Has any one installed 4 wheel disc brakes on these cars, 69 thru 72 in particular? I'm talking about the Wilwood, SSBC or Baer. My 69 300 has drums up front. I want a modern feel and was also concerned that the bulk of the drums up front might prevent me from installing custom wheels. Any one had problems with that? Thanks for any help.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
I know Scott has done it. I also know on the older Mopar cars, 62 especially, there was a considerable amount of work that had to be done. Willwood makes a nice high performance set up. My experience for average driving in AAJ Brakes. www.aajbrakes.com
Roger is the owner there, I am pretty sure he has a front kit, and definitely a Kit for the 8 3/4 rears. I've done 6 or 7 AAJ conversions. He's also a Mopar nut. Tell him Hobby from New Jersey set you. He'll steer you right. Good prices too. Uses off the shelf, buy it anywhere, parts. Not locked in to WillWood for replacements. Also has a rear parking brake setup. His is a bolt in. No machining required. Simple and takes only a few hours per axle <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Sun Jan 01 2006, 11:24AM ]</span>
Joined: Fri Oct 07 2005, 12:03PM
Location: Central Ky.
Posts: 1575
Steve, I always had the inpression that the AAJ stuff was primarily for the earlier ( late 50's early 60's ) cars....Not so? When I think about it I guess an 8 3/4 is pretty much an 8 3/4 regardless.
I think Scott used a TSM kit on his Convert.
Everything I've heard about the Wildwood stuff says it's not really for street use, no dust boots on the calipers & such. Sounds like the AAJ would be a real good setup.
Yip, I have the TSM rear kit. I love it! The fronts are the 73 setup. While I don't drag race, road race or drift , this setup has been great for stop and go and excessive highway speeds. I did both the swaps as part of the restore, so they were both a breeze. The TSM kit took less than 2 hrs to install on the bare rear axle. It also uses off the shelf parts, that was the big bonus for me. And the very affordable price.
I have done the 73 swap with the subframe off and while the car was still together. Ofcourse it is more work while the car is still together, it is still very worthwhile and not terribly hard, just takes a lot of effort.
Another thing for me was that the TSM kit used a caliper that looked a lot like the 73 caliper, and not some bright red caliper. I wanted the rotor and wheels to stand out, and not have the caliper steal the attention.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Yeah That's it. . . . What calipers did they use? The ones I used are rears from a Z28 with the parking brake arm on them. They are also a smaller caliper that what those look like. . . .
There is also the possibility of using big Mercedes rotors and Viper calipers with a kit from AREngineering. This was discussed at length on the Old Dock in this thread. This probably isn't the cheapest kit out there, but considering what you get... Last I heard, Andy was still looking for some guinnea pigs to test a kit on. As with every brake upgrade, balance is key. One thing C-barges have going for them are the huge front caliper pistons, and that makes finding appropriately sized rear calipers a chore.
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 04:15PM
Location: North Bergen, NJ
Posts: 24
The SSBC kits are pretty depressing in my opinion. The tiny rotors are too small in diameter and too thin to deliver effective braking.
The 73 setup is far superior for the front, and I have never heard any complaints about the rear TSM kit.
I, on the other hand will be getting the ARE kit as soon as I get my engine complete on the Monaco. I have 13 inch rotors and 4 piston calipers on my GN, and on my Mustang. Going for the trifecta with the Monaco too, since it needs it a hell of a lot more than the other 2.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
I have to agree with you Rickenbacher.
The larger diameters cool better, hence less fade. There is much to consider in brakes, especially around here. You almost have to add auxilary cooling you stomp on them so much here
Let's face it. 4 to 6 thousand pounds need some serious thought in stopping. I would never just throw on something because it fit.
I don't have the documentation in front of me, but the rotors are supposed to be from a Lincoln and the calipers are the Chevelle/Z28 item, a Eldorado caliper is used for the parking brake I believe. But I opted to skip the braking break. I never used mine, and I heard several reports that the Eldorado design wasn't very effective.
, this setup has been great for stop and go and excessive highway speeds. I did both the swaps as part of the restore, so they were both a breeze. The TSM kit took less than 2 hrs to install on the bare rear axle. It also uses off the shelf parts, that was the big bonus for me. And the very affordable price.
