Disc Brake kits for Early A's ??

-
Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
26,090
Reaction score
22,938
Location
Colorado
Car is a 63 valiant wagon, slant six/ 4 speed.

I was originally going to leave it as drums all around because I am running a slant which is what the car originally had and it never had a problem stopping before.

however, I have not upgraded the rear end to handle some light duty towing and now it just makes sense to upgrade.....biggest reason being the new rear end has BBP, and I am not carrying two spares.

I would like to buy a kit with new parts so I am looking for feedback on what others have done.

Scarebird seems to be a reasonable option. ....maybe ???

what options are out there??

I don't need super huge disc brakes, I am running stock 14 inch wheels and its a slant six car intended for street driving and towing a lawn mower trailer, so nothing too fancy.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Car is a 63 valiant wagon, slant six/ 4 speed.

I was originally going to leave it as drums all around because I am running a slant which is what the car originally had and it never had a problem stopping before.

however, I have not upgraded the rear end to handle some light duty towing and now it just makes sense to upgrade.....biggest reason being the new rear end has BBP, and I am not carrying two spares.

I would like to buy a kit with new parts so I am looking for feedback on what others have done.

Scarebird seems to be a reasonable option. ....maybe ???

what options are out there??

I don't need super huge disc brakes, I am running stock 14 inch wheels and its a slant six car intended for street driving and towing a lawn mower trailer, so nothing too fancy.
Click to expand...
I used the Scarebird set up on my '65 dart with 14" 5 on 4. Very happy with it and easy install since you use the existing spindles and hubs. I added a power master cylinder. total cost with complete new rear brakes and brake lines was under $1,000.
 
Last edited:
We did the scarbird thing on Jake's 65. It uses the original SBP hubs by removing the drums from them.....

Find a donor late A for the upper arms and spindles/brackets. Then you can get new rotors/calipers/hoses. That'll get you BBP and fit the 14 inch wheels. There may be other aftermarket options?
 
We all know what I used, all MoPar 73 to 76 disk brakes, I would say who but seems all I get in return for my time posting is slack !! and there are hundreds that has use the same as I did here in this site and others.. so..
$640.00 for everything to my door ...
 
Last edited:
memike said:
We all know what I used, all MoPar 73 to 76 disk brakes, I would say who but seems all I get in return for my time posting is slack !! and there are hundreds that has use the same as I did here in this site and others.. so..
$640.00 for everything to my door ...
Click to expand...

where did you get it from for that price??
 
memike said:
Well I am sure you know because of my resto page, but I will play..
Click to expand...

so sorry but it slipped my mind because I have not looked at your thread in a looong time. I need to go back and review what you did because I never thought I would be messing with an Early A but my little wagon changed that for me.

Thanks for relaying the info again.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
so sorry but it slipped my mind because I have not looked at your thread in a looong time. I need to go back and review what you did because I never thought I would be messing with an Early A but my little wagon changed that for me.

Thanks for relaying the info again.
Click to expand...
Happy to do so, I met this man at Farminton Monster Mopar meet, he took great care of my needs for my early A body, seems he gets thrown under the bus at times.. but hay ! I had zero problems with him or his brake kit :thumbsup:
 
I used Pirate Jacks kit on 65 dart front. Pretty easy/economical and can use stock UCA.
Not drivable, yet.
Just ordered rear disc kit for 8 3/4 conversion from PJ as well.


Dave
 
mycuda said:
I used Pirate Jacks kit on 65 dart front. Pretty easy/economical and can use stock UCA.
Not drivable, yet.
Just ordered rear disc kit for 8 3/4 conversion from PJ as well.


Dave
Click to expand...
All my friends here was amazed at how well they fit and mounted right in so easy, I have mine on and rolling :thankyou:
 
abodyjoe said:
If going large bolt pattern just go with 73-up set up. Many suppliers out there. Try dr diff.
Click to expand...

Thank you Joe, and if we need any parts they are at most ant auto parts stores near us :thumbsup:
 
Depends on what you are using it for, but there is a reasonably priced daily driver kit from "the right stuff' if you need one that offers a new cylinder and booster. They have an excellent set up for early A's. Mine was on a 65 barracuda.
 
Rainy, You have seen photos of my 63 before. I used the 73-up calipers, rotors,master,hoses (all sourced from Auto Zone) and the Dr Diff upper balljoint adapters so I can re-use the stock upper control arms. This car I used a pair of 2'' drop spindles that were given to me. On my 68 Valiant I got a set of F body spindles and caliper brackets for $100. Again using all the above parts.Cost was