DGE7070
Member
I have a 1970 Dodge Dart I am converting to disc brakes. It has an 11inch drum with a small bolt pattern and 14inch tires. What do I need to complete this conversion?
1970 dodge dart front disc brake conversion
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Skeeter
Well-Known Member
Are you sure the're 11"? Anyway 2 ways to go 1 small bolt 1 big bolt. To keep the small you'll need a kelsey hayes setup from a 72 and earlier a body ie spindles,calipers,dust shields,hubs and all associated hardware prop vale, caliper brackets and such. Just did my 71 swinger that way. The big bolt way is with the later big bolt setup 73-76 a body or the scarebird setup which I have no experience with. Same parts list as the small but the big bolt setup is single piston slider setup, small is 4piston fixed caliper. Best deal either way is to find a complete setup and rebuild replace as necessary.Small bolt setup is more expensive but with my small bolt rallyes and 8 3/4 out back in small bolt I went that way.Hope that was some help. When you decide bolt pattern I can get more specific.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=168051
From the "for sale" section of the forum, for your consideration.
From the "for sale" section of the forum, for your consideration.
carsnguitars
Member
Check out "mattsclassicbowties.com" he has a dodge section with a disc brake conversion kits... Everything you would need... Thats where I'm going when I convert my breaks.... It's the best deal I could find for everything.... If you can find a better one please let me know...
:coffee2:i'am trying out the scarebird setup. he sends you the caliper bracket and a list of parts to buy from your local parts source. mocked up they look alright. uses the original spindle. i started out with a six cylinder valiant with 9" drums thats getting a 318 magnum/904 combo. using 14" rally wheels, i think i had the trim the caliper a little for clearance. iam still doing body work. so it will be a while before i know how they work.
DGE7070
Member
drums are 10 inch thanks for info
1badazdart
Well-Known Member
Can you use a F body front spindles and upper A arms I know the upper arm bolts up differently but will this work
Spindles, Yes.
A arms, No.
You will need these.
[FOR SALE] - Upper Control Arms, Big Ball Joint, 73 74 75 76 Duster Dart Demon Valiant
I just noticed that this posting is over 4 years old, started by the original poster, and brought back from the dead by 1baddart, for whatever reason?
Surely by now, the original poster converted his car over to big bolt pattern brakes, and hasn't had to look in this forum anymore for this posting, and hasn't been online, here, in a year and a half.
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1badazdart
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info
Supposedly F,M,J and 73 up B bodies use taller steering knuckles because of the isolator front suspensions and shouldn't be used for the A-body swap.
pauls340
Well-Known Member
DGE7070, I am just about done changing over my 4" front drum brakes back to the original non-power K-H front disc. After looking at what Jim V (71GTX) offers....BUY THAT ! I easily have $700+ into this and took over a year to find new original style parts. My2cents.
This is utter hogwash. Yes, the FMJ and B/R body spindles are taller. But the change in geometry is almost negligible, and arguably an improvement. Ehrenberg gave traction to that whole idea with his disc-o-tech article, but apparently he didn't bother to actually check the geometry numbers. This article actually checked the geometry, and explains why it's no big deal to use the FMJ spindles. I run them on my Duster, even though it came with A-body spindles, exactly because of the improvement in geometry for wider tires explained in the article.
Swapping Disc-Brake Spindles - Mopar Muscle Magazine
magnummopar
Well-Known Member
I see people selling used reman stuff for $600 and cant figure out why people would buy it? we do a ton of conversions in our shop and their only $500 shipped. Its all brand new, uses late model slider calipers, does NOT require new upper arms, comes in either 5x4 or 5x4.5 . It also comes with new soft lines. For $575 you get drilled and slotted rotors, powder coated calipers and braided lines. the rear disk conversions are $400 or $485 drilled etc. Go figure...
Actually this information came out of a SA book written by Frank Atkins. And other sources I can't quote right now
Didn't you argue about not out smarting the engineers on another thread in post
#23http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/needing-new-tires.356142/#post-1971344901
Just saying? No I'm not trying to start a war. I'll bow out.
There's nothing comparable about those two situations. When you change to radials you've already thrown the stock suspension geometry out the window, your alignment MUST change from the factory specs. When you lower the car, you've changed the geometry again. If at that point you add modern compound tires that have significantly better grip, you guessed it, you need to alter the geometry. Maybe the FMJ spindles aren't ideal for a car at stock ride height with bias ply's (although thats still arguable). But technology changes. Almost no one runs bias plys, and very few run at stock ride height. That's why I posted the article. The authors very clearly list the conditions they tested, and posted all of their geometry numbers plain as day. The physics is right there. I don't care who said what when, the data doesn't lie, the change in geometry is negligible to better. I run FMJ spindles on my Duster and my Challenger and have logged tens of thousands of miles between them with none of the ball joint or alignment problems claimed by Ehrenberg and apparently others. It's not about out smarting the engineers, it's about thinking like an engineer and matching the geometry to the new components so everything functions properly. That's hot rodding.
When you put the wrong size tire on a rim like you suggested in the other thread you've just put the wrong size tire on a rim. It's not comparable at all. If anything, the fact that you're putting an oversize radial on a SBP rim designed for a bias ply makes the situation even WORSE, because radials load the rim lip more than bias ply's do to begin with, even when properly sized.
When you put the wrong size tire on a rim like you suggested in the other thread you've just put the wrong size tire on a rim. It's not comparable at all. If anything, the fact that you're putting an oversize radial on a SBP rim designed for a bias ply makes the situation even WORSE, because radials load the rim lip more than bias ply's do to begin with, even when properly sized.
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abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
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