Disc conversion, brand recommendations help + best prices?

[elanmars]

I'm converting the car to disc brakes, first the fronts to disc ASAP and maybe the rears to follow, unless there's a kit somewhere that comes with everything reasonably priced.

I just want to know what brands are best (I see Wilwood mentioned a lot) and where can I find the best prices.

I want to find the best set-up available, at the best price but not go cheap either on it, I want better safety than the drums it has on it now.

[b5blue]

A good start is to check Mopar Action's website look for the "disco-tech" archive. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

what wheel size are you planning on going with ?  This will dictate a lot...   The disc set up i'm making will work on 18" and larger only   haha    so it really depends on what you want.   I will assume you want to stick with the popular 15" wheel

Your best bet - Find later model disc rotors, add the 11.75" rotors, call up AR engineering for their viper caliper brackets, and ebay find a set of 1st gen Viper calipers - it is fairly affordable and IMO better than what most companies sell...   

Wilwoods calipers (to my knowledge) are not sealed for all weather / daily driving - they are more of a race only application. (again, just what i have seen or heard)

SSBC - sells Ford mustang stuff with a spacer to make it fit your existing mopar drum brake spindle. Works well and is all OE stuff -

[Armudster]

what wheel size are you planning on going with ?  This will dictate a lot...   The disc set up i'm making will work on 18" and larger only   haha    so it really depends on what you want.   I will assume you want to stick with the popular 15" wheel

Your best bet - Find later model disc rotors, add the 11.75" rotors, call up AR engineering for their viper caliper brackets, and ebay find a set of 1st gen Viper calipers - it is fairly affordable and IMO better than what most companies sell...   

Wilwoods calipers (to my knowledge) are not sealed for all weather / daily driving - they are more of a race only application. (again, just what i have seen or heard)

SSBC - sells Ford mustang stuff with a spacer to make it fit your existing mopar drum brake spindle. Works well and is all OE stuff -

Hello, how about the Just suspension slotted/drilled Brake kit with brembo calipers? Any difference than the viper calipers? They look like they are a great kit, but are very expensive $1699,00 for the 11´´ rotors

[Rolling_Thunder]

OE Viper calipers were manufactured by Brembo    Same thing...      IMO NO 11" rotor kit is worth $1700.00        

If it were a 13 or 14" kit for $1700.00 I could stomach it but that is rediculous and not worth the $$$   

[METROID]

In about a week or two I'm going to risk it all and buy this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-POWER-Disc-Brake-Conversion-Kit-B-E-Body-62-72_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem56363c674eQQitemZ370277115726QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

It seems to be the most complete kit I can find.

[c00nhunterjoe]

i have been contemplating that same kit for my car

[Rolling_Thunder]

That is just the later disc brake swap but with the smaller 10.78" rotors

[METROID]

That is just the later disc brake swap but with the smaller 10.78" rotors

No way so that ebay kit is for 10.78'S ( Ithought the smalller ones were 10.87) not 11.75's? If that's true I'm going to save myself from the pain of shopping for new 15" rims and new tires (Not to mention $500-$1,000) and keep my old 14" slots on the front of my car. 

[Rolling_Thunder]

They are 10.87" - typo on my end   sorry about that. 

[d72hemi]

what wheel size are you planning on going with ?  This will dictate a lot...   The disc set up i'm making will work on 18" and larger only   haha    so it really depends on what you want.   I will assume you want to stick with the popular 15" wheel

I have been looking at front disc upgrades as well (72 charger), I have not seen any 14" kits, would you tell us more about what you are talking about?

Ian

[elanmars]

I was thinking more on the 12-13" range rather than 11/10.87 rotors, which would mean bigger wheels-which I'm totally fine with. I'm not about to go with anything crazy, I'd keep it 17 front 18 back and Centerline Retros I'd be very happy with, unless I find some killer black wheels with chrome lip that aren't stupid looking.

I saw these on the wilwood website-the two bottom kits seem reasonably priced.

http://www.wilwood.com/BrakeKitListFront.aspx?make=Dodge&model=Charger&year=1969&frttype=Drum&reartype=Drum&modoption=Drum%20Brake%20Spindle

[Rolling_Thunder]

I have been looking at front disc upgrades as well (72 charger), I have not seen any 14" kits, would you tell us more about what you are talking about?

Ian

I have been playing around with a front disc kit for my 68 Charger - based on the 73-76 disc brake spindle -  As it sits right now there are soo many different configurations I am getting a headache...   Progress is slow as I am working and finishing up college - but the results look promising. As it sits right now -

14" rotors with Brembo 4 piston Calipers

or

14" rotors with 6 piston PBR calipers


The largest issue with both there systems is wheel choice gets narrow - as the modern rotors are alot more shallow than older styles - So not many wheels would fit unless they are made for modern cars (larger caliper clearance) or you choose to run a wheel spacer...      I am trying to figure out these things and this is the ONLY sticking point - if you guys don't mind running spacers it is a very realistic possibility...     

I'll definately post when I get these figured out but expect around new years for a finished product.

[METROID]

Asked the seller about the ebay kit:

Q: Are the discs 10.87, 11.75, or another size?
A:11"

[b5blue]

Remember your slots may not work at all if they are 14 inch rims, 15 inch would be OK with 10.87. 

[HPP]

I have been playing around with a front disc kit for my 68 Charger - based on the 73-76 disc brake spindle -  As it sits right now there are soo many different configurations I am getting a headache...   

Hmm. Have you seen these? You may be getting headaches for no reason. http://arengineering.com/caliper_menu/calipermenu.html

Another intersting point is that there are several lines of Wilwood 4 and 6 piston calipers that use the same mounting bolt pattern as the Dynalites, so the ARE Wilwood brackets MAY allow other calipers to be used.

$1700 for the Just Suspension Brembo kit is a bit silly. You can find used Viper calipers for $300-500 a set, the ARE adapters are $200, rotors are $50 each. So you can have a copy of their kit for less than half the price if you shop around.

The 11" vs 10.87" question pops up now and again. Check it against the tape and you can find that there are manufacturing variances that can stack up one way ot the other. When it comes right down to it, the difference between the two  is .060 per side, or the size of a good HEI spark plug gap. The disc isn't the issue, the location of hte caliper is. If these kits use the stock style caliper bracket, it is either small or large. The small is the 10.87 (11) the large is 11.75. Simple as that.  The small ones fit inside 14" wheels, the large ones require 15" wheels.

BTW, the biggest set up you can fit inside a 15" wheel is 12.19 rotor and caliper clearance is critical. Anything bigger than that will require a bigger wheel.

I do have a couple of the ARE bracket adapter kits if anyone is interested. I'll cut you a better deal on them than Mancini can.

[THERAMMAN]

50 % of my calls are people un happy with choices in the power unit selection( power unit = booster and master cylinder )
very few problems with spindle stuff its fairly cut and dry
you cannot beat the factory double bendx booster and 1.125  bore bendix master cylinder

the ramman.com................the mopar brake answer man