Good Day, I have '70-'72 Newport front disc brakes and spindles on my 67 Sport Fury. I do not remember if they are 70,71, or 72 - just bought brake pads which were listed under '72 at NAPA, but all years could have been the same.
Question1: Do these three years use same components?
Each side weighs: rotor 25 lbs, caliper 11 lbs. = 36 lbs per side. I would like to drop some weight by installing aftermarket rotors and calipers, if that is feasible. **I do not wish to go with something such as a "lightweight brake" as the car weighs 4200 lbs and goes kind of fast. The present setup works great, it is just very heavy.
Question 2: Does anybody have any experience with this? Weight difference? Manufacturer? Part numbers? Please advise.
Perhaps, like often- I should leave well enough alone and be happy my present set up works so well.
Thank you all for your infinite wisdom/experiences, Nelson
You might be able to fab up something using modular rotors and hats from Wilwood, but I'm not sure what kind of hub they'd need to work. Might be able to use the hub that's part of the 2-piece rotors on the car now. I know there are some guys on Moparts that have done similar things to their B-bodies with some success.
Another option is to contact Andy Finkbeiner (aka AndyF on Moparts) who runs AREngineering. He was working on a super brake kit for C-barges a year or two ago that I would have been the guinnea pig for, but with a pregnant wife and plans to go to one income, I just couldn't swing it. His kit would have required 17" wheels at minimum, as the rotors were going to be 13" Mercedes? units, and the calipers would be late model Viper parts. He can make a hub to fit just about any spindle, so that's not a problem. I think the total cost was going to be in the $1500-2000 range, which is cheap for the level of brake parts being used. Here's what the package would have looked like:
A. Nelson, your car F-ing rules!! I signed up just to say that.
B. Considering anything "custom made" for our cars will be especially low volume (and will only be fully tested by a select few), I'd leave a system that "works" alone, and deploy front-weight-saving tactics on more "non-critical" components; sprung, unsprung, or otherwise.
C. Andy F. loves using Grade 5 hardware in critical areas. Beware.
That you, AF? If so, glad to see you out of lurk mode!
A - Agreed, in virtually every way! B - There's custom, and there's custom. Pick a pile of parts from Baer, and you've still got a custom system. The custom parts in this kit would be the caliper adapters and the hub, which would be set up to take advantage of some popular wheel options. It's pretty low-key OEM parts beyond that. C - nothing but ARP fasteners on my Viper caliper kit I got from AndyF.
TonyBob! How long you been lurking on here?? I agree that isn't practical unless you are building an autocross vehicle. I doubt you would see much difference on a daily driver.
Tires are the ultimate limit of serious brakes. Up to the point that you lock the tires, you can keep putting more more torque/leverage on the brakes and stop faster. Now if you want to stop fast TWICE, that's when the big brakes start to show their stuff...
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 01:49PM
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 421
I've mentioned this a few threads ago, looking to save some weight...how about some tubular upper control arms, stiffer, lighter, and more adjustable... !thumb
No, I can definitely see how and where lightened front end components (sprung or unsprung) would benefit Mr. Nelson's 60' time. I think it's a fantastic idea on paper; I'm just not sure I'd try anything like that with the minimal (backyard) C-body market offerings.
Some boner-bags used to offer tubular upper A arms....not sure if they still make them. Not sure if I'd buy them, either.
Tires are the limiting factor for brakes....once, on a cold stop. After that, their effectiveness is directly proportional to their ability to sink (and reject) heat.
Email me for details on shoddy AR "Engineering." Bottom line: people with access to 2 1/2 - D CNC mills should not be calling themselves engineers.
Just wanted to tell Nelson I thought his car whooped @$$.....and, what's up to the cool people still over here!!
Hi C-brothers, Thank you very much for the compliments and input.
After some more research and comparing aftermarket brake components which would be heavy-duty enough for a C-sled it looks like the weight savings per side would only be 6lbs per rotor and 5 lbs with a 4 piston aluminum caliper. And, add about another 1 lb per side for brackets.
Conclusion: total weight savings over factory early 70's Newport disc brakes would only be approx. 10 lb per side.
Since the brakes I have now work so well, I will leave well enough alone as the cost per pound of weight savings would be way too high.
On another note: Had my converter modified to get stall lowered into the torque curve, and will be running it at Bradenton Runday Sunday Feb 25. If any of you live in the area, drag your car out and let's have some fun! !thumb