Does anyone know of a manufacturer that produces a disc-brake upgrade kit for our cars that will fit inside a stock 13" drum?

I would love to upgrade to disc brakes but I won't change unless I can somehow keep my stock 13" full wheelcover hubcaps. I love their look, and really don't prefer those dog-dish centers.

Anyone? Elvis?

Don't hate my dishes. I've personally never heard of such a kit. I thought 14" wheels were minimum to clear disco rotors and calipers.

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Leela: 1970 Dart 225 CID
Coulmn Shift TorqueFlite
7 1/4" Axle 2.76 Gears

Go ahead and save that weird car, the sedan, the 6 cylinder, the C-Body. If you want a big block musclecar and that's all you care about, your missing the point.

If you wish to keep the 13" wheel covers with 14" wheels you may be able to use a 14" trim ring on the wheel with the 13" wheel cover mounted to it.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Disc Brakes or Hub Caps

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1964 Dart GT

Who said anything about being rational?

Rule of Thumb for disc brakes is that the max rotor OD can't be any larger than 3" smaller than the wheel size. So 12" rotor for a 15" wheel, 11" rotor for a 14" wheel, and a 10" rotor for a 13" wheel. there are some exceptions to this, but they don't vary by much and they can be difficult about wheel fitment.

A 10" rotor will be better than a drum that will fit in the same wheel size, but there aren't a lot of rotors made that small for street vehicles.

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Right, good point. But it's not just about the rotor diameter: it's also about the caliper that must fit over the disc and whether the combined rotor diameter plus measurements of the caliper and whether they'll fit inside a 13" rim.

Haven't found any so far! If anyone knows of a setup, please point me at it!

That 3" difference is what accounts for radial caliper clearance, that 1.5" clearance will fit nearly any caliper over the rotor's OD (I know of none that won't fit). When I was designing wilwood's "Big Brake kit" for the Pinto/MII/Heidt's 2" drop spindle (now superseded by a much bigger big brake kit I'm sure) we eliminated using anything smaller than a 15" wheel because the "BBK" formula called for a 12.19" OD rotor. And we knew that not all 15" wheels would fit because of the slightly larger than 12" OD.

The upper-outer corner of the caliper is usually the first place to hit. A close second is the outer face of the caliper. Both of those are more dependent on the interior shape of the wheel, not the OD of the rotor.

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Talk to Cass (DoctorDiff) - he can probably custom make something. May not be that expensive depending on the work required.

Very clever! Might not quite retain the "period" look, of course....

The bigger problem I foresee is where are you going to continue to purchase tires, other than at a specialty house like Coker for $600-800/set? All the classic car enthusiasts are in the same boat-- check out the clubs for Covair or Falcon lovers, everybody's crying in their beer. (The early 80s GM cars are affected, also, but they've got more wheel options.) P185/80R13 is the closest radial size, still being made (sorta) but they're now rated for trailer use only. Definitely not an automotive tire.

Can you believe these silly manufacturers not wanting to keep machinery working, nor continue to house inventory... nor support 50-yr-old technology... and they're willing to lose a dozen sales per year?

- Erik

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Lots of early Valiants and Barracudas have crossed my path.
Also a handful of other toys for variety now and then.

Well for the time being, P185/80R13's are available through Maxxis. I ordered them and I'm happy with what I bought.

http://shop.maxxis.com/c/ma-1-grand-touring-tire