Pirate Jacks disc brake conversion kits

Yes mine are factory SBP 14X5.5 Rallyes and my 66 came with SBP from the factory and so did my 68 Formula S and it to will keep it's SBP. If I remember correctly when I first started my thread about installing a Pirate Jack front brake conversion kit on my 66 you "72bluNblu" had a whole bunch of concerns and doubts about it and tried to find everything you could that would be wrong with it. Well it has been over four years now that this kit has been on my 66 and I still have not had a single problem with it, I even still have the upper ball joint lock nuts on there that came in the kit that everyone was afraid of and it has not moved or loosened up yet. Everyone has there favorite kits weather it be Pirate Jack, Wilwoods, or Dr. Diff I myself can not find a thing wrong with mine.
Bob

66 CUDA said:

Yes mine are factory SBP 14X5.5 Rallyes and my 66 came with SBP from the factory and so did my 68 Formula S and it to will keep it's SBP. If I remember correctly when I first started my thread about installing a Pirate Jack front brake conversion kit on my 66 you "72bluNblu" had a whole bunch of concerns and doubts about it and tried to find everything you could that would be wrong with it. Well it has been over four years now that this kit has been on my 66 and I still have not had a single problem with it, I even still have the upper ball joint lock nuts on there that came in the kit that everyone was afraid of and it has not moved or loosened up yet. Everyone has there favorite kits weather it be Pirate Jack, Wilwoods, or Dr. Diff I myself can not find a thing wrong with mine.
Bob

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Of course I had questions and concerns! It was a brand new kit, offered by a brand new company, and consists almost entirely of reproduction parts made overseas. Very limited info was available on it, people didn’t even know for sure it was a 73+ kit with machined rotors! Any intelligent person would have questions and concerns. I asked questions because you bought a kit early, and those answers could help people make an informed decision.

I also recall the rotors being out of round on some of the first kits people installed. So, maybe valid concerns?

I’m glad you’re happy with them and they’re working well. But if you want to help people instead of just taking a victory lap, maybe you can answer those questions? What is the outer diameter of the machined down hub? And since your factory rallye’s didn’t come from your ‘66, maybe you could share what they’re actually off of? Because there is more than one SBP hub bore diameter.

For any of you members who are thinking about a front disc brake conversion for your car, the Pirate Jake conversion is a great kit. It is easy to install and the price is right. We are lucky to have members on here who like to ask and answer all of the technical questions that half of our members don't under stand and the other half really don't care about. I really don't give a damn if the parts are made overseas and I don't give a rats *** what size the diameter of the machined hub is, and thank GOD someone could tell me that my 66 did not come with rallye wheels and that I should tell everyone what year they came from. Out of round rotors are a thing of the past, it was taken care of immediately and I never heard another problem with them so why bring it up. I do not claim to be a disc brake conversion GOD, and as long as everything work good and fits right I am happy I don't care about any of that other stuff. My thread explains everything about the kit along with detailed pictures as I moved along, if you are thinking about it and something is not covered contact me I will be more than happy to try and help you out.
Bob

I just ordered the kit from Pirate Jacks and Eric could not have been more helpful. They now offer a 5 x 4" drilled and slotted rotor kit which I ordered with stainless steel hoses , a new master cylinder , and proportioning valve. Pricing also included shipping which was $105 from the other guy.

I think you will be happy with it. Make sure to ask if there is a way that you need to break in those drilled and slotted rotors so they do not squeal, if I remember correctly there is a procedure to follow.
Bob

Received my front disc brake kit last night from Pirate Jacks. Including the "new" Drilled and Slotted rotors for 4" BP. This is a brand new offering and I may be one of the first to get them. Can't wait to get them on and test them.

