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ScareBird disc Brakes - Yea or Nay


Cat Whisker

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I ordered, received and installed the ScareBird brakes on a 1949 Plymouth SD and here's what I found...

Pros:

Well Made

Easy install

Uses common inexpensive aftermarket calipers, rotors, pads etc.

Good instructions

 

Cons:

Said item was in stock but waited almost a month for shipment

Had to get wheel spacers ((1/4") to clear stock factory wheels

All bolts grade 8 except lock washers (grade 5)

Spindle/wheel nut caps don't fit

 

All in all I'm a happy camper. See pictures of install after a red powder coat.

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Yay, or nay? I like the idea of safety and performance improvements of disc brake upgrades. I'm just cheap! I keep nursing along my old stock brakes. Keeping them in good working order. Safe as could be, back in the 30's to 50's. Well, I guess I also drive the cars like it's still the 30's to early 50's so I have trouble deciding if an upgrade is worth it.

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2 hours ago, Stargrinder said:

Looks really good.  I was thinking about doing the same but decided against it when the site said it would not work with the stock wheels.  I may need to get some details from you on the spacer and your setup.

The wheel pattern is common 5 on 4-1/2 which is the same as most Honda's,  Nissan's, and many others. I found 2 5mm spacers on eBay for $12 and they fit and work great on the stock wheels which have the rivet bumps between the bolt holes. The wheel bolts that came installed in the ScareBird hubs are plenty long to accommodate the spacers. I can post more pictures of the spacers if needed. 

 

The ScareBird kit uses or works with the following user supplied parts:

 

Part                                     Application            NAPA        Wagner    Raybestos
   
Rotor             1993-96 Ford Probe front      4886318    BD125274    96318(R)
Caliper, LH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front     SE4680      TQM25048    RC5248
Caliper, RH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front    SE4679      TQM25049    RC5247
Hose (15”)*    1979 Seville front                  36845        F98912          BH36845
 Hose (17”)*  1979-82 El Dorado front       36959/36960    F98914/98914     BH36959/3696
Brake pads        1983-92 S10 4WD               TS7070AM    MX154     EHT154
Wheel Seal        1967-69 Camaro        Timken, National 8705S  SKF, NAPA 17187
Dust cap        1983-2010 Ranger 2WD    NAPA 735142           Dorman 618-503

 

Note: Go with the 17" hoses and pay attention the the orientation of the banjo brake line fitting. It does have an up and down side...

 

 

Edited by Cat Whisker
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12 hours ago, Cat Whisker said:

The wheel pattern is common 5 on 4-1/2 which is the same as most Honda's,  Nissan's, and many others. I found 2 5mm spacers on eBay for $12 and they fit and work great on the stock wheels which have the rivet bumps between the bolt holes. The wheel bolts that came installed in the ScareBird hubs are plenty long to accommodate the spacers. I can post more pictures of the spacers if needed. 

 

The ScareBird kit uses or works with the following user supplied parts:

 

Part                                     Application            NAPA        Wagner    Raybestos
   
Rotor             1993-96 Ford Probe front      4886318    BD125274    96318(R)
Caliper, LH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front     SE4680      TQM25048    RC5248
Caliper, RH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front    SE4679      TQM25049    RC5247
Hose (15”)*    1979 Seville front                  36845        F98912          BH36845
 Hose (17”)*  1979-82 El Dorado front       36959/36960    F98914/98914     BH36959/3696
Brake pads        1983-92 S10 4WD               TS7070AM    MX154     EHT154
Wheel Seal        1967-69 Camaro        Timken, National 8705S  SKF, NAPA 17187
Dust cap        1983-2010 Ranger 2WD    NAPA 735142           Dorman 618-503

 

Note: Go with the 17" hoses and pay attention the the orientation of the banjo brake line fitting. It does have an up and down side...

 

 

That is quite the list of parts from different applications that you have aggregated into your solution.  I appreciate you sharing. 

 

I would love to see pictures of the spacers and your mounting.

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Hello Stargrinder. I'm afraid that I only took 2 pics of the wheel spacers prior to installing everything. The only reason the spacers were needed was due to the way Mopar made the wheels. They are riveted together and its the inner webs or spokes (for lack of a better word) between the rivets that are raised and that's where they just barely touch or rub. If they were made flat against the wheel all the way around, there would be no problem but the center of the 4 webs are slotted (probably for strength or ventilation) and that's the edge that rubs the calipers. I used washers when testing for the clearance I needed. The spacers I used are 5mm (way less than 1/4") thick which gave plenty of room between the wheel and the calipers. When looking for spacers, be sure to notice the size of the center hole in them. The hubs that come with the ScareBird kit have very large centers. The common size of the center hole in wheel spacers seems to be 68mm. The hubs center size are 73mm. You can see in the pics that I centered the spacer on the inside of the wheel and tacked them with some upholstery spray adhesive to hold them in place until mounted.

