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Disk Brakes (again)

M

miket

Donation Time
Bill, guidance is always appreciated.

The Tbird callipers I bought based on the conversatiosn below are about 10 3/16 diameter. The Mags I have on the car are about 12.5 inside. Leaving a tad over 1" of space for the caliper.

I'm not very familiar with RockAuto. Since I'm in Canada, I mostly use Summit when buying online as they have a warehouse in Ohio. Therfore close to the border and lower shipping cost and quicker delivery. But I'll look into the Mazda calipers.

Thanks, Mike
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Mike, I'm not suggesting you buy from Rock Auto, just shop there. The site is a breeze to navigate and is very informative.

I rarely buy from them, but have found their shipping charges to be realistic.

Bill
 
260Alpine

260Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Mike, I think you mean Tbird rotors are 10 3/16". If you look at my picture the Tbird calipers are pretty compact and pull towards center like stock. They have large cylinders and would need a proportioning valve or larger front brakes. Resell the GM ones on Ebay. I've ordered lots of stuff from Rockauto. The ones that are cheapest with only a few left is a gamble because they may be out of stock when they get your order.
 
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M

miket

Donation Time
Bill, your are right. I mis-spoke. I did mean Tbird rortors.

A friend of mine has an 85 Seville. I'm hoping he will take the GM calipers.

Mike
 
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260Alpine

260Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Mike, The Mazda calipers fit a thinner rotor. Your only choice for the Tbird rotor is the matching Tbird caliper.
 
M

miket

Donation Time
Jim, yes as the Tbird rotor is vented.

Just waiting to receive a pair of Ford Focus rotors from Summit that are .398 in thick.

I suppose the vented rotors would be fine on a race car, but over kill for my needs. Unfortuenately Dales steered me towards that combo. Live and learn.

Mike
 
F

Fordtootsie

Donation Time
Ser I Front Brake Replacement

I have been though all the postings from page 150 or whatever it was looking for a post that talked about a direct replacement front brake for a Ser I Alpine.

Is there a direct replacement for a Ser I front brake - caliper and rotor

If not is there one that can be adapted

John in Colorado
 
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Looks like nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news.

The only caliper and rotor that "fit" a Series I Alpine are the ones that Rootes installed at the factory.

Adapting something else to work is possible, but it will require considerable research, imagination, engineering and fabrication skills and a decent machine shop. Be prepared to expand your 4-letter word vocabulary.

Unless you are prepared for a MAJOR project, you would be better off working with the factory design and hardware.
 
Chazbeam

Chazbeam

Silver Level Sponsor
Adapter plate to widen

Could the Masda units be modifiied with a spacer to bring the "thin" up to "fat" to match rotors? im pretty good on a drill press and mill. Thats if the bolt pattern is the same? Do any direct bolt up?....Or am i in la la land again.? I seem to remember on some honda i had they split in the center...but looking at some pictures they all seem to be single cylinder types that have a lot of travel. Seems to me they would still work out?

Just a thought....or do they not "split" like some do?hmmm
 
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260Alpine

260Alpine

Silver Level Sponsor
Better off matching the factory parts. Spacer would not work with the self adjuster piston.The Gen 1 RX7 rotor and caliper. There was someone on here that was going to try a Focus rear disk and caliper. If you go big brakes in front, I like the vented Tbird disks and calipers in back.
 
Chazbeam

Chazbeam

Silver Level Sponsor
260Alpine said:
Better off matching the factory parts. Spacer would not work with the self adjuster piston.The Gen 1 RX7 rotor and caliper. There was someone on here that was going to try a Focus rear disk and caliper. If you go big brakes in front, I like the vented Tbird disks and calipers in back.
Click to expand...
Oh i agree 260Alpine..
I rebuilt my front and rear units a wile back and they all work great now...new seals and parts...
Personally im happy with my front original disks and rear drums.."tuned " properly they seem to work fine even without a vacuum assist..
My only concern is getting shoes....I did that mod on the capri ones but they squealed like a pig. (seems the organics do that more but grip better)

So i was ok with the metallic Daimler/sunbeam disks but are they going to get harder to find in the future?

If i was running a V 6 or 8 i would be more concerned with stopping power..
Plus i have wire wheels and not so great splines and the idea of hard braking and having them spin out..(as someone else told of happening to them) keeps me wanting the braking to be at least somewhat moderate even though i know for some this would be counter intuitive...
Hopefully ill never have to find out the hard way..
But i have had a moment of having to brake hard once and to my relief she did stop quick... did not lock up a tire but man it was a white knuckler...
I saw all my hard work flash before my eyes... (lots of bad drivers out there and arrogant passive aggressive's...

Someone did mention a proportioning valve is a good idea?.... i like the idea of equal front rear pressures...but do discs have more "grip"?

Chazbeam
 
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B

Bikesandfires

Donation Time
Discs do not have more "grip"... They are more resistant to fade under hard continuse use. They are lighter weight, less complex to assemble correctly on the assembly line and cheaper to manufactor. When American automakers first started selling them as an option they were the latest and greatest new idea for the marketing team and extra $$$ (meaning profit) for the company. One or more of these reasons is why racers and automakers went to them.

Drum brakes have more swept area for the friction material and by design are self-energizing, making power assist not as necessary. Properly maintained drum brakes will stand a car on it's nose and stop as well as discs.
 
C

Charles Johns

Donation Time
drum brakes

As an old-timer drum brakes work fine if kept adjusted. NASCAR kept drums due to the design, which pulled the shoe away from the drum when your foot was off the pedal. Early discs had inherent drag and the same car with drums coasted farther than one with discs. At NASCAR speeds it could be the difference between a win and a loss. Drilling the backing plates helped cool the drum and "finned" drums helped pull heat away also. My 71 fastback Mustang had drums on all corners with finned drums and stopped very well. My 65 Mustang has drums and it too stops just fine. They do hold heat more than discs so road-racing can cause trouble after several hard stops. Drums got a bad rap due to racing, not because they failed in everyday driving.
 
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Drum brakes continued to be used in NASCAR until 1974 because that is what the NASCAR rules required, not because drums were better than disc brakes in any way.

A current example is the "long truck arm" rear suspension that is still mandated by NASCAR rules. Does anyone believe that the rear suspension design from a 1967 Chevy pick-up is better than a modern 4-link or IRS?

Just my opinion, YMMV.
 
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