A100 brakes

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hemicop

hemicop

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Okay, I know it's not an "A" body in the traditional sense, but seeing how this site caters to the smaller Mopars, I figured I'd ask.
My '64 A100 truck has a nice,stock 360 Magnum/TF combo & will be used to tow my aluminum trailer with my Dart on it---kinda wanna do the "old skool" thing.
Anyway, I KNOW it'll need better brakes & everyone on van/truck websites are quick to mention a particular manufacturer of front disc brake conversion & leaves it at that. That seems to simplistic & not quite thorough enough for me. SOOO what does everyone here suggest? I've yet to check with the manufacturers out there as when I went to SEMA most just gave me a blank stare & had no idea what an A100 was or what to do. anyone have ANY ideas?
 
That should look cool.
Rod St Race (John) would be the guy I'd ask. He's pretty sharp on the A100 stuff. Plus he's sort of local! (Chino Valley)
 
hemicop said:
Okay, I know it's not an "A" body in the traditional sense, but seeing how this site caters to the smaller Mopars, I figured I'd ask.
My '64 A100 truck has a nice,stock 360 Magnum/TF combo & will be used to tow my aluminum trailer with my Dart on it---kinda wanna do the "old skool" thing.
Anyway, I KNOW it'll need better brakes & everyone on van/truck websites are quick to mention a particular manufacturer of front disc brake conversion & leaves it at that. That seems to simplistic & not quite thorough enough for me. SOOO what does everyone here suggest? I've yet to check with the manufacturers out there as when I went to SEMA most just gave me a blank stare & had no idea what an A100 was or what to do. anyone have ANY ideas?
Click to expand...

Since those are straight axle, you might have more options if you switch out the OE axle with a generic street rod part like a chrome tube axle or something. May not be the look you are after but other than Scarebird there is not likely anything else to interchange.

Don't know if you can get disc brakes for the D/W trucks but if you could, perhaps you could modify one of those axles to fit. You're still probably looking at a plate/GM caliper deal.

The OE spindles are probably what limit your choices. There are generic spindles out there for this type of thing, guess you'd have to figure out whether you could make something work with the OE axle.

Never seen or heard of anyone towing a car on a trailer with a short-wheelbase A--100. That would be a cool sight.
 
rmchrgr said:
Since those are straight axle, you might have more options if you switch out the OE axle with a generic street rod part like a chrome tube axle or something. May not be the look you are after but other than Scarebird there is not likely anything else to interchange.

Don't know if you can get disc brakes for the D/W trucks but if you could, perhaps you could modify one of those axles to fit. You're still probably looking at a plate/GM caliper deal.

The OE spindles are probably what limit your choices. There are generic spindles out there for this type of thing, guess you'd have to figure out whether you could make something work with the OE axle.

Never seen or heard of anyone towing a car on a trailer with a short-wheelbase A--100. That would be a cool sight.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking of using Scarebird's stuff, & perhaps on the back using a local stock car "trick"--- GM metric calipers & rotors? I have them on the Dart & they work pretty well but I'm not trying to stop 6k pounds (give or take) with a short wheelbase..
 
pauly v.100 said:
GM half ton calipers and cop car rotors sounds pretty stout. Good price too

1964-70 Dodge A100 van front disc
Click to expand...
OOOOOOOOOOOK! So I'm back on my A100 project & thanks for the responses, BTW.
I've been looking at a few options including the "Scarebird" stuff. Seems there's a lot of mixed reviews about them , so since it's such a major component, I think I'll pass on that idea. A friend found a Ford PU with a straight axle & disc brakes. We're thinking maybe a complete axle swap would fit. I also learned these things apparently have the same wheel bearing size as conventional Mopar disc brakes, so wouldn't a stock rotor fit then? If so, then all I'd have to do is come up with a mount for the caliper (ala "Scarebird") but not have to deal with all the fine-tuning machining and parts searching. Thoughts????
 
