Anyone try this disc conversion?

[blade trinity]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Disc-Brake-Conversion-66-67-68-69-Mopar-GTX-Charger-RT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33564QQitemZ8043472267QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

These are for sale on ebag. Lots cheaper than the SSB set up. I really have to get some stopping power on the Blade Charger and wonder if this set up is any good. I currently have power drums. Comments?

[phat69charger]

Good price, but if you don't hit buy it now I'm sure the buy it now price will go away, and then your in bidding battle with someone that will probably bid past the buy it now price, then your at the same price as other companies, you also have to change your master cylinder out:  http://www.mpbrakes.com/mpfaqdiscs.htm

[Steve P.]

I looked into this a while back. At first glance it does look like a bargain. Then I did a search on here and found something BULL posted with basically all the parts you will need for a complete drum/disc conversion.

In a nut shell I will say this,

A)  You can do it much cheaper if you can go to the bone yard and pull what you need yourself. Some parts you (should) buy new or rebuilt. -- see BULL's post --

B)  If you have the money and not the time, this isn't a bad deal, inmo. You will still need more parts. Master cylinder, prop valve, etc.

First and formost---- do the research..........

[Ricardo]

Just save some money and buy the SSBC Force 10 in your car is not a 100% restoration. They look GREAT once installed (already installed them at my Charger).

[blade trinity]

My problem is time. I don't have  the time to source used parts. I have a good mechanic but he wants ME to decide which system to get. Thanks for your replies. This is such a great site!

[Silver R/T]

id go with willwood kit

[kevins1701]

Any opinions/experience/feedback on the Willwood kits? I'm thinking hard about that route.  --k

[bill440rt]

I looked into several kits before finally deciding on the SSBC one. Wilwoods, Baer, etc are very nice, but SSBC offered a COMPLETE kit, including the master cyl, prop valve, caliper brake lines, etc.
I ordered a 4-wheel manual disc brake kit, with the Force10 4-piston aluminum calipers and slotted rotors. I am VERY impressed with the completeness & quality of the kit. The instructions are also very easy to read & follow. They even include a little bench bleeding kit for the master cyl (Ok, even though it's anly a few bucks for a bleeder kit at least they thought of providing one). And, since I ordered a 4-wheel conversion, they gave me TWO prop valves (one comes with each kit, although you only need one). So, now I have an extra "just in case." They also give you lengths of hard line in case you want to bend your own master cyl lines. BEST OF ALL, it bolts up right on my disc brake spindles. And, all parts are NEW.
With the other companies, you got the rotor and caliper setups, then you had to buy a matching master cyl, brake lines, prop valve, etc. The SSBC is complete.
I don't have time either to make back & forth trips to the boneyard. Here in NJ, most of that stuff is long dried up by now. The price of the SSBC kit wasn't too bad, all things considered, and it fit my budget. I'm a LONG way off from bolting it on, my project car is a rolling shell right now, hopefully seeing paint this year.
Good luck with whatever kit you choose!

[bull]

I looked into this a while back. At first glance it does look like a bargain. Then I did a search on here and found something BULL posted with basically all the parts you will need for a complete drum/disc conversion.

In a nut shell I will say this,

A)  You can do it much cheaper if you can go to the bone yard and pull what you need yourself. Some parts you (should) buy new or rebuilt. -- see BULL's post --

B)  If you have the money and not the time, this isn't a bad deal, inmo. You will still need more parts. Master cylinder, prop valve, etc.

First and formost---- do the research..........

