More 73+ disc conversion questions

I just received a 73+ conversion in the mail yesterday and I'll be going through it this weekend. I want to get everything ready (including suspension kit) so I can just knock it all out at once on my 67 Barracuda. I was wondering what brands of Calipers and Rotors are any good? I'm not looking to spend an arm and a leg but I don't want to go too cheap either. I just need some normal daily driver stopping power without being annoyed by the problems that come with cheap parts. Would it be a better idea to rebuild the original calipers or is it best to go with new ones?

Also I'm going to need to get a prop valve. The car currently has 10" drums all around. Am I going to need to change the brake lines when I put the prop valve in? If so, will I just need to change them from the MC to the valve or will I need to change them out all the way back to the rears? Thanks.

Get the calipers for a 76+ a body, they have bigger bore piston in the caliper. Contact dr diff and order up the caliper adapters to allow you to use the 11.75" rotors and EBC brake pads (which you can get through summit racing). Don't forget your prop valve.

Thanks for the response but I'm not really looking to spend more money and upgrade from what I've got. I was just wondering if I had to get new brake lines from the MC down to the prop or if the drum brake lines will work since I'm staying with manual brakes?

When I swapped my Dart over I just used the lines off of my donor car.

However, I think the lines from the MC to the prop valve should work with a little tweaking. You might need an adaptor or two though, I seem to recall not all the fittings being the same size on the disk MC/prop valve as they are on the drum MC/prop valve. But I've switched a few cars over at this point and it might depend on the year of the car too.

No need to change the lines all the way back either, but again you do have to do a little "tweaking", I found that the line going back to the rear brakes is a little longer on drum/drum cars because of the size/shape of the prop valve. Not a huge deal, but its just long enough to make hooking it back up a bit of a hassle.

The 11.75" rotors are nice, but they also require the use of 15" rims, so swapping to them can get spendy fast if you have 14" rims still. Otherwise its just the rotors and $100 for the caliper brackets. The larger piston calipers are also nice, but I haven't used them on any of my cars yet. The two I've swapped to 11.75" rotors retained their original calipers, the Dart is getting a rebuilt set but I did the exchange with '74 A-body calipers.

If the calipers are in working condition, I'd just rebuild them. Most of the calipers out there are just rebuilt calipers anyway, and a lot of them now come with phenolic pistons instead of metal. If they're in good shape, I'd just clean them up and change the seals.

Thanks blu, good info there. I have 14" rims so I'm definitely going to stick with what I've got. Unfortunately the guy who sent me the parts sent me everything he had so he didn't have the MC lines either. I've been researching and it looks like I can buy premade lengths of fuel line at Napa and then bend them with a cheap bender and some patience. Hopefully I can figure it out without having to adapt anything to keep possible leaks down.

I'll check the calipers condition too. I just know a lot of the store bought parts are junk so I'd hate to give away original calipers as a core to get a couple of cheap ones back.

I would just run the original (rebuilt) 73+ calipers unless you plan on Autox or a track day. These brakes are enough for a street car. Make sure that you get a prop valve or just go with an adjustable version.

ESP47 said:

Thanks blu, good info there. I have 14" rims so I'm definitely going to stick with what I've got. Unfortunately the guy who sent me the parts sent me everything he had so he didn't have the MC lines either. I've been researching and it looks like I can buy premade lengths of fuel line at Napa and then bend them with a cheap bender and some patience. Hopefully I can figure it out without having to adapt anything to keep possible leaks down.

I'll check the calipers condition too. I just know a lot of the store bought parts are junk so I'd hate to give away original calipers as a core to get a couple of cheap ones back.

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Napa sells premade lengths of brake line with various different ends on them. The green brake line they sell is VERY flexible, so no issues bending it by hand. You can even wrap it around a bottle or something to recreate the original loops in the MC line. Not sure they'll have all of the ends you need on the premade stuff, so you may still end up with an adaptor or two. But its easy stuff to work with, I have a few lengths on a couple of my projects.

I finally gave up and bought an Eastwood flaring tool and a bender. They make flaring and bending stainless a piece of cake, so now I just buy stainless line and make my own brake and fuel lines. For one car its not worth it, but I've got a few, and a couple of 50's and earlier projects that need completely new braking systems, so I just bit the bullet on the flaring and bending tools.

**EDIT**

Dude, I just realized you're in Sacramento. So am I . Not sure what your timeline is on getting this done, but if you get the right fittings I can make you up a set of stainless MC lines. My schedule is hectic this/next week, but after the 3rd I should have some time. Shoot me a PM. :thumbup:

72bluNblu said:

Napa sells premade lengths of brake line with various different ends on them. The green brake line they sell is VERY flexible, so no issues bending it by hand. You can even wrap it around a bottle or something to recreate the original loops in the MC line. Not sure they'll have all of the ends you need on the premade stuff, so you may still end up with an adaptor or two. But its easy stuff to work with, I have a few lengths on a couple of my projects.

I finally gave up and bought an Eastwood flaring tool and a bender. They make flaring and bending stainless a piece of cake, so now I just buy stainless line and make my own brake and fuel lines. For one car its not worth it, but I've got a few, and a couple of 50's and earlier projects that need completely new braking systems, so I just bit the bullet on the flaring and bending tools.

**EDIT**

Dude, I just realized you're in Sacramento. So am I . Not sure what your timeline is on getting this done, but if you get the right fittings I can make you up a set of stainless MC lines. My schedule is hectic this/next week, but after the 3rd I should have some time. Shoot me a PM. :thumbup:

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That's awesome, I appreciate the offer man. For some reason I assumed you were in the bay area. I'm going to make it a winter project so it might be a couple months or even early spring before I start on it but I'm trying to do my research and assemble everything now so the car doesn't get stuck in my garage for an extended period of time. If your offer still stands I'll let you know when I get started. Thanks!

ESP47 said:

That's awesome, I appreciate the offer man. For some reason I assumed you were in the bay area. I'm going to make it a winter project so it might be a couple months or even early spring before I start on it but I'm trying to do my research and assemble everything now so the car doesn't get stuck in my garage for an extended period of time. If your offer still stands I'll let you know when I get started. Thanks!

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No worries, just shoot me a PM when you get to it.