Finished up the install the other day using Viper calipers, Baer 13 inch rotors and FMJ knuckles. I went with the S71 wheels from Weld since they allowed me to get the correct offset and width. I used a 17x6.5 wheel with 4.80 inches of backspacing.
Viper brakes on my Duster
- Thread starter AndyF
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roccodart440
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Nice wheels. I run the same ones.
SSG_Karg
Enhanced member
Well done sir. I’m green.
wow!! did not know this was possible on a stock spindle. that's sweet
cawcislo
Well-Known Member
What kind of brakes are you running in the rear?
Is that mounting bracket custom or a readily available piece?
OL DODGE
Well-Known Member
i like your "going fast/stopping fast" mentality !!! Seen too many people drop a high powered engine in their ride and rely on their guardian angel /luck for the rest of the program.
The rear is a narrowed Dana 60 with Ford ends and Ford Motorsports disc brakes. (Explorer brakes)
Yeah I learned that lesson a long time ago! I had a '56 Ford F100 when I was in high school with a 351C engine and drum brakes all the way around. Went fast but wouldn't stop very quickly. Since then I've always put good brakes on my cars.
It is both. I designed custom brackets for my car but Doctor Diff will have them available for sale is a person wants to duplicate what I did.
Most anything is possible if you work at it a bit. It is just a couple pieces of metal which are machined to the correct dimensions. Not rocket science, just simple math. The caliper has to go in a certain spot and the knuckle has two bolt holes in it so you just build a bracket that connects the two parts together.
That is awesome! Looks great
Very nice work as usual! 
Great to see the Viper caliper option for a stock disk spindle set up. Are those the same aluminum hubs DoctorDiff sells and uses in his 13" Cobra style brakes? Looks like the Viper caliper option has replaced the Brembo caliper option for the 13" brakes at DoctorDiff's website.
Great to see the Viper caliper option for a stock disk spindle set up. Are those the same aluminum hubs DoctorDiff sells and uses in his 13" Cobra style brakes? Looks like the Viper caliper option has replaced the Brembo caliper option for the 13" brakes at DoctorDiff's website.
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JoesEdge
Well-Known Member
Nice!! So what rotor are you using and what type/size master cylinder is recommended for that type of setup?
Those are Baer rotors in the pictures. I'm also using a Baer billet master cylinder but the late model Mopar 15/16 master cylinder should work just fine. The Baer MC is nice since the prop valve is built in.
Very nice work as usual!
Great to see the Viper caliper option for a stock disk spindle set up. Are those the same aluminum hubs DoctorDiff sells and uses in his 13" Cobra style brakes? Looks like the Viper caliper option has replaced the Brembo caliper option for the 13" brakes at DoctorDiff's website.
Yep, the hubs are from Doctor Diff although I think he has updated the design since I bought these. His new design has a tapered nose.
Could you turn down an OEM disk for the hub and use the disc assembly with your adapters? I'm not a big fan of aluminum in that application. Will your adapter work with 73 up A Body knuckles?
You can do anything you want (or afford). Turn down a stock rotor to make a hub or make one from steel or start with a drum brake hub and go from there, etc. It is just time and money.
The bolt pattern is the same on the A body knuckle as the FMJ knuckle but you might have to grind some clearance since the A body knuckle is shorter and heavier.
JoesEdge
Well-Known Member
Any advantage to the FMJ knuckle?
Depends on who you ask!
Rick Ehrenberg will tell you that using an FMJ knuckle on an A-body will cause "ball joint overangling" and poor suspension geometry. Of course, he never actually checked to see if any of that actually happens (it doesn't).
However, if you actually plot it out like they did here Swapping Disc-Brake Spindles - Mopar Muscle Magazine, then what you end up with using the FMJ spindle is improved camber gain, a very slightly better roll center, and a very small increase in toe change (bump steer). So, if you run wide tires which are more resistant to toe change, you'll likely be even better off with the FMJ's than A-body spindles.
I would say that the other advantage to the FMJ spindles is being more likely to find them at the local wrecking yard than an A-body spindle, but neither is very likely anymore. Although based on how the reproduction spindles are being advertised, I would imagine that they're based on FMJ spindles, not A-body spindles. Which would mean the only way to truly get a 73-76 A-body spindle would be used.
JoesEdge
Well-Known Member
I think I read that article since I was curious about it, but it was over my head. LOL Thanks for summing it up. I'll be on the lookout for those cars. There's a 40% sale coming up at the local LKQ's next weekend. The only way that place is affordable. Kills me every time they charge for cores. They know if you bring back a core, they're just going to crush it anyway. It's a racket!
Yes, it is taller and lighter. Might also be cheaper to buy since some guys don't think the FMJ parts are worth anything.
DionR
Well-Known Member
True. If a hack like me can adapt PBR pin driven calipers (aka Vette C5 calipers), anyone can do it.
That's what I did.
DionR
Well-Known Member
Love the setup, Andy. Wish I could do Viper calipers.
Really like the direction this build is going.
Really like the direction this build is going.
Thanks, I have your Kit for Viper brakes and the 73 up drum brake spindle, but having the right thickness rotor would be a plus.
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