Actually, these things aren't a whole lot shorter than some cars. You just don't do 60+ in them.....:)
 
hemicop said:
Okay, I know it's not an "A" body in the traditional sense, but seeing how this site caters to the smaller Mopars, I figured I'd ask.
My '64 A100 truck has a nice,stock 360 Magnum/TF combo & will be used to tow my aluminum trailer with my Dart on it---kinda wanna do the "old skool" thing.
Anyway, I KNOW it'll need better brakes & everyone on van/truck websites are quick to mention a particular manufacturer of front disc brake conversion & leaves it at that. That seems to simplistic & not quite thorough enough for me. SOOO what does everyone here suggest? I've yet to check with the manufacturers out there as when I went to SEMA most just gave me a blank stare & had no idea what an A100 was or what to do. anyone have ANY ideas?
Click to expand...


don't think there are many options for ya using the stock front axle..
what kit are you refering to? what is not thought out about it and why is it too simplistic?

i bought a scarebird setup for my 65 D100. still have to put it on but from all the feedback i've seen it should work quite well.. it uses all proven parts.

the ram man also sells a kit i believe. for the d100. not sure if they are the same as a a100 or not.. its just under 1800 bucks, uses all mopar stuff but there are a couple of things that i didn't like about it.. first was the price.. way over priced in my opinion.. second is i don't like the way he has to space things out so far because of his adapter plate that it no longer fits a cotter pin on the spindle nut. i assume it uses a set screw or something but i'd prefer a cotter pin myself.
 
"then all I'd have to do is come up with a mount for the caliper (ala "Scarebird") but not have to deal with all the fine-tuning machining and parts searching. Thoughts????"

you make it sound like the machine work for a scarebird kit is some extreme thing.. the only machining needed is to turn down the hub a hair to properly fit in the new rotor.

personally i think you are over thinking it.
 
That could well be. In reviews of the "Scarebird" modifications, I've seen guys post complaints of inconsistent braking, pedal pressure too hard, fitment issues and delivery time for parts---although in your case that's obviously not an issue.
I personally don't know of anyone that's used the stuff....only Internet BS. But I'm just trying to cover all bases.
 
delivery time? order up on ebay and it will be to you within a week.. mine was.. all you get from scarebird is the plates and a coupel odds and ends.. everything else you source.

fitment? all i've ever heard was maybe a hole didn't line up 100%. file takes care of that in a few seconds.. not a big deal..

inconstant braking. who knows what those people did.. all the parts are off the shelf common parts that are well proven. the part that isn't well proven is the idiot putting it together. god only knows what they did or didn't do.. did those people use the parts that they were instructed to? who knows..

too hard of a pedal pressure sounds like the wrong master cyl. in some cases you may need an adjustable proportioning valve..

like i said there aren't too many options out there for these things. unless ya want to put a mustang II front end or a crown vic front suspension under there..:)
 
I have an E-mail into them, asking some questions, so we'll see. I'd like to find a dual MC for the thing. Probably would need a demore reservoir since it's so close to the floor........
 
I had to go back and read what we were talking about here...

Anyway, I still maintain the idea of looking around at 'street rod' oriented stuff since lot of those old ('30s-'40s) cars use a beam axle/spindle set up. If you went that route, your obstacles would be A) finding a bearing/rotor combination to fit your existing spindle or B) finding a 'disc brake' spindle that will fit into your existing axle kingpin yoke.

Maybe look at the links below, might give you an idea. I personally would not look at modern stuff, just seems more complicated than it's worth. I'd rather find something that was sorted out already and put together as a kit. Again, the only likely obstacle would be finding a spindle to fit your axle.

Not tying to spend your money but sometimes you gotta pay a little more for convenience and ease of install rather than trying to find parts that may or may not work. As stated, the aftermarket for A100s is pretty small, might be hard to find exactly what you want.

If you don't care about originality, find an axle that will allow a disc brake kit to bolt on. A chrome tube axle would be bitchin'.

Street Rod Axle Steering and Brake Kits - Free Shipping @ Speedway Motors

Street Rod Tube Axles - Free Shipping @ Speedway Motors

Street Rod Spindles - Free Shipping @ Speedway Motors
 
AAJ Brakes They have a web site Im using volare rotorspin calpers from a charger and stock A 100 spindles
 
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