http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymouth ... 367wt_1166

i'm thinking about it boys. you're all much wiser than me, does this sound too good to be true?

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

I have never personally seen his stuff on a car, but have heard of guys on Moparts who have used Tom's stuff with good results. I've meet the guy who does this at some shows in Washington, and he is a nice, stand up guy who is serious about what he does. The parts are good quality. I would not hesitate to do it. Good brakes are good brakes, no matter what parts are used.

I have the scarebird conv. on my '60 Val.

PROS

More stopping power.

Readily available parts.

I was able to keep SBP.

CONS

Need access to a drill press. (Advised)

Takes some work to get right, grinding, drilling, etc.

The brackets I received were well made, the only issue I have is that the hoses they specced where a bit short.
If you do only the fronts, plan on going with a double pot MC.

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<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2992308402_5481afb26e_t.jpg">

You'll definitely stop better with disc brakes, but this doesn't address the smaller bolts holding the early lower ball joints to the spindle. Supposedly, they are a weak link in the 9" drums.

Has anyone ever heard of these 9" drum spindle/BJ bolts breaking? I have not. This seems to be something Ehrenberg dreamed up that has never been an issue.

I beat the piss out of my cars back when they had 9" drums (on track too) and never had a problem with breakage, just fade and locking of the brakes.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Parroting something a "journalist" said flippantly to fill a magazine page doesn't help anyone. 9" drum brake lower ball join bolts are not an accident waiting to happen.

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Joshua

do we know of anyone who's used this setup? i don't want to bolt it all up and then discover that i have to make adjustments every week.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

Yes, stonethk has it on his car.

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that's right. he does. hahahaa..

i'm doing some research, i still have to put some new leaf springs on the back and then i'll move onto the brake situation. the drums seem to be doing fine for now. thanks for the info guys. if anyone out there has anything to add i'd appreciate the knowledge.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

What I heard was "I wouldn't go over 40MPH" or something like that, in that article referred to by Lou. I passed that along as "supposedly a weak link," since I had never heard of the bolts actually failing. Bigger bolts may be better, but I don't have any evidence to support that theory.
I've had a single-reservoir master cylinder system fail, and that was scary.

I'm planning this conversion myself for my 63 Valiant. I put some time into learning about it, along with pointers and tips from other members (DonPal). I've been collecting the parts, and I'm planning on installing within the next few months (I need to save some $ for front end rebuild parts first). One thing to consider is if you have 13" wheels, those will have to go - you'll need 14"x4.5"s at a minimum to clear the calipers. I got 14"x5.5"s per DonPal's recommendation. If you don't have 14" small bolt pattern wheels, factor them as well as new tires into the equation.
I have the current Scarebird installation instruction sheet, as well as my "shopping list" with prices that I paid so far. I tried to mitigate the parts cost as much as possible, and did a lot of bargain shopping. PM me with your email and I'll send those over to you.

I put the celebrity brakes on my '72 demon. My car has a 408 stroker smallblock and a four speed. It will go sideways as long as you want and the rush from 80-130 is brief and amazing.

Not bragging, it's only around 375 hp I think, but LOTS of torque. The scarebird setup is working great for me. My point is that my drivetrain allows me to get in way more trouble than my /6 cars and the scarebird stuff slows me down when I need it. The car stops straight every time not like the drums constantly needing adjustment to stop from pulling one way or the other.

I have a large diameter piston lightweight aluminum master cylinder that gives a little bit of a wooden feel to the discs, I'm planning to switch to one closer to 1" bore for better feeling. I was blessed/cursed with trees for legs, so it's ok for me. If you have a m/c with more like 7/8" bore or power brakes you will love the disc conversion. Pads are easy to get and CHEAP too.

Good luck.

Kevin

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madam im adam

Napa Master Cylinder Part 36338 with 15/16 " bore is available which duplicates what a 72 with discs/drums combo manual brakes use to have.

My 65 Dart (with Celebrity discs) had high pedal pressure with a 1 1/8 MC and & going to the 15/16 bore decreased the pedal pressure measureably but increased stroke by about 40%....

Note the pedal pressure change is a function of the change in the bore diameter squared consequently, as an example. a change from 1 1/8 bore to a 15/16 bore drops pedal pressure to 70% of what you had originally.

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1965 Dart 110k, 225, Carter BBD Super Six, 2 1/4 single exh., sbp manual scarebird front disc, 7 1/4 rear 2.94 sure grip, 14 x 4.5 OEM wheels, 833 OD with hyd. throwout bearing, HEI, electric fan, ram air/heated air, Accusump. http://plymouthcarclub.com/

this is what i like to see! people who know what they're talking about and willing to share information. thank you! and keep the suggestions coming.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

I bought My dad a set of the front Scarebird 9" to disc conversion brackets last year for his '63 dart convertible - All stock Car.

He has yet to install them.

You will need a drill press to do this job correctly.


Greg

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http://www.youtube.com/hyperpack