Has anybody in this community ever swapped to rear discs brakes (probably from other manufacturer) since A-bodies never came from the factory with rear discs. Am I wrong? Not sure about late 80-s- the Volale and its siblings. OR: can any model of FRONT disc rotors be installed instead of rear drums?
Thank you!

No A, F, M, J, or R body ever came with rear disc brakes, but there are aftermarket kits to adapt them. They are VERY expensive. My question is why? A set of rear ten inch drums is MORE than adequate rear braking power, esecially when combined with front disc brakes, and rear drums weigh less too. Rear discs is a very expensive and complicated yet unecessary conversion to do just to have it.

Reed

I would argue on the effectiveness of rear brakes. I drove another truck (FJ62 Toyota Land Cruiser, same model & year as mine) that had rear discs and it stopped MUCH better than mine, which has front discs & rear drums. And his had much more trail accessories, so he had a few hundred more pounds of weight on his rig than mine.

And as far as weight, I would think discs would be lighter than drums. I don't know for sure on that though, so I could easily be wrong. Just something I've always suspected.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

Last I remember the rear disc aftermarket kits were $5-700 complete. I think the calipers with parkign brake feature is extra. But I do remember, I only saw one for the 8 3/4 or dana60 rears, none of the others.

Does anyone have a jeep cherokee with rear discs?? I thought maybe these couldbe used on an 8 1/4 rear in an a body. but I need to get a good look at one and get some measurements.

Check out www.tsmmfg.com

They have rear disc kits for Mopar axles for pretty cheap, especially if you don't care about a parking brake. I used these on my 8.75"axle-equipped '64 Dart and they were an improvement in braking for sure, especially on hard stops from 80+, but everywhere else too.

There's a pic or two of these brakes on my '64 at:

http://www.slantsix.com/UBB/Forum4/HTML/000051.html

Happy building,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Are there any for 5 on 4" bolt pattern? I'm tryin to keep at 4" so I don't have to swap my tires on different wheels.

Did I read that right, that you are not running a parking brake?..Dave

Pierre, I think you'll have a tough time finding rear discs for 4" bolt circle - maybe a Wilwood kit?

Dave, you are correct, I have no parking brake on my '64. Never really used one anyway. I will be installing one somehow to pass NC inspection and then I will probably remove it. Just reconnected the parking brake on my '68 after not having one for 15 years. With 11:1 comp, there is plenty of holding power in 1st gear with the motor off.

You can get Caddillac calipers that have integral parking brake that work with the TSM kit too for about $80-100 more.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

When I was at Carlisle 3 weeks ago, Andrew Wagner told me that he put rear discs on his Dart. I believe he used Ford explorer Discs/Rotors ...etc. and they have the parking brake. He made his own mounting bracket and said that the swap was pretty easy, and cold be cheap if you picked up some used parts. please correct this Andrew if it is wrong.


Rick

The Ford setup is cheap and fairly easy to put on but from what I've seen, the piston size is too large. That leads to rear brake lockup even with the prop valve turned all the way down.

I haven't decided what to do with my own car, maybe put Viper rear calipers on it to match the front Vipers. Or I might build a system around the Ford Explorer setup but use a caliper with smaller pistons.

Andy,

I noticed that Wilwood is now offering improved aluminum versions of the GM "Metric" calipers that are supposed to be light and stiff, and have various piston diams available. I have the '80 Monte Carlo (small Metric) calipers on mine and they didn't take much to dial (proportion) them out on the Dart.

Just FYI...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Hmm, that might work. Use a Ford type rotor with internal drum brake and then run an aftermarket lightweight caliper. Shouldn't be too hard to fabricate up. (nothing is hard to fab when you have a CAD system!)

i once had a gran cherokee on my lift and noticed the 8 1/4 rear with discs. at the time i had just bought an imperial 9 1/4 rear with factory discs to fit on my 8 1/4. that was a few years ago but i recall thinking it may just work. the bolt pattern should be the same and the mounting brackets appeared similar to my 73 imp disc setup. another bonus is the hub mounted e-brake (less likely to stick,) whose shoes were nearly identical to the imp stuff. the jeep discs would be much lighter and parts availability would be much better.
never took a real look at the phord brakes. i have no idea how the piston sizes compare, but a prop valve may help with lockup problems. i'd be a little more worried about a crappy brake pedal, especially when running a mopar power brake setup like so many guys think is necessary.

-james

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The jeep Cherokee, and the ford explorer rear discs are similar. The parking brake system is almost identical. The shoes are the same and most of the hardware is the same. On the explorer there are two springs on the top that are the same number the ford part# comes with 4 for doing both parking brakes. The jeep just uses one on the top. The shoe retainers are the same along with the adjusters and the lower springs. As far as I know the hardware is only available new from the dealer. Wagner makes the shoes. The rotors and calipers are of course different.
The caliper bracket looks like it would be fairly easy to make work. just an FYI, if anyone wants part numbers I can get those. living in Wisconsin I have seen quite a few of these do to rusting out.