66 CUDA said:

For any of you members who are thinking about a front disc brake conversion for your car, the Pirate Jake conversion is a great kit. It is easy to install and the price is right. We are lucky to have members on here who like to ask and answer all of the technical questions that half of our members don't under stand and the other half really don't care about. I really don't give a damn if the parts are made overseas and I don't give a rats *** what size the diameter of the machined hub is, and thank GOD someone could tell me that my 66 did not come with rallye wheels and that I should tell everyone what year they came from. Out of round rotors are a thing of the past, it was taken care of immediately and I never heard another problem with them so why bring it up. I do not claim to be a disc brake conversion GOD, and as long as everything work good and fits right I am happy I don't care about any of that other stuff. My thread explains everything about the kit along with detailed pictures as I moved along, if you are thinking about it and something is not covered contact me I will be more than happy to try and help you out.
Bob

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-Lots of people do care if their parts are made overseas

-The diameter of the machined hub determines which wheels will fit the car, so, someone could decide to run or not run the kit based on whether or not it will fit their current wheels. Kinda important.

-You did receive out of round rotors and had to deal with it. It was fixed, but others might not want to bother, or delay their project if it happens to them.

-Everything fit well for you, but you just got lucky with your wheels because you didn't know ahead of time the hub would clear. Some people like to make better informed decisions.

-Since you're unwilling to take basic measurements and post them on the board, how exactly are you going to help the people that contact you? The hub diameter is the only real difference between this kit and a 73+ factory disk conversion. And you refuse to give that info. Everything else has been covered hundreds of times here with every 73+ disk swap.

RON REAGLE said:

Received my front disc brake kit last night from Pirate Jacks. Including the "new" Drilled and Slotted rotors for 4" BP. This is a brand new offering and I may be one of the first to get them. Can't wait to get them on and test them.

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Those look nice!

While they're off the car, do you think you could measure the hub diameter? Easy to do, and it could be a deciding factor for others in determining if their wheels will fit this kit.

Explain where you want measured? I'd be glad to measure and post pictures (I have calipers to measure exactly)

RON REAGLE said:

Explain where you want measured? I'd be glad to measure and post pictures (I have calipers to measure exactly)

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The outer diameter of the hub, the part that has to go though the centerbore of the wheel.

For those of you who would like or those of you who need information regarding help with a front disc brake conversion ask, I have been through it and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. If I can not answer your question I am sure that someone on this forum will be able to help. For those of you who just need a measurement of the front hub diameter, well you know who to contact. I am sure when he did his front brake conversion the most important thing to him was the hub diameter and oh yes the parts that were made over seas, although I have not been able to locate his thread with his step by step instructions when doing his conversion. He must have done an early A body front brake conversion at some point to be able to donate all his wisdom, don't you think?

By the way Ron I am looking forward to seeing your conversion completed and knowing how it went for you, please take lots of pictures.
Bob

66 CUDA said:

For those of you who would like or those of you who need information regarding help with a front disc brake conversion ask, I have been through it and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. If I can not answer your question I am sure that someone on this forum will be able to help. For those of you who just need a measurement of the front hub diameter, well you know who to contact. I am sure when he did his front brake conversion the most important thing to him was the hub diameter and oh yes the parts that were made over seas, although I have not been able to locate his thread with his step by step instructions when doing his conversion. He must have done an early A body front brake conversion at some point to be able to donate all his wisdom, don't you think?

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I have used the 73+ mopar disk brakes on a few different mopars now- my '72 Challenger, my '74 Duster, and my '71 Dart. I also did this swap on a buddy's '65 Belvedere. The picture of the disk above, with the wonky caliper placement, is from my 11.75" disk install on my Challenger with 2" drop spindles that changed the clocking on the calipers. I put FMJ spindles on it later. The 73+ disks use the same exact spindles, calipers, caliper brackets, wheel bearings, brake hoses, and ball joints (or adaptors) as the Pirate Jack kit. Because, as I've mentioned ad nauseam now, the factory 73+ disk conversion is identical to the Pirate Jack kit with the exception of 2 things - the bolt pattern and the rotor hub diameter. That's it. DoctorDiff was selling tapered ball joint adaptors for years before Pirate Jack. They're the same rotors as factory with a little extra machining. Anyone that can install a 73+ mopar disk set up can install a Pirate Jack kit, the entire thing is a bolt on operation with factory parts. I didn't do a "write up" on any of them because there are literally hundreds of threads on how to do it already. '73+ disks on early A's, '67-72 SBP 9" and 10" drum cars (same as an early A for the conversion, btw), '67-72 disk cars, '73+ drum cars, you name it, it's already here.

