Front disk brake conversion question

here are the blueprints for using factory parts.
http://www.moparaction.com/tech/archive/disc-main.html

In general, the mid to late 70's 11.75" setup is best bang for the buck. Plus replacement parts are readily available. There are lots of ways to do this and the attached "disk o tech" from MA provides a good starting point. It requires 15" minimum wheels. Master Power Brakes has smaller rotor kits that may work with 14" wheels. I understand Dr Diff is and expert in all this area.

http://www.moparaction.com/tech/archive.html

Lightweight means nothing OEM on it!

That is pretty much the case. The factories probably figured that the extra weight penalty was worth it to maintain 100,000 mile durability.
The lightweight stuff is often drag race oriented. Those guys only have to stop once every 1/2 hour or so. A street car in bumper to bumper traffic would probably warp the lightweight rotors in short order.

Last winter, I followed the Disc-O-Tech article to the "T" and insalled pin-type front brakes on my 70 Cuda and it was a fairly simple operation. At the time, I had 14" wheels so I went with the smaller calipers and rotors but they are easy to upgrade. I get my rotors from the local parts store and tell them its for a '74 duster.

For me, I was happier following these steps and ordering a kit plus it was a lot cheaper and it's "factory"

A couple of things I learned are the dust shield really isn't needed its probably not worth spending too many cycles getting the right shields. I also learned that you need to go ahead and spend the money on good prop/dist valves and "t"s. If you skimp on this, you may not be happy. Lastly, your local parts store may have more parts than you think so check 2-3 times and local places. For example, I bought a brake booster and (NEW) Master Cylinder at O'Reily's for less than $150 and the booster even has the Chrysler logo. Buy a new MC and not a refurb.

Since you have to buy new spindles for the conversion this is a good time to think about ride height. I like my front a tad lower than the rear so I bought a pair of dropped spindles from PST and they give me an excellent ride height without air-shocks.

The only regret I have now is staying with the rear drums. I should have swapped them out too. 4-Wheel discs have easier plumping and a more natural feel plus they don't drag on release.

..i have always questioned the hassel and expense of rear discs.
..75% of your braking is usually handled by the front brakes.

Also check out kits from MBM, Speedway Motors, and Wysco Product.

Brad

If low cost is what you are looking for, go with a set of FMJ spindles/rotors/calipers.

The haters will be in complaining about the bogus spindle height issue in 3...2...1...

Check with 65belvjim. He had a set a couple days ago.

WOW
Thank you everybody for all the info. Great suggestions and Im taking them all in. Im not looking for the cheapest just good set up. I would like to find a set that not as heavy as the factory stuff. Thanks for all ur suggestions. I will continue my research. All ideas and suggestions are welcome. Thanks again

I just did this swap in the spring on my 67 Belvedere. I used the kit from Right Stuff Detailing(lines and all). Simple kit, everything was included. No major bending of lines.

on e-bay, look up scarebird, he sells parts that bolt to your existing spindles, I think he uses GM rotors and calipers, the good news is anybody would carry replacement parts for them.

Joey

I'm using the whole FMJ disc brake setup..stops straight hard..and cheap!!

F,M,J are brakes that were on the dodge aspen and plymouth volare and like models. I run them on my dart.

I used a Dr Diff kit in the past and it worked great. It allowed me to use a factory style rotors, but included a bracket (made by AndyF) so you can use Wilwood lightweight calipers. The kit also included new spindles and braided hoses. Its been a few years, but I think the cost was comparable to a master power kit which uses nothing light weight. I added a lightweight master cylinder.

Tonys451
Which Master Cylinder did you go with? Just curious.

It was an aluminum mopar MC. A while back there was a guy selling them on moparts (Rick erhenberg I believe) and it also included the adapter mounting bracket.