Will it work? Lol
- Thread starter ajk1990
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Sixpactogo
Well-Known Member
It will work but you need to get it all. The disc assemblies from both sides, The proportioning valve, The booster, Master cylinder and Brake pedal hardware under the dash. You will probably find the booster and master cylinder will need rebuild and the calipers possibly rebuilt and new pads and hoses. Good luck with your upgrade.
volksworld
Well-Known Member
yes you can bolt those spindles on to your lower ball joints or use the junk ones, whichever are in better shape as they are both the same...if you're converting from manual to power you'll need booster and pedal assy...if they are there grab everything...I converted my 68 fury to discs over 20 years ago and left the original Midland single diaphram booster and prop valve and it stops just fine cause I didn't have the internet to tell me it wouldn't
Nice. If getting fresh rotors or machining them, look into cryotreating them too. Makes them last about 2-3 times longer. Weigh up the cost of cryotreating them versus replacing them, not just in money but time/effort too. If machining best to treat them afterwards, otherwise it becomes much more difficult to machine.
Clover
Well-Known Member
I’ve been using the original drum brake booster on my ‘66 300 that I converted to ‘72 NY discs in the 80s and so far it’s worked just fine. But everybody says it won’t…
volksworld
Well-Known Member
cryotreat? did my conversion in 2000...just had to rebuild a seized caliper and the pads and rotors were still fine...they'll be cryotreating me before this thing needs rotors...YMMV
fury fan
Senior Member
For you guys that say the drum booster is fine - have you done a super-hard stop yet?
And have you done that super-hard stop with a near-identical car in the lane next to you (but a car with a disc booster)?
If you haven't, there's no way to know if you're missing out on some braking power.
I'm sure it's better than it was with drums, but is it as good as it could be? Are you missing out on 10 feet less stopping distance?
There's a reason why the engineers used a stronger booster on the discbrake cars. It wasn't because they wanted to add assembly-line complexity and cost.
I wonder what they knew that we don't?
And have you done that super-hard stop with a near-identical car in the lane next to you (but a car with a disc booster)?
If you haven't, there's no way to know if you're missing out on some braking power.
I'm sure it's better than it was with drums, but is it as good as it could be? Are you missing out on 10 feet less stopping distance?
There's a reason why the engineers used a stronger booster on the discbrake cars. It wasn't because they wanted to add assembly-line complexity and cost.
I wonder what they knew that we don't?
any reason why i need the pedal assembly? never heard that one before because i wasnt able to get it
volksworld
Well-Known Member
the pedals are different between manual brake and power brake...so you'd only need them if you're trying to convert that too
Weird never heard that one before but okay then
What if I already have a booster on the car. Would I have to get a different pedal assembly?
volksworld
Well-Known Member
honestly, no I've never side by side comparison stopped 2 cars...and that would be useless unless there was some way to measure the actual pedal pressure used ,cause 2 different drivers wouldn't equal identical results...many early power brake cars (not necessarily Mopar)would lock up the brakes and put you through the windshield with the slightest of pedal pressure, perhaps in a misguided attempt to make them easier for women to drive....possibly sticking with the drum booster results in a bit harder pedal which is less prone to lock up and drives more like a modern car? We did disc conversions on all our race cars (1/4 mile asphalt oval) and if there was an issue it would have been really obvious there....2 identical cars with the same brakes and tires will take the same distance to stop without locking up...the only difference the booster would make is the amount of pedal pressure it would take to achieve that
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volksworld
Well-Known Member
no if you already have a booster you do not need to change pedals...they are different cause the 2 setups require different amounts of force from the brake pedal,so the distance between where the pedal pivots and where the rod to the master attaches are different to increase the leverage on a manual brake setup
awesome that is what i needed to know! Thank you very much man!
fury fan
Senior Member
My initial premise about 2 cars together was to make the element of competition.
The more I think about it, if you have 2 near-identical cars, you actually only need 1 driver. Do multiple stops in each car, measure the distances and compare.
Or even better - do a booster swap in the same car to get the best results with the least variables.
The power brake has a lot shorter pedal travel, which contributes to the ease at locking up brakes. (which is also dependent of rear tire grip, too)
Your installation combines that lack of fine pedal control (the manual brake pedal gives better control) and with reduced boost/braking.
So in a panic stop, when you are initially pushing on your harder pedal and aren't slowing as quickly (due to less boost), when you realize you need more, and need to stand on the pedal, the .5-1.5 secs you may have lost might mean the difference between stopping in time or stopping inside the car in front of you?
But regardless, again I defer to - what did the engineers know?
They absolutely had calculations, design review, and test data to support their decisions. They did not casually use a different booster.
I have experienced a disc booster on the manual pedals and it works (due to good pedal travel) but the pedal is very soft.
I do wonder what a drumbrake booster on MB pedals would do with discs.
I believe the ECI kit uses a 1.031/1 1/32" master and if I recall correctly, the increased bore works with the increased piston size of the chevy calipers that are used in the kit to maintain the same braking distances and pressures, so there is at least some thought about these things put into these kits. At ECI they ask you if you're running a drum master, booster or manual brakes too etc.
Have inquired about the scarebird kit too but haven't heard back yet.
Have inquired about the scarebird kit too but haven't heard back yet.
Paging @mobileparts
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