Rear disc brake conversion

[clusterbuster]

Finished up the driver's side of the brake conversion today.The kit is a real slick deal.  Try to get a couple of pics. Haven't posted any in a long time. The passenger side bracket is showing up in one of the pics as well. Ordered all new wheel studs to replace the shorter ones.

[jvo]

This does look pretty slick.  I wasn't going to bother with rear discs, but this makes it look super easy, and pretty much as affordable as buying all new drum brake parts as well.  Let us know how the emergency brake cables line up.  Thanks for posting this.

[clusterbuster]

They only provide a  short cable and cable housing assy for the parking brake.  You have to remove the spring an the caliper parking brake lever assy, thread the cable through the spring and place it in the lever groove. The spring goes in and out fairly easy. Take note of the spring tang position when you take it off, or you will have to refer back to the other caliper for reference.  What I did was take the parking brake cables out of my old backing plates, and then cut the ends of each cable and pull them out of the cable housing. You then have one good end with the ball thingy to connect to the new cable. They provide 2 connectors with the kit. I plan on running the cables up to the equalizer and then threading it through and then using small cable clamps to fasten the ends. You will have to determine on how long you want to double it back at the equalizer if you go that route. I really have no means to put a round thingy on the cable end. Any one that knows how to put a new end on a brake cable, you can teach me how. When you put the cable end into the caliper lever assy, the small silver clip is removed and then re-clipped on the spring side of the bracket. Also take note the calipers have the wind back type pistons. I had to wind the passenger side one back a half turn to get the caliper and pads to fit over the rotor.

[RICH MUISE]

somehow just saw your last few posts on this...looks good. Have you got it done?

[jvo]

When I did the emergency brake cables for my model A pickup, I had new ends put on them, as I had to shorten the new cables slightly to make them work.  Took them to a heavy truck shop, where they make up that kind of stuff.  The first go at it, the guy used a die and a hammer to swedge the ends on the cable. 
I took them home, and installed them, activated the emergency brake, and promptly pulled both ends off the cables.
Went back, and they used their hydraulic press to do it.  Hydraulic shops have the special hydraulic presses to put ends on hoses, and this particular shop had dies for that machine to press ends on the cables. He was just too lazy the first time to change out the dies, as it takes several minutes to do it.
Just my take on how to put the round thingy on the end of the cable.

[clusterbuster]

Thanks for the tip on the cable ends jvo. For now I will leave my cables clamped. I have the conversion just about finished. I couldn't get all the air out the system when bleeding the calipers. After a couple of calls to other vendors that sell the same kit, it was explained that the rear caliper pins have to be removed, and that the caliper has to be moved in the straight up and down position  in order to get the trapped air out. I also watched a video of the same procedure to get all the air out of that particular caliper. In all the years I have worked on car brakes, I have never seen any thing like that, and I did customer work for 30 years or better. Also the parking brakes have to be adjusted equally when doing the cables. The parking brake mechanism on the caliper has to be adjusted close to the rotor by removing the arm on the caliper and turning the shaft nut until it is tight. The instructions stated to do that by manually moving the arm, but another vendor said to do it properly , you have to remove the arm and turn the nut. If any one gets this kit , I will gladly give some help if needed.

[clusterbuster]

Just to clarify one point on my previous post, you have to keep the caliper on the rotor in the vertical position. Later on, I will post another issue concerning what wheels that can be used with this conversion. I have to double check things first.

[RICH MUISE]

Great info...I'll probably be using it soon. Any idea how much the disc conversion adds to the overall length, if any?.....previous input from some members say it adds about 1/4" per side. Also, while it's fresh in your mind, I will probably need your source for the lug studs.
I'm trying to figure out if I really need my differential case narrowed, so what you find will help with that decision.

[clusterbuster]

I purchased my new lug studs on EBay. Dorman# 610-080. They worked out to be a tad longer than I figured on, but they work. The stud shoulder is 0.3125 and the stud under head measurement to the end of threads is 1.9375. The shoulder sticks out about a 1/4 inch before the wheel is installed, and once the wheel is on, no shoulder is showing. I would recommend a tad shorter stud, as there is thread left after the nut is tightened.  I bought 24 chrome lug nuts with what they call a buldge. They are about as short as the original nuts, but have a space between the thread and where the nut starts on the stud.  That ensures a tight fit on my factory style Vintique steel wheels. The head is 3/4 instead of the original 13/16. As far as the width increase, I would estimate about the same as others have stated. Have nothing to compare to at this time. By the way I removed the nuts on the rear shocks and dropped the axle down, and there is plenty of room to get the rear wheels on and up in. I ordered a pair of 55 Ford shocks and they will be here Friday.

[John Palmer]

Great info...I'll probably be using it soon. Any idea how much the disc conversion adds to the overall length, if any?.....previous input from some members say it adds about 1/4" per side. Also, while it's fresh in your mind, I will probably need your source for the lug studs.
I'm trying to figure out if I really need my differential case narrowed, so what you find will help with that decision.

Rich, I think it would have to increase the total length distance.  The disc hats have to be thicker than the thickness of the drums at the axle flange.  I would guess at least 1/8" "per side", you 1/4" sounds correct.

[lalessi1]

Here are Dorman wheel lug studs specs

www.dormanproducts.com/Pages/hardware/WheelLugStudAttributes.pdf

[RICH MUISE]

Got the chart saved, thanks.

[RICH MUISE]

Any followup on the install, Cluster?? I've got to make a decision on a kit pretty soon so I can tell the shop modifying my differential what I need.

[clusterbuster]

Have the conversion all finished up and wanted to drive it more before I gave my comments. I only took it out once or twice since I finished it up and am pretty well pleased with the results. The only thing I find is you have to put a real hard push on the pedal to lock them up,as our new cars will stop on a dime. Normal brake is really good in my opinion. Rich, if you get this kit, plan on spending most of the time on the parking brake cables and the parking brake mechanisms on the calipers. I also could not get all the air out until I called another outfit that sells the same kit. You have to take the pins out of the calipers and have the caliper straight up and down but still on the rotor to get the air all out. Also, The instructions tell you to manually move the parking brake lever on the caliper to get it snug on the rotor. The video shows to pull the parking brake arm off the caliper and then turn the nut on the shaft until it is tight. The shaft and nut protrudes outward when if is being tightened. The video was right, as I could not get it snug doing it manually. Also, you can't just pull the parking brake on and expect it to stop or lock. Took me a bit to figure out that you have to first apply the service brake and then pull out on the hand brake. It really locks them up when it's done that way. I can't provide a link to the video, but I will let you know where to find in a following post.

[clusterbuster]

The video on doing the parking brake adjustment and air bleed can be found by doing a search for " The Right Stuff Detailing". Click on the Tech Center and then click on Tech video's.