I was parked at Walmart the other day and a guy approached me telling me that he has a '71 Valiant with front disc brakes rotting in his yard. He said that the disc brake setup is in good working order and was originally from a '74 Valiant and the conversion was only done a few years back. We haven't talked price yet, but it sounds like he might let me take the whole car pretty cheap. I'm going to go look at it this Monday.

My question is this: Does anyone know if there are compatibility issues for disc brakes from '71-'74? Would his '71 Valiant have had to be modified to accept disc brakes from a '74? How about putting the setup into my '73? I've never attempted anything like this so any information or "heads ups" on the subject is greatly appreciated.

THANKS!!!!

-Matt

You can literally swap most A-body items back and forth between 1967-and 1976...(I have a 1976 Kmember in my '67...with a 1974 disk brake set up...it all bolts up sway bar and all...)...

The 1967-1972 disk brakes would have been the old Kelsey hayes 4 piston models that were effective in "the day" but cores and parts are $$$ items now... The easier swap is to go with the 1973-1976 single piston disc brakes...A-arms with better ball joints, lower control arms and the spindles all bolt right into your 1974 without any problems, using your pitman and idler arms, his master cylinder...it all swaps over. Make sure you get an alignment after you finish the swap, if his bushings are old, you will need a rebuild kit/bushing set.

Because the 1973-1976 kit also is a cheap and easy upgrade for the 1970-1974 E-bodies and the 1968-1972 B-bodies, prices have gone up on these spindles...especially on e-bay, if you get the whole car for a couple hundred you are doing well....


FYI,

-D.Idiot

If the brakes are from a '74 then they will bolt right on your '73. I wouldn't go backwards and use brakes from a '71.

The key is figuring out what the car really has on it. Most people aren't going to know the difference between a '71 disc brake and a '74 disc brake. Even some Mopar guys can't tell the difference. Either look in a service manual or take a picture and post on here.