Here's my parts "brake" down

2 Spindles: 1974 Dart (used) $90
2 Caliper adapters: 1977 Fury pin style (used) $36 incl. shipping
2 Rotors: 1977 Fury (new) $91.21
2 Calipers: 1973 Challenger (rebuilt) Loaded with new semi-metallic pads, pin fastener set, etc. $129.98
1 Disc Brake Master cylinder: 1973-1980s Dodge truck (rebuilt) $28.76
2 Hoses 15": 1980 St. Regis (new) $30.98
2 Oil seals: 1977 Fury (new) $3.49
2 Outer wheel bearings: 1977 Fury (new) $8.50
2 Inner wheel bearings: 1977 Fury (new) $11.18
1 Wilwood Proportioning Valve: $42.50
1 Wilwood Residual Pressure Valve: $16.46
Misc.: $15

Total: $504.06

If I had it to do over again I would probably do a few things different. First off I would not have purchased the master cylinder I listed above because it looks wrong. It will work but it looks goofy to me, too big. Secondly, I probably would have purchased the whole set from one guy, like the guy in your Ebay auction, to save myself a bunch of running around. I could have saved myself all the running around if I could have found everything listed as I listed it above but as it turned out I had to do a lot of mixing and matching on my own. That's why I keep this parts list handy. One other thing I would probably do is go with the smaller rotors, such as the ones in that Ebay auction, just to save myself time and even more money. You'll see why below.

The biggest problem I had was finding the correct calipers for the 11.75" rotors until I contacted someone in Hawaii who had done the swap on his Roadrunner. At the time I bought my set it seemed like all the aftermarket sets out there were very expensive but for whatever reason they appear to have dropped a little in price -- probably due to the increase in popularity of our muscle cars just in the past two years or so.

One big reason I went with the set above is because of a suggestion made by Chryco Psycho. Basically he said try finding an SSBC or Wilwood part out of town on a weekend if you have brake problems. Say a lining comes off a pad or a brake line bursts or a caliper hangs up, you're not going to find an SSBC store on the corner like you would a Napa store. Granted the parts I listed aren't always readily available at every neighborhood parts store but the chances are much better that you will find what you need much sooner than you would otherwise. Maybe this approach sounds paranoid but I do plan on driving the car rather than trailering it so I prefer having more options in the parts dept.

Everything I listed above except the spindles and caliper brackets can be purchased new or rebuilt through Napa or pretty much any other local parts store. People will argue forever about four piston calipers vs. two piston calipers, slotted rotors vs. drilled rotors vs. flat plain rotors and stainless brake lines vs. rubber, etc., but I figure ANY disc brake setup is going to be way better than ANY drum brake setup. If you want to make it easy on yourself with this type of setup I would find a disc brake-equipped, mid-'70s A-body Mopar and steal the spindles and caliper adapters off it. Then go down to the nearest parts store and order everything else new for the car you just robbed. You'll end up with 10.87" rotors instead of the 11.75" like I have but you'll be done in an afternoon, it will cost less money and it will still stop 50 times better than it would with drums. In fact it looks as if that's what is in that Ebay link you posted above. He's calling them 11" rotors but I'll bet you money they are the 10.87" A-body rotors I just mentioned, which are just fine. I decided to go with the big cop car rotors for giggles but there's no way I'll ever get 14" rims on my car now (not that I want to) because they won't clear the calipers.

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of buying the ready-made kits because they are great units and I would own one in a heartbeat without qualms. I just wanted to keep my costs down and have more parts at my disposal from Joe Blow Parts Guy in case I'm in downtown Podunkville and need a brake hose or something.

Anyway, that's my

[Steve P.]

I guess it really does matter allot where you live. I am in Florida. It's hard to find some parts here, but,,, my buddy Ray was at the local Pick and Pull a week or so ago and came home with a long list of cars that still had everything on them needed to do a complete swap over. No less than 5 Volari/Aspens, a Cordoba, 4- diplomats etc.
To give you an idea on prices here, he did get a few.

Spindle w/hub     $17.50
Brake caliper        $ 9.99
Master cyl.          $ 4.99
Brake rotors        $ 7.50

Sorry, they didn't go into any better detail than that, but,, this is pretty cheeeeap. 2 spindles for under $40.00!! They would probably let the brackets and shields go pretty cheap as well. The prop. valve should also be pretty cheap there also.
The master and calipers are parts store items as well as bearings, seals, hoses and rotors inmo.

