1969 Barracuda Fastback
The disc brake conversion:
I read quite a few articles here on FABO and considered my options for a disc brake conversion, which fits the 14x5.5 Kelsey - Hayes rims. One option would have been the DISC-O-TECH conversion, with mostly original parts. To me, it didn't seem worth the time and money you have to invest in the part search, sandblasting, powder coating and rebuild of all the components.
But I wanted to keep the classic style and a proven system that fits the 10" rear drum brakes, and therefore decided to go with the disc brake conversion kit (Stage I) from DoctorDiff Drivetrain Components. The company enjoys quite good feedback from the Mopar community and the price seems to be fair, plus customer service and correspondence (fast) were excellent.
Since the front suspension on my Barracuda got just recently rebuilt, I wanted to keep the original upper control arms and ordered the kit with just the upper ball joint sleeve - my mistake. Well, I am a very picky person, especially when it comes to safety - like brakes, steering, and suspension. The ball joint sleeve option may work and serve its purpose up to a certain point, but considering my intentions to do highway driving and touring, I decided to go the right way and ordered new upper control arms.
The kit (master cylinder, proportioning valve, hoses, caliber, brake shoes, discs, bearings, and hardware), and all the brake lines I ordered with it seem to be of good quality, the new upper controls arms had the same metal thickness as the original ones and fit perfectly on the car. Unfortunately, the rotors were a disappointment, but I can not blame Dr. Diff for that since they came directly from the manufacturer and were wrongly packed (two different rotors - one looked like casted by the local blacksmith). Getting a replacement was not a problem - Dr. Diff ordered new rotors, did the requested quality control and sent them to me.
What I did during installation:
-Loosened tension from the torsion bars
-Used some thread locker on the 3 brake dust shield bolts
-Tightened all bolts to specs provided in the instruction for the kit
-Cleaned the rotors thoroughly before installation and checked all machined surfaces
-Used silicone grease on slider surfaces
-Secured the unused bleeder screw with thread locker
Since on FABO there are different opinions on the brake hose routing, I sent a picture to Dr. Diff to confirm the correct installation.
Some guys may have another solution for it, I preferred to follow the instruction from the seller.
Here some pictures:
View attachment 1715471237
The disc brake conversion:
I read quite a few articles here on FABO and considered my options for a disc brake conversion, which fits the 14x5.5 Kelsey - Hayes rims. One option would have been the DISC-O-TECH conversion, with mostly original parts. To me, it didn't seem worth the time and money you have to invest in the part search, sandblasting, powder coating and rebuild of all the components.
But I wanted to keep the classic style and a proven system that fits the 10" rear drum brakes, and therefore decided to go with the disc brake conversion kit (Stage I) from DoctorDiff Drivetrain Components. The company enjoys quite good feedback from the Mopar community and the price seems to be fair, plus customer service and correspondence (fast) were excellent.
Since the front suspension on my Barracuda got just recently rebuilt, I wanted to keep the original upper control arms and ordered the kit with just the upper ball joint sleeve - my mistake. Well, I am a very picky person, especially when it comes to safety - like brakes, steering, and suspension. The ball joint sleeve option may work and serve its purpose up to a certain point, but considering my intentions to do highway driving and touring, I decided to go the right way and ordered new upper control arms.
The kit (master cylinder, proportioning valve, hoses, caliber, brake shoes, discs, bearings, and hardware), and all the brake lines I ordered with it seem to be of good quality, the new upper controls arms had the same metal thickness as the original ones and fit perfectly on the car. Unfortunately, the rotors were a disappointment, but I can not blame Dr. Diff for that since they came directly from the manufacturer and were wrongly packed (two different rotors - one looked like casted by the local blacksmith). Getting a replacement was not a problem - Dr. Diff ordered new rotors, did the requested quality control and sent them to me.
What I did during installation:
-Loosened tension from the torsion bars
-Used some thread locker on the 3 brake dust shield bolts
-Tightened all bolts to specs provided in the instruction for the kit
-Cleaned the rotors thoroughly before installation and checked all machined surfaces
-Used silicone grease on slider surfaces
-Secured the unused bleeder screw with thread locker
Since on FABO there are different opinions on the brake hose routing, I sent a picture to Dr. Diff to confirm the correct installation.
Some guys may have another solution for it, I preferred to follow the instruction from the seller.
Here some pictures:
View attachment 1715471237
