as she looks now?

Unfortunately, because of the fuel line mishap, this is an all too accurate picture as to how she looks now, stationary with the hood up.

Jim Yergin

[Bob Riding]

I like your blackwall tire look...looks like the old advertisements

Unfortunately, because of the fuel line mishap, this is an all too accurate picture as to how she looks now, stationary with the hood up.

Jim Yergin

[Jim Yergin]

Bob,

I went through some more recent information I received from AAJ Brakes. It looks like they may now have a four tab bracket for the earlier Plymouth front end.

Jim Yergin

[Bob Riding]

Jim; I just received an email reply from them saying that they think they may be able to fit my '40.

Bob