[blade trinity]

OK, After much deliberation I'm ordering from these guys. My Mechanic thinks it's the best beal going. I'll let  you know....http://www.scarebird.com

[blade trinity]

1962-72 Dodge Plymouth B and E body
           Front Disc brake conversion instructions

1. Crack front wheel nuts loose, chock up rear wheels.
2. Jack up front end of car, support outer lower control arms with jack stands.
3. Remove front wheels, drum/hub assembly.
4. Disconnect brake flexible line at frame by unscrewing hard line nut, then removing clip.  Undo lower ball joint nuts, and remove bolts.  Remove drum backing plate and all drum hardware in one assembly.  Clean off spindle assembly well.  Make sure lower shock bolt's head faces to the rear.
5. Tilt spindle outward, place bracket on stub and twist/slip adapter plate behind spindle with caliper opening to the rear with caliper offset facing inward.  Reinsert bolts and torque to spec.  We mark the heads of the lower bolt with a line to show cotter hole orientation before we insert them back into the spindle/ball joint. The lower nut slots will need to be deepened or new, shorter castle nuts used so the cotter pins will slide in properly.
6. Clean and repack wheel bearings.  Install new seal.  Slide machined adapter onto spindle.  Assemble disc onto spindle, tighten outer nut to spec, then secure with keeper, new cotter pin and dust cap.
7. Wipe down rotor with alcohol, lacquer thinner or other cleaner to remove grease and oils.  Wash hands! Rotor must be squeaky clean
8. Install loaded caliper, and lube contact areas with silicone grease then screw in slide bolts, tighten to 35 foot-pounds.  Check fitment and rotate rotor to check clearance.
9. .Install new hoses with copper crush washers then reconnect to hard line. Master cylinder and proportioning valve specs are quite varied.  I would recommend 1976 Cordoba or similar disc master cylinder for best performance match available in both power and manual flavors.  Some have used the existing single chamber master cylinder with success.
10. Bench bleed disc master cylinder, mount on car, then gravity bleed first, then pressure/pump bleed entire system and test.  Car will need to be realigned, as Camber has been changed.

   

Parts List

Part      Application         NAPA      Wagner   Raybestos   Cardone      

Rotor (2)   1977-79 Cordoba front   85579      BD60474   7038      --------------
Caliper, LH   1977-79 Cordoba front   442-3006   CR80944   RC4098   164064
Caliper, RH   1977-79 Cordoba front   442-3007   CR80945   RC4097   164063   
Brake Hose   1977-79 Cordoba front   36828      F99069   BH36828   --------------
Cal. Pin (4)      1977-79 Cordoba front   -- -- -- --   F76079   H50052   -- -- -- --
Inner Bearing   1977-79 Cordoba front   BR17      -- -- -- --   -- -- -- --   -- -- -- --
Outer Bearing   1962-72 B or E body front   BR2      -- -- -- --   -- -- -- --   -- -- -- --
Bearing Seal               17458      (1980 Buick Regal w/TH-200, front pump)

Scarebird Mechanical 20 February 2006 Rev C

[General_01]

bull, I have thought the same thing about getting parts. I did go with the kit, but I was thinking of calling SSBC and seeing if I can order pads and and a replacement caliper (or at least a rebuild kit) and maybe a rotor so I can have them with when I go on out of town trips with the car(especially the TDC show in Jefferson, MS). When I finally call I will post what they say and prices.

[bill440rt]

The rear calipers for the SSBC kit are actually adapted from a late '80's/early '90's Ford T-Bird. Pads are probably easier to find at an auto parts store than mid-'70's Chrysler pieces.
The fronts you might want to keep an extra set of, just in case. I'll have to look at my instruction manual again, but if my memory is correct they are actually GM pads and should also be easily obtainable.
I'm not knocking the guys that went with the salvage yard/auto parts store route at all. The SSBC kit just meets my needs with the project I'm doing.
Good Luck!

[General_01]

I just found and read my parts list for the SSBC kit and the pads are for 65-67 mustangs if I am reading it right.

[bull]

I just found and read my parts list for the SSBC kit and the pads are for 65-67 mustangs if I am reading it right.

That's good to know. If you can at least find out what pads and hoses will work and write it down and put the info in your glovebox you'll have it if/when you need it. Like I said it may just be paranoia but I like to have options.