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I didn't need spacers and I used the same wheel I got with car in 1968 so I assume they are original.  I think the difference is that I bought mine from someone who decided to go with the the whole ECI setup.  My  calipers were S10 FWD no issues and I just did them in April.

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1 hour ago, 48ply1stcar said:

I didn't need spacers and I used the same wheel I got with car in 1968 so I assume they are original.  I think the difference is that I bought mine from someone who decided to go with the the whole ECI setup.  My  calipers were S10 FWD no issues and I just did them in April.

What rotors did you use?  Are your S10 calipers 1990?  For the 1946-54 Dodge and Plymouth Scarebird site used Ford Probe rotors and 1990 S10 calipers.

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4 hours ago, 48ply1stcar said:

I didn't need spacers and I used the same wheel I got with car in 1968 so I assume they are original.  I think the difference is that I bought mine from someone who decided to go with the the whole ECI setup.  My  calipers were S10 FWD no issues and I just did them in April.

That's probably the difference. My pads are for a S10 but my calipers are the Cadillac ones. 

 

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3 hours ago, Stargrinder said:

I definitely appreciate the information as I start to plan this out in my head.  

 

By the way ... did you all go with the stock master cylinder or did you all use an aftermarket? 

So far I'm using the stock (rebuilt it about 2 weeks ago) and so far all seems OK after bleeding everything. I put new lines everywhere and new rear slave cylinders. I have plenty of pedal pressure, but once I get on the road, I'll have a better idea. If I need to change, I think i'll go with passing a rod thur the old one to push the new master cylinder mounted behind it. 

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3 hours ago, Stargrinder said:

What rotors did you use?  Are your S10 calipers 1990?  For the 1946-54 Dodge and Plymouth Scarebird site used Ford Probe rotors and 1990 S10 calipers.

I used the Ford Probe rotors and the Cadillac calipers. The pads are the S10 ones and since the pads fit perfect, the two calipers must be almost identical.  

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58 minutes ago, Sniper said:

Those calipers are known as GM metric calipers, lots of aftermarket versions in various bore sizes, not to mention a plethora of pad choices too.

 

I have used GM intermediate calipers on many different T Buckets and Rat Rods builds in the past and never had any problems.

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On 6/6/2020 at 5:31 AM, Cat Whisker said:

The wheel pattern is common 5 on 4-1/2 which is the same as most Honda's,  Nissan's, and many others. I found 2 5mm spacers on eBay for $12 and they fit and work great on the stock wheels which have the rivet bumps between the bolt holes. The wheel bolts that came installed in the ScareBird hubs are plenty long to accommodate the spacers. I can post more pictures of the spacers if needed. 

 

The ScareBird kit uses or works with the following user supplied parts:

 

Part                                     Application            NAPA        Wagner    Raybestos
   
Rotor             1993-96 Ford Probe front      4886318    BD125274    96318(R)
Caliper, LH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front     SE4680      TQM25048    RC5248
Caliper, RH        1979-85 Cad. Eldo front    SE4679      TQM25049    RC5247
Hose (15”)*    1979 Seville front                  36845        F98912          BH36845
 Hose (17”)*  1979-82 El Dorado front       36959/36960    F98914/98914     BH36959/3696
Brake pads        1983-92 S10 4WD               TS7070AM    MX154     EHT154
Wheel Seal        1967-69 Camaro        Timken, National 8705S  SKF, NAPA 17187
Dust cap        1983-2010 Ranger 2WD    NAPA 735142           Dorman 618-503

 

Note: Go with the 17" hoses and pay attention the the orientation of the banjo brake line fitting. It does have an up and down side...

 

 

certainly not meant to find these parts in Europe...

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Hey Bluefox

 

"certainly not meant to find these parts in Europe..."

 

I just found this web-site and I know nothing about it, but it might be worth looking into. https://shop2ship.com/rockauto-usa-international-shipping/

 

Edited by 48ply1stcar
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On 6/7/2020 at 7:40 PM, 48ply1stcar said:

Hey Bluefox

 

"certainly not meant to find these parts in Europe..."

 

I just found this web-site and I know nothing about it, but it might be worth looking into. https://shop2ship.com/rockauto-usa-international-shipping/

 

THanks for the hint! I know Rockauto very well. I have ordered in the past BUT freight cost and customs taxes make it very expensive to buy in the US and have it shipped to Europe...Fortunately I have some friends in the US to help me with this.... ?

 

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