Disc Brake Conversion - General Questions

[THRobinson]

Was looking at wheels/rims etc and started to wonder about how hard compatible brake parts would be to find for my '47 Dodge Sedan.

I see many posts about disc brakes, and mentioning of a 'Rusty Hope Disc Brake Conversion Kit'... not sure if the best route or not so figured I'd ask:

- Are drum parts for my car easy to find? (USA model, but I'm in Canada)

- Is it worth while to convert to disc?

- Any advantages towards being able to find rims? (ie, higher offset, lug pattern change)

- How difficult is it? Like is the kit a full kit? or a kit that has a few parts, the rest of the conversion requires chopping the front end off another car or something?

[Frank Elder]

This has been discussed alot...use the search function.

[Robert Horne]

Rebuilding what you have, or changing to disc is all up to you.

You can have your shoes relined, get wheel cylinder rebuild kits or parts from

Napa Auto. Master cylinders can be cleaned/rebuilt easy, or modify with

a newer type Master cylinder.

OR,

You can go with the disc setup. There are several suppiers on this site.

If you read the threads on here, you will see there is not much problem

changing to disc, and parts are easy to get at a local auto parts store.

I have drums on my 38, and 48, but went with a more modern Master

cylinders for now on each, and they are doing very good.

[OldDad67]

Was looking at wheels/rims etc and started to wonder about how hard compatible brake parts would be to find for my '47 Dodge Sedan.

I see many posts about disc brakes, and mentioning of a 'Rusty Hope Disc Brake Conversion Kit'... not sure if the best route or not so figured I'd ask:

- Are drum parts for my car easy to find? (USA model, but I'm in Canada)

- Is it worth while to convert to disc?

- Any advantages towards being able to find rims? (ie, higher offset, lug pattern change)

- How difficult is it? Like is the kit a full kit? or a kit that has a few parts, the rest of the conversion requires chopping the front end off another car or something?

I just got Olddaddy's kit and will be installing it soon. I did lots of research and found the Rusty Hope kit as good as anyones, but what convinced me to buy was the customer service. No one wanted to answer my questions, but Olddaddy did, I was a Factory rep for Gm for 30+ years and have a lot of stupid question's but Olddaddy still stuck with me. You don't need to cut off the front of your car to do this either. The old Mopar brakes are ok but not great, but when your on the road with newer cars with disc's that can stop much better, you need to leave longer distances between you and them.

Brakes and steering are two things you don't want to short cut, I can live with a shoddy interior for awhile longer than risk crashing my ride do to marginal brakes and steering. Just my two cents.

[THRobinson]

This has been discussed alot...use the search function.

Did... some relevant, some not, and still had questions... hence the post.

[THRobinson]

I just got Olddaddy's kit and will be installing it soon. I did lots of research and found the Rusty Hope kit as good as anyones, but what convinced me to buy was the customer service. No one wanted to answer my questions, but Olddaddy did, I was a Factory rep for Gm for 30+ years and have a lot of stupid question's but Olddaddy still stuck with me. You don't need to cut off the front of your car to do this either. The old Mopar brakes are ok but not great, but when your on the road with newer cars with disc's that can stop much better, you need to leave longer distances between you and them.

Brakes and steering are two things you don't want to short cut, I can live with a shoddy interior for awhile longer than risk crashing my ride do to marginal brakes and steering. Just my two cents.

I will check that one out... I like the idea of a kit vs some methods I've seen (ie. pre-80's firebird front clip swap was one).

Just, when I looked at the kit on Rusty Hope's site... well, I was expecting more. For example, the brakes. Which is what made me wonder about what do I need to get in addition to the kit to make this work, as well if the kit was front wheels only or will work on the rear as well.

Edited March 25, 2012 by THRobinson

[Frank Elder]

Did... some relevant, some not, and still had questions... hence the post.

There isn't a single facet that hasn't been covered on disc brake conversion on this forum other than the preference to paint them pink or blue.........you didn't read far enough, in fact simply googling what you need gives you 3 main vendors for what you need including rear brake conversion.

rustyhope

aaj..............rears

scarebird

etc.........

[Andydodge]

Well I've had 4 wheel disc brakes on my 1940 Dodge since 1976 and would definately recommend them. I installed and adapted the discs myself......O/k so what I have on mine are not available in the US as they are from an Australian 1975/76 Leyland P76 but are vented 11" discs with the 4.5" Mopar/Ford bolt pattern, which is basically the same as what they use over there.

Whilst I haven't had any direct experience with the disc setups offered by Olddaddy and Scarebird they both seem quite good from pics I've seen and as suggested by some here, do your searches for info and ask as many questions as you want until YOU are satisfied, no one else.

Also I have seen some installations that use the stock master cylinder..........whilst it may work fine I would have some doubts about using the original Plymouth M/c as I do not think it have sufficient capacity to be safely used with disc brakes as they have a much larger fluid capacity........and a later model, dual circuit master cylinder is a safer option in my opinion.

Also certainly in my case I can run the stock or hotrod rims at my choice and I would think that the conversions offered would allow a similar choice and with careful modifications the "originality police" would have to look pretty close to find the modifications

Both what I did on my car and the Olddaddy/Scarebird conversions only modify the stub axle mounting......you still use you normal, stock, original steering and suspension so parts, etc are not an issue with the front end.

The bottom line is whether to convert to Disc brakes is your own decision.......read, check & ask around.....good luck with whichever way you choose to go...........andyd

[THRobinson]

... do your searches for info and ask as many questions as you want until YOU are satisfied, no one else.

Thanks for the info/pics... I know there are threads about it already but, searching 'disc brake conversion' brings up about 175 matches, average of about 20 posts per thread, that's like 3,500 posts to read! Plus a lot of people mention different cars, kits etc... hard to find the exact answer you're looking, especially for a non-mechanic like me.

