Disc Brake Conversions Using OEM Components

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68DartProject

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Has anyone ever used or heard of this company. My welder was telling me about them and how he used their stuff on his 65 Falcon and it was a piece of cake. All bolt on stuff. He had to tweak a few things here and there. But hey don't we all. Looks pretty straight forward. Just go to products on the home page and scroll down until you get to the Mopar section.

Here is the link: http://www.scarebird.com/index.php?id=0

Thanks,
Michael
 
heard of them a while ago i just did a brake swap on my dart but i used E body set up pretty much a bolt on affair but mine is a 76
 
I did my swap by buying mostly part store replacements just need correct spindles on a lot of them
 
Quite a few here have done the swap. Put "Scarebird" in the search function. There are over 2 dozen threads. tmm
 
Yeah I just caught the thread after the fact. Just seen where last post was like 2010 so maybe an update from the ones that posted would be more set in concrete as to wear and durability.
 
Scarebird likes to use GM calipers and some rotors, and some are harder to find than OEM Mopar stuff. Also some stuff requires milling.

Why not do the easy F/M/J swap?

I bought a running. driving 5th Ave for $450, and besides the verifiable working brakes, I got a 9:1 roller cam 318, and a **** pile of other parts that work on cars as far back as my 66. Even things like the fender bolts door panel clips, and fender tag screws are the same.
 
Mopar Action has an excellent article on swapping brake components:
http://www.moparaction.com/Tech/archive/disc-main.html
I swapped a 73-76 spindle into my '68 Barracuda which originally had KH disks. Wanted the 4.5" BP. I used the 11.75" cop rotors and caliper adaptors from a later car with sliding calipers. These large brakes work wonderfully with a light A-Body. I also used B-Body 11x2.5" rear drums. Heavy, but they work.
I would consider aftermarket disk brakes, but $'s always get in the way. That is why the 73+ A-Body spindle swap is so nice.
Bob
 
FMJ's work great. Easier to find than the A body stuff.
 
YY1 said:
Scarebird likes to use GM calipers and some rotors, and some are harder to find than OEM Mopar stuff. Also some stuff requires milling.

Why not do the easy F/M/J swap?

I bought a running. driving 5th Ave for $450, and besides the verifiable working brakes, I got a 9:1 roller cam 318, and a **** pile of other parts that work on cars as far back as my 66. Even things like the fender bolts door panel clips, and fender tag screws are the same.
Click to expand...


Fifth Avenue disc setup will fit an A body Mopar? I want to know more!
 
FMJ's and all the other donor cars are great for obtaining parts for sure. As for GM calibers and Toyota rotors. Well I think the calibers are made by kelsey hayes brakes. They are made for GM not by GM. And before anyone gets their panties all in a bunch I do not care a bit for GM and not standing up for them. Hayes has made brakes for all companies. And for Japan vehicles whether you like them or not they just work and have very few problems with hundreds of thousand of miles on their cars. After reading several sites about scarebird I find that their innovative ideas they are doing just makes since. If you are looking to do an upgrade of brakes only, why would you want to go through all the trouble of looking for a donor. Then you have to disassemble that one, either on your terms or the salvage yard. If they have done the work for you then great, but if not well you have a lot of time, fuel and whatever it cost even maybe loosing a tool here or there and then stopping somewhere to have things cleaned up or buy double the cleaner from the store. "because you still have your car to clean" Then the trouble hoping everything works okay. Buying a whole driver car for 450.00 makes since if you need more than just the front end. Then you have to get rid of it after all the parting out and hoping you get some money back for it. As for taking stuff to a machine shop the only thing I can see that you would need to do at all is to have a good drill press and a small bit die grinder. They give you the template to drill the rotors. It depends on if you have enough confidence in your own work to do them kind of things. There are pros and cons to both. But mainly it was about the use of their product and who has used them.

Just my two cent.
Michael
 
The F/M/J swap is a piece of cake, and your local boneyards should have plenty of cars in that range.

As far as pulling the stuff off, also easy. All you need is a couple of wrenches, a pickle fork and a BFH. I can drop the spindles (and all the attached brake parts) off a car in the boneyard in 10-15 minutes in most cases.

And don't listen to the Mopar Action article about not using the FMJ stuff because of the geometry changes. There is a minor geometry change, but its practically negligible, and arguable beneficial! This article has the real dirt on the FMJ geometry...

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/suspension/mopp_0503_swapping_a_and_b_disc_brake_spindles/index.html

I just drop the spindle with everything attached and sort out the rest when I get home. If you're picky and on a budget, you might even be able to find stuff that you can use immediately, although I usually end up replacing all the bearings, rotors and pads. But you get to exchange all the junk stuff as cores.
 
That's good stuff there bluNblu. Like the artical.
I agree with you totally. And have done the swaps myself on other cars in the past. The private good ole boys boneyards here in NE Georgia are just fading away. It gets harder and harder to get into them because of some big wheel company usually a recycling shredder buys everything in the boneyard plus has dibs on the new stuff coming in and they put a halt on anything leaving the yards. It's crazy. And some of the good ole boys will let you in. But thats getting to where these recycle guys want one of their own employees there to make sure inventory is right. Got a few yards that Ford and GM and who else knows, dictates how much to sell parts for. But I'm still looking and will consider my options when the time comes to do it.

Thanks Michael
 
You can actually get what you need from the larger companies. I get my stuff from Pick N Pull, you can get the spindles and brakes you need off of Diplomats and Fifth Avenues all the way up to '89...
 
Complete spindle, caliper, and UCA (both sides) if you want it, plus prop valve and lines if you want them- local LKQ= $75

Most "kits"= $450 and up. $600-$1000 is not unheard of.

That's enough argument for me!
 
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