If you'd like a write up from me on brakes, you can see my more involved installation of DoctorDiff's 13" cobra rotors on my Duster (which required machining the center bore of my wheels), as well as DoctorDiffs 11.7" rear disks. 13" install here My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head
11.7" rear kit install here, more steps on this one...My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

Unlike the '73+ factory parts though which are BBP, the whole point of the Pirate Jack kit is to keep your current SBP wheels. If you can't, then why bother staying SBP? Well, there ARE wheels that do not fit the Pirate Jack rotor. Pirate Jack says so themselves, don't take my word for it.


And boy, if someone would just post the hub diameter on the Pirate Jack kit so that everyone else here could use some common sense when considering the pros/cons of doing that conversion, well, we'd all be better off. The '73+ disks are great, but if you're using them with your existing SBP wheels then you need to make sure that- 1. your wheels have enough backspace, because the 73+ kit widens the track width by almost a 1/2" per side, and- 2. your wheels have a large enough center bore to clear the increased hub diameter compared to some SBP drums. Especially if you're planning on using steel wheels that can't be bored out.

Here's a hub measurement using a set of calipers. As near as I can tell they are 2-1/4" ?

Finally installed on the car!!! It will be awhile before testing still waiting on wiring harnesses and TTI exhaust.

Looks great Ron, did those flex hoses come with the kit or did you use a different brand? They don't look like the ones that came with my kit.
Bob

No I ordered them with the kit They seem a little bit long ?

RON REAGLE said:

No I ordered them with the kit They seem a little bit long ?

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Are they long because the calipers are rear mounted? When I decided to rear mount my calipers I needed a non-abody hose to make it work properly.

So the 4 bolts that hold the spindle on the lower ball joint hit the lower control arm where the sway bar is mounted. I'm hoping i can get shorter bolts with a differnt (smaller lock nut) and that will help. I did a search but didnt really find any answers how others delt with this issue. It is the MBM kit going on my 71 Demon. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

RON REAGLE said:

Here's a hub measurement using a set of calipers. As near as I can tell they are 2-1/4" ?

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Thank you sir, for posting that and actually letting everyone have the information to find out if this kit will fit with their particular set of wheels.

Normally that measurement is over ~2.7" on the non modified BBP disks. That's A LOT of material to take out. Remember, that material is what supports the bearings on the spindles and ultimately keeps the wheels on the car.


And yes, I am fully aware of the state of that cotter pin. It's like that to remind me that I installed the bearings just to make it a roller, and that they have to be revisited before it's roadworthy.

OllieDemon45 said:

View attachment 1715736696 View attachment 1715736695 So the 4 bolts that hold the spindle on the lower ball joint hit the lower control arm where the sway bar is mounted. I'm hoping i can get shorter bolts with a differnt (smaller lock nut) and that will help. I did a search but didnt really find any answers how others delt with this issue. It is the MBM kit going on my 71 Demon. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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The factory bolt was a weird 1/4" measurement, I think they're 2.75" long? So if you have a regular grade 8 bolt there it's probably 3". @hemi71x special orders the right length, he has them here with the shorter nuts as well...

[FOR SALE] - **BOLTS** Lower Ball Joint To Spindle. A, B, E, Body. Disc & Drum Brakes.

That comes up with any of the 73+ spindles and the early 67-72 sway bar mounting location. The proper way to deal with it would be the bolts and nuts I linked, although lots of people break out a cutting tool to shorten the bolt.

Now that I have the bolt issue fixed, I realized they didn’t give me the rubber brake lines that were supposed to be included, ugh!