Hand me a kit or a part and I'll make it work, but, I have no background in mechanics to forsee problems and added costs. Nothing worse than mis-reading something or not seeing a specific post, and having your 'easy' upgrade turn into a $2,000 nightmare.

[Frank Elder]

If you are serious about rear disc these are your guys:)

http://www.aajbrakes.com/

[THRobinson]

If you are serious about rear disc these are your guys:)

http://www.aajbrakes.com/

Ya, been eyeing that up... front and rear because some kits come with all parts and leaves the guess work out of it. I contacted Rusty Hope though to ask a few questions about his.

Scarebird says right on the front page "Some companies offer conversion kits that work well, but require expensive proprietary rotors, along with calipers and pads available only through mail order or special sources." which is what has me double checking to make sure. If I can order average priced parts from NAPA, then I'm definitely interested.

[Frank Elder]

E-mail this dude for the down low on homemade:)

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/member.php?u=328

[THRobinson]

Found a nice parts list for the Rusty kit... but still haven't found any info about how the kits might affect the offset.

I'm still checking wreckers for compatible (and decent looking) rims... 16" hopefully since 14" looks tiny on such a big car.

Played with the idea of adapter plates so I can use higher offset rims and/or different lug spacing... will the discs affect the offset? if there anything I can do during the conversion to allow for higher offsets?

[faucet47custom]

Ive got the Rusty Hope kit installed on my D24. Searching for threads thayer I have posted and you will see the pictures I put up. All parts sourced at local parts stores very inexpensively and easily.

[PatS....]

Ive got the Rusty Hope kit installed on my D24. Searching for threads thayer I have posted and you will see the pictures I put up. All parts sourced at local parts stores very inexpensively and easily.

"thayer"???

[hkestes41]

I used the Rusty Hope kit and after gathering the brake parts at NAPA, it was a one day swap. Using a new stock master cylinder and am very happy with the brakes. Use the stock 15 inch wheels with no issues for fitment what so ever.

Here is the parts list from AutoZone or Napa

Disc Brakes

GM Caliper A-184071/72 / N-2422032/33

Pads A-MKD154 / N-TS7070AM

78 Volare Rotors A-YH141145 / N-4885566

Caliper Bolts A-50022 / N-82205

Inner Wheel Bearing N-BR6

Outer Wheel Bearing N-BR2

Seals N-19500

Voalre Grease Caps N-730-2436

Wheel Nuts N-641-2024

Cotter Pins N-8080-4788

Brake Hoses N-36959

Banjo Bolts N-82703

Edited March 26, 2012 by hkestes41

[plyroadking]

what was the total cost?

[THRobinson]

I used the Rusty Hope kit and after gathering the brake parts at NAPA, it was a one day swap. Using a new stock master cylinder and am very happy with the brakes. Use the stock 15 inch wheels with no issues for fitment what so ever.

Did it affect your offset at all?

When I got my D24, it had 4 different rims with 4 different tires... 14", 15", 205/215... so, pretty much no choice but to grab new tires. Which is fine, I wanted alloy rims anyway. Hoping 16"... looking at Ford Ranger rims, but... if it changes (or if a way to change) the offset from low, to high... I definitely want to.

I was also told that the easiest way to convert the rear drums to discs, was to switch the rear end out with something else. My fear is having a different lug spacing in the rear from front... any advice on that front?

[hkestes41]

If I remember correctly the parts and kit were about $550 or so. It has been a couple years so don't have exact numbers any longer.

[builtfercomfort]

I think many who are doing front disc brakes also do a rear end swap. The Rustyhope one leaves you with the Mopar/Ford bolt pattern, while there are others (ply-do? not sure if they still exist, either?) will give you a Chevy pattern. So if you do a rear end swap, you can get the front bolt pattern matching the back depending on which kit you go with.

Also Charley (Rustyhope) will also do all the work for you if you ship him your parts, at least that was the case a couple of years back. So it could be a straight bolt-on when your stuff comes back from him, if that's the way you want to go.

[faucet47custom]

"thayer"???

That, my iPhone wasn't reading my mind when it auto spelled.

[Frank Elder]

Did it affect your offset at all?

When I got my D24, it had 4 different rims with 4 different tires... 14", 15", 205/215... so, pretty much no choice but to grab new tires. Which is fine, I wanted alloy rims anyway. Hoping 16"... looking at Ford Ranger rims, but... if it changes (or if a way to change) the offset from low, to high... I definitely want to.

I was also told that the easiest way to convert the rear drums to discs, was to switch the rear end out with something else. My fear is having a different lug spacing in the rear from front... any advice on that front?

Ford explorer or jeep rearend[Greg knows which one] will give you the same bolt pattern and discs...and emergency brakes.

[faucet47custom]

Rusty Hope's kit uses Volare rotors so if you swapped rears you would be able to use a mopar or ford rear end. I'm going to pick up a rear end from an explorer to put under my Dodge. They have the same bolt pattern and I'll get one that has factory discs, so I will have four wheel disc brakes. I'm upgrading to a newer style MC with remote reservoir.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'm partial to the all in one rear disc/drum combination..talk about easy setup of the cable and less headaaches when it comes time to do a brake job..

[THRobinson]

Volare rotors?

... I've never even seen a Volare... they still make parts for those? Maybe being Canada, they all rusted off the roads up here but still common in the US.

EDIT: Ah, checked eBay, looks like the rotors are the same as 5th Ave's, Diplomats, etc

Anyone know what the AAJ Brakes uses?

Also, what's an "all in one rear disc/drum combination"... I've seen discs or drums, but not all-in-one. Or do you mean disc front drum rear?

Edited March 26, 2012 by THRobinson