So I'm planning a disc brake conversion for our '64 and the donor vehicle that I'm using is a '69 Valiant with the four piston KH calipers. The more research I do, the more i realize that people don't really like this set-up. It seems like more parts to fail and the price is out of control. I can get parts from Rockauto but if I want to buy locally in Canada then the good calipers are about $220 each and rotors are simply not available. Also, the only master cylinder from Rockauto is a reman. I would love some input from the gurus before I proceed any further.

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Do you want really good functional brakes, or classic aura brakes? If you want good performance (tires and wheels too), then forget about SBP rims and hubs. What is your budget for the whole brake and susp setup?

You can make the KH setup work well but they are finicky and reman calipers often leak. I had a set on my 68 Dart for several years and went through a few reman calipers before I got a pair that did not leak. Yes, they were warrantied, but I had to keep swapping the dern things. Also, I did not like the pad options and they did not give a good pedal feel.

If it were me, I'd get 73-76 A-body spindles and UCAs and build brakes from there. 11.75" rotors are much better and work well with Wilwood dynalite calipers. Here is what I did on mine, but I'm not sure you can get those adapters anymore.

http://arengineering.com/tech/mopar-mus ... e-upgrade/

Man, there is a lot less out there that is not bling'ed up these days. Need to contemplate this further...

Tim Herren has a kit, but it is a bit of cash. It should work really well...

http://alltimeracing.com/product/product-one/

If you want simple and not expensive, and do not care about weight, then call Doctordiff(.com) and get one of his kits with all included.

http://www.doctordiff.com/brakes/complete-kits/

I would get the stage 3 myself...

Hope this helps,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines

Thanks Lou, I'll look into this. I like my sbp steelies and did hope to keep the budget on brakes realistic since nothing else with this car seems to be. That being said, safety first.

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The 1973-1976 setup is still pretty good on pricing for parts... as I remember right Sandy in BC had a setup for sale, you might bug him when he gets back from down south, but you will have to go to LBP steelies 14 or 15's (14's should still work with your covers, poverty dog dishes should fit either size... the 11.75' rotors will require 15" wheels to clear the calipers.)...

Yah, I've already painted up my rims and mounted fresh whitewalls on my sbp 14" wheels. Not a deal breaker but would be annoying to start over with rolling stock.

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I have this set-up on my 64 Dart GT (with QA1 UCA's) and the stopping power for the size to weight ratio is Amazing! (11.75 rotors with 15" wheels!)
Other than the control arms I have less than $300 in parts, some new(Rotors/Pads/Hoses), some salvaged (Calipers and mounting brackets from Cordoba).

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1964 Dart GT

Years ago I met a guy at a slant six meet who had a Duster with smal bolt pattern wheels but the 73-76 disc brakes. His trick was that he found a source for a 73-76 rotor "blank" and had a machine shop drill it for the 5x4 bolt pattern and press in the wheel studs. I never found out his source for the rotor blanks and have been looking for one off-and-on ever since, but that seems like the best of both worlds. Maybe someone "in the industry" who is more familiar with parts manufacturers would know where you might find a pair of rotor blanks.

Sell those K-H discs to someone with more money than brains who is restoring a late 60s barracuda or hemi dart and put the money towards a set of brakes that offer better braking for less money.

Couldn't you just drill the 5x4 pattern between the 5x4.5 holes?

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Yes it could be done, but you have to watch it. the OEM rotors were smooth on the back side where the studs press through... The last new Raybestos rotors I bought had ribs cast into the spots between the 5 on 4.5" stud pattern... so that would be a no go unless you can spot face and mill the ribs down... I suspect that the ribs were there because castings from Venezuela weren't the best... but they still are on the car and work fine fine with the better quality brake pads.

The other issue I have heard about is that the early drum brake rims sometimes won't clear the late caliper on that style of conversion...

I like what you're saying. it's worth a think.

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Looks like you already have the parts you need.
You can rebuild the calipers your self.
Might need to get them to a machine shop to get 'em cleaned up properly on the inside of the cylinders.
I'd go for it.
A car that small will not be too hard to stop.
Just me, but I wouldn't hesitate to run drums.
They actually activate better than dics.
You just don't want to motor-cross them because of fade caused by heat build up with repeated use.
The only thing discs really have over drums is the ability to dissipate heat.

.......but.....Pat lives in a part of the world where %10 grades are the norm and 13% grades are common. The street he lives on would terrify most flatlanders.

My choice for that car and his preferences would be late A discs redrilled to fit the SBP......and 10" rear drums for the parking brakes.

Yah Sandy, most folks don't understand the severity of our local geography. Haha. That being said, I've been running drums in this hilly town for over 20 years. I like the idea of the re-drilled later rotors. As far as rebuilding my existing calipers go, I think it's more trouble than it's worth. The pistons are all pitted pretty bad and a clean re-man is $65.00

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OE small bolt pattern wheels have a center hole too small to fit over the hub of the late disc brakes.

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Joshua

Right-On.
Had no idea of geographical characteristics.
Just voicing an opinion I guess.
You know what they say about those...
"They are like ***-****s, everyone has one and they all stink".