If possible, I'd like to put disc brakes all the way around on my son's '68 Dart project car. Is this possible?

At the same time, I have some other related issues - I want to go with as big a wheel and tire, all the way around, that I can get in the car. Is there a junkyard swap that can be done, with a different car, that can give me the disc brakes and the bigger wheels (both height and width)? If we change the bolt pattern, that's okay with us.

What's the biggest wheel/tire combo that we can put on that car without having to do any wheel-well and/or fender cutting?

Junkyard front discs are very easy to find. You have your choice of the various A-body years, depending on what bolt pattern you want. The later ones have the advantage of easier to find replacement parts. Or you can super-size your rotors with the discs off a later B or R body like a Cordoba. That's what my Dart has.

Apparently there were a few Imperials with rear disc brakes. But chances are you won't be able to find them. The only junkyard conversion that can readily be found isn't in the Mopar section of the yard. You'll need to get a 9" Ford rear end out of Granda, Monarch, Maverick, or early Mustang. On rare occasions, you may find a Monarch or Lincoln Versailles with disc brakes, but I'm convinced those things arrive at the junkyard minus their rear axles. But it is apparently possible to take the discs off a solid axle Explorer and attach them to other 9" Ford axles. I am not sure what is involved, whether this is bolt on or cut and weld. The parts are relatively simple to find, though. I haven't tried that - I've just got the 10" rear drums. They seem to be adequate.

I've got fairly large wheels and tires on my Dart - 225/50ZR16 tires on 16"x7" wheels. They have about a 3/4" offset.

_________________
"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

For rear brakes that keep you current axle check out www.tsmmfg.com, and if you want to go one step further than the Corboda 12in front brakes www.magnumforce.com now sells kits for around $1000+ dollars that hang off the A/Body later disc brake spindles that are aluminum 13 inch rotors with six piston calipers. I have discs on my car and drooled over that setup. You'd probably need 16 or 17 inch rims to clear the 13 inch rotors.

I'm not suggesting either of the above, I actually suggest the 10 rear drums and 11/12 inch stock front disc brakes for cheapness(that's what I have and I like it). I doubt if you'll be dissapointed if you try the above though.

-Shivadart

Do I have to do anything special with the rest of the brake system, when I do the change out, such as go to a different master cylinder? What other considerations are there in doing this swapout?

If you want to know the specifics there's an article at www.bigblockdart.com that gives pretty good detail, and there's another but I can't remember the URL. There are a ton of posts about this swap as well. Basically you will have to have(depending on year) upper control arms, larger lower ball joints, disc brake brake hoses, disc brake spindles(don't have to be A body in my opinion, others disagree),calipers, and a disc brake master cylinder(as I said, this is compressed, there are quite a few other pieces and this swap can range from $0-$600, $600+ being where you have mostly new parts and start upgrades/rebuild front suspension). I think my swap ran around $800 but that was almost everything new with upgraded torsion bars and including wheel alignent and playing around with tires. I had to play with tires because I originally had a 4 inch bolt circle, all newer model disc brake systems will be a 4.5 bolt cirlce.

If you decide to do rear discs they have pressure regulators and MCs specifically designed for 4 wheel disc brakes, if you go with the 10 inch rear drum brakes you can keep your MC. To get 10 inch drums it'll be cheapest to find an axle with 10 inch rear drums, preferably find an 8 1/4 axle. They will have 7 1/4 10 inch rear drum axles but if you're changing axle you might as well upgrade.

The biggest thing to remember in doing this is that you do it slow and methodical, the suspension is easy to work on but if you do it wrong the consequences are more than a blown engine. Torque everything down to spec, and if it's hard to get at with a torque wrench keep trying till you get it. Also, when rebuilding a suspension save yourself a ton of time and rent a suspension kit rather than using a pickle fork.

If you want to know the specifics there's an article at www.bigblockdart.com that gives pretty good detail, and there's another but I can't remember the URL. There are a ton of posts about this swap as well. Basically you will have to have(depending on year) upper control arms, larger lower ball joints, disc brake brake hoses, disc brake spindles(don't have to be A body in my opinion, others disagree),calipers, and a disc brake master cylinder(as I said, this is compressed, there are quite a few other pieces and this swap can range from $0-$600, $600+ being where you have mostly new parts and start upgrades/rebuild front suspension). I think my swap ran around $800 but that was almost everything new with upgraded torsion bars and including wheel alignent and playing around with tires. I had to play with tires because I originally had a 4 inch bolt circle, all newer model disc brake systems will be a 4.5 bolt cirlce.

If you decide to do rear discs they have pressure regulators and MCs specifically designed for 4 wheel disc brakes, if you go with the 10 inch rear drum brakes you can keep your MC. To get 10 inch drums it'll be cheapest to find an axle with 10 inch rear drums, preferably find an 8 1/4 axle. They will have 7 1/4 10 inch rear drum axles but if you're changing axle you might as well upgrade.

The biggest thing to remember in doing this is that you do it slow and methodical, the suspension is easy to work on but if you do it wrong the consequences are more than a blown engine. Torque everything down to spec, and if it's hard to get at with a torque wrench keep trying till you get it. Also, when rebuilding a suspension save yourself a ton of time and rent a suspension kit rather than using a pickle fork.

-Shivadart