Proven Front Disk Brake Conversion Kit?

[plyroadking]

We were out for a Sunday cruise today and ran into a truck and trailer that made a right turn on red and assumed my car could give change on dime stops. When i buy the car back from insurance i believe im ready to cross over to the disk brake side. I realize this topic has been beat to death, revitalized and beat to death again. My question is, has someone had an out of the box, plug and play experience with one of the kits available?

[ledfootslim]

Ooh  man, I feel for you- a nightmare that I hope never happens to me! Hope the conversion ends up going well!

[50desotocoupe]

Geez, I am really sorry to hear that.  It really makes me think whether or not to even drive my old cars on city roads.  People just suck anymore. 

 

My complaining out of the way.  I used the front and rear kit for my 50 Desoto from AAJbrakes.com.  Nothing on these old cars is really plug and play, but all pretty straightforward.

 

Best of luck with your ordeal.

[Bmartin]

Well, I'm still working the bugs out of mine.  One thing I would suggest is to find a kit that has the option of buying new parts instead of remanufactured.  Most of my issues seem to be centered on the remanufactered parts.

[Don Coatney]

Well, I'm still working the bugs out of mine.  One thing I would suggest is to find a kit that has the option of buying new parts instead of remanufactured.  Most of my issues seem to be centered on the remanufactered parts.

I don't understand your statement. I would think all kits have the option of new parts. Parts must be new before they are used and remanufactured. Vendors may suggest remanufactured parts as a cost savings. It has been several years sense I did my install but I believe I bought mostly new parts. The calipers may have been rebuilt.

 

[Andydodge]

Plyroadking........what yr is your car?........am assuming its the one pictured which may be a problem depending on how stock it is......I have had 4wheel discs on my 1940 dodge since the mid 70's however its a hotrod and I adapted them myself onto the original style 1940 front end.......I also used a master cylinder and booster that suited the discs.......firstly I would suggest contacting a couple of hotrod shops, ie, not backyard guys building rat rods......and see what maybe available.......the main problem could be that doing one thing will lead to the requirement that something else has to be installed to allow the 1st thing to operate correctly then it becomes a matter of whether you can be o/k with the various changes etc........me I'm a hotrodder so its o/k.........lol.....andyd

[BobT-47P15]

That is a nice looking old Plym.   Sorry to hear of your mishap.

I don't know if Olddaddy makes a conversion setup for one of that model year..........

Some have used kits from Scarebird.

There are others as well.

[plyroadking]

Sorry guys i should have included which car, it was the 1940 that was wrecked, the 1930 stops ridiculously well. Im hoping Bmartin can explain his remanufactured parts issues? I was looking at aaj's complete kit and it sounds pretty good and 50desotocoupe had a good experience with them

[deathbound]

Sorry guys i should have included which car, it was the 1940 that was wrecked, the 1930 stops ridiculously well. Im hoping Bmartin can explain his remanufactured parts issues? I was looking at aaj's complete kit and it sounds pretty good and 50desotocoupe had a good experience with them

 

Here is his thread:http://p15-d24.com/topic/36732-rusty-hope-discs-leak-problems/?hl=brake

 

Please note, it has nothing to do with Rusty Hope's/Charlie's disc brake conversion (as I have used it on my car). It was the re-manufactured calipers that had issues.

[Don Coatney]

Here is his thread:http://p15-d24.com/topic/36732-rusty-hope-discs-leak-problems/?hl=brake

 

Please note, it has nothing to do with Rusty Hope's/Charlie's disc brake conversion (as I have used it on my car). It was the re-manufactured calipers that had issues.

Thanks for posting that link. I did not recall what the issues were.

[Bmartin]

Yah, I have been having issues with the calipers.  I think I found some wilwood calipers that are a direct swap, but need to research how the dual pistons will work with my master.  I've also got yet another set of remans in there right now, that have not leaked yet. 

[deathbound]

Yah, I have been having issues with the calipers.  I think I found some wilwood calipers that are a direct swap, but need to research how the dual pistons will work with my master.  I've also got yet another set of remans in there right now, that have not leaked yet. 

 

Please update your brake issue thread when you find out about the Wilwood calipers. Their website shows GM single piston calipers, which I think are what I used for my conversion......need to look further into it.

 

Sorry for the highjack.

[HughForrest]

I believe Charlie's kit uses GM Metric calipers (at least the two I've installed did), and those calipers are readily available brand new from a variety of aftermarket suppliers such as AFCO and CPP. You can even get them with non-standard bore sizes to tune your braking. Here's a quick vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSYnQnYn_Dk

 

I'm planning to get some with oversized pistons for my '38 Chrysler as I have Crown Vic discs on the rear that have relatively large pistons.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have never seen a caliper in a fail to stop scenario...but most always in a 'fail to proceed' scenario with the piston getting stuck and not releasing the brake..only reason I have seen to discard a caliper has been stripped out fittings..my one car is still sporting its original calipers with only a recent rebuild  for the second time in 25 years I have owned the car...they did not need rebuilt at the time but as I was doing brakes I cleaned and rebuilt along with the rear..it is a 49 years old car...

 

buy name brand rebuilt or 'loaded' units..you will have no problems

[Bmartin]

I finally found a pair of the rebuilt GM's that did not leak at the bleeder.  They had the smaller 8 mm bleeder screw.  I went through 7 or 8 different calipers with the 10mm screw, most were NAPA's top line ones.  The ones that ended up working were the cheapest ones that Oreilly sells. 

[deathbound]

I finally found a pair of the rebuilt GM's that did not leak at the bleeder. They had the smaller 8 mm bleeder screw. I went through 7 or 8 different calipers with the 10mm screw, most were NAPA's top line ones. The ones that ended up working were the cheapest ones that Oreilly sells.

What is the brand/model# for the calipers?

[Bmartin]

I'll see if I can find the boxes.  They were the same part number as all the rest, just some had the 10 mm and some had the 8mm bleeder screw.  Once I go one of them, I went to three other Oreillys going through their stock till I found the 8mm.  I believe one was labeled Cardone and the other was labeled Breakbest as Oreilly was changing suppliers at the time.  I still think that Cardone does all the rebuilds for all the brands. 

[Barabbas]

I used the ECI brake kit on my '52 P23--works with no issues BUT you do need to buy new wheels

[Eneto-55]

I have never seen a caliper in a fail to stop scenario...but most always in a 'fail to proceed' scenario with the piston getting stuck and not releasing the brake..only reason I have seen to discard a caliper has been stripped out fittings..my one car is still sporting its original calipers with only a recent rebuild  for the second time in 25 years I have owned the car...they did not need rebuilt at the time but as I was doing brakes I cleaned and rebuilt along with the rear..it is a 49 years old car...

 

buy name brand rebuilt or 'loaded' units..you will have no problems

That has also been my experience, until I moved to the "salt belt".  I have had to replace calipers because the slide area become so rusted that the floating section constantly bangs back & forth when you go over bumps, or potholes.  And forget about getting the bleeder valve open after years of salt baths.  I realize we are talking about cars that are generally only used in the good season, but for general use (daily drivers), it's what we have to put up with here.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I will give you that on the salt belt..it is something that I here in the comfortable south have not had to deal with....I cannot in any manner see how folks can even think of paying for a new car knowing it is going to be subjected to that crap....everyone up north needs to buy 10 year old southern cars...get about the same usage I think...

[DJ194950]

Or a calif. car.

 

Seldom even gets rained on.

[RUSTYSNACK]

I live in the rust belt and I refuse to buy new cars,my daily driver is 16 yrs old now..but i'm also a shop manager in a big salvage yard, so parts for my car are either super cheap or free! but considering my lengthy junkyard background there isn't a rusted heap yet i haven't been able to conquer.Its a point of pride for us northern mechanics.Its my dream to relocate to a warmer salt free climate,A magical land where bolts always turn out and parts fall off the way they were meant too,but that'll never happen.I do always laugh when i hear about a southern mechanic struggling with a little bit of rust.i say just get in there and remember hammers and torches are your friend.

[Don Coatney]

What yard are you associated with? I made my escape from snow and salt  covered Varysburg and moved to Central California several years ago. One extreme to the other. I left California and went to mostly salt free Tennessee. Now that I am old and foolish I move back to Northern Indiana salt country at its finest. My 18 year old daily driver had never seen salt until this past winter. It still is rust free but I know that will change quickly.