Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

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Roger S
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Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Roger S »

Hi Guys

Time to upgrade, not wanting to spend fortunes £750 no more idealy. Seems to be a few kits available, is there any real performance difference between slotted grooved to solid steel rotors.Do I need bias adjustment, most kits seem to have this facility ? I am only using for general road use and I don't Bananarama!.

What would you guys recommend.

Thanks

Rog
Started with an MGB in 2004, then built a Cobra Rep with a Chevy 383,next a Chevy Bel air with a Big Block 454 and now lastly maybe ! my 68 Charger 440 RT always work to do.
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Blue
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Blue »

For "normal" driving I very much doubt you'd notice the difference between a drilled or slotted rotor and a solid one. Diameter however will always make a difference to braking ability, the bigger the better. You will need a disc brake distribution block to replace your drum brake one. Have a look at the Dr Diff website for kits, well respected Mopar guy. Consider getting it shipped in with Ron Fenton for best value.
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin’ around”
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morgan
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by morgan »

Suggest looking at the wilwood kits.
Tried and tested; bolt straight into your drum spindles. I got 1” over (11” ?) and they fitted under my 15” wheels nicely.
Will dig out some pics.
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morgan
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by morgan »

Try here - pic of mine.
There is a link there too for the full thread. Pg 4/5 shows brakes.
Enjoy.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=48022&hilit=Wilwood
"Cum homine de cane debeo congredi." Woof.

Current Charger status - "Working !"
Roger S
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Roger S »

Hi

Are we saying with the Willwood set up I will not need a brake servo ? I have Magnum 500 wheels, what is the largest Rotors I can have, or should I say what is the most economical price wise for my use.

Thanks

Rog
Started with an MGB in 2004, then built a Cobra Rep with a Chevy 383,next a Chevy Bel air with a Big Block 454 and now lastly maybe ! my 68 Charger 440 RT always work to do.
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Super Sloth
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Super Sloth »

morgan wrote: Sat Jul 06, 19 3:21 pm Suggest looking at the wilwood kits.
Tried and tested; bolt straight into your drum spindles. I got 1” over (11” ?) and they fitted under my 15” wheels nicely.
Will dig out some pics.
I've been looking at these and it doesn't look like they do a setup that allows you to retain factory 14" wheels.
Mind you, I'm probably the only one that cares!
-Jon.
Roger S
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Roger S »

Sorry should have said, my Magnums are 15 inch :) :)

Thanks

Rog
Started with an MGB in 2004, then built a Cobra Rep with a Chevy 383,next a Chevy Bel air with a Big Block 454 and now lastly maybe ! my 68 Charger 440 RT always work to do.
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Pete
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Pete »

I am not a great fan of "Wilwood Kits" though the basic components from Wilwood are good.

The "Kits" are made to bolt on, which is nice, but that does not necessarily make them good for every application.

Wilwood even include a disclaimer that they are not intended for Highway use, so that gives you a clue....

I feel for road use in a heavy car the Kit's rotors are too thin, which makes them prone to over-heating and warping, and also not sufficient diameter, but this is done to get them under a 15" Wheel.

We put a customer-supplied Wilwood Kit on a Galaxie, and the Customer commented that it stopped better with the original Drums, albeit less consistently.

There are better ways of doing this, but it involves more work and more cost. Just do your research.

A Servo only reduces required pedal pressure, it does not improve braking efficiency.
That is down to Brake surface area, pad material, and the system's ability to dissipate heat rapidly.

"Cheap" and "good brakes" rarely appear in the same sentence....

sorry...
Pete Wiseman; Cambridge.

Mopar by the grace of God
Roger S
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Roger S »

Hi Pete

Thanks, I am not looking for brakes comparable to my daily, just an improvement on what I have, which require the leg strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger to bring her to a stop. I have had the drums off and all is good and correctly adjusted so not much more I can do with the old set up.
Classic Industries do a full kit with Vented rotors & booster utilising the existing spindles for about $850.00, which on the face of it seems good value.
I hoped someone on here may have fitted similar and could advise on what sort of improvement they made.

Rog
Started with an MGB in 2004, then built a Cobra Rep with a Chevy 383,next a Chevy Bel air with a Big Block 454 and now lastly maybe ! my 68 Charger 440 RT always work to do.
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slumbers
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by slumbers »

Hi !
I have a 1968 Charger that originally had a power drum /drum set up .When I restored the car I fitted a Willwood disc kit which fits under 15" wheels to the front and replaced the Brake Booster (servo) with a dual servo unit and master cylinder to suit . I have also fitted a Brake Proportioning valve to the rear brake line/ drums and the whole thing works well .The original drum servo will not work with this set up at all...... you get a long pedal travel and bottoming of pedal. I did a lot of research and asked questions on the Dodge Charger Forum USA

These guys sell the Booster on Ebay the Shop is Pirate Jack .
https://www.mpbrakes.com/
I got the brake kit from Summit Racing



If you need som photos or part numbers let me know
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Dave999
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Dave999 »

Mopar disk spindles
(or your drum spindles with adaptors...)
mopar rotors in 10 or 11 inch depending on wheels
mopar bracket based slider calipers off a post 7? A body and late 70s early 80s F and M body (A body sized but as heavy as a 60s B body) with the correct length bracket for the chosen rotor
A "plastic bottle" master cylinder again mopar for the disk brake drum brake combo (F/M body)
the appropriate pushrod and potentially a 2 bolt to 4 bolt firewall adapter for the master cylinder

put narrow dodge dakota rear wheel cylinders in to mitigate against the fact that it takes way less system pressure to activate a drum
put in a brake bias adjuster to fine tune it so the rears do not lock up first


if you go for the disk spindles you end up with a near OEM set up for a car such as yours using tried and tested OEM kit designed for a car similar to yours.


explain to your insurance that all you did was add later model disk brakes used on similar cars to yours due to issues sourcing obsolete parts for mediocre drum brakes. most of them perfectly happy with that

easy route Dr diff and you need his drum to disk adaptors if you want to keep the same spindles anyway.

harder route take your chances with www.Rockauto.com parts ordering potentially cheaper but the risks are higher...Rockauto is not a mopar brake specialist. and you might need dr diffs adapters anyway

as mentioned by Blue on another recent brake thread ron fenton STS gives you a florida address to ship to, and the lot will arrive in a month or so in chelmsford. ron will make it available or send it on to you


cheap way into four pot stoppers for 14 and 15 inch wheels used to be hilux brake calipers but you will have to engineer some adaptors yourself and muck about with metric to imperial brake lines and potentially turn down a 11 inch rotor to 10.5 on a lathe.... easy to say not easy to do if you don't have access to cutting drilling a lathe, and a good relationship with a brake pipe shop to make a hybrid mopar at the chassis end metric banjo at the caliper end brake line.

do-able just search toyota hilux on this site

anton at APD automotive made an excellent go of it. i believe his dodge charger stopped well with the big 4 pot off a 60 or 70 series landcruiser they used to be £40 for a serviceable set about 10 years ago.
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
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Dave999
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Re: Front Drum to Disk& Booster conversion 68 Charger

Post by Dave999 »

hilux info if you are feeling adventurous

http://www.moparuk.com/forums/viewtopic ... ight=hilux
The Greater Knapweed near the Mugwort by the Buckthorn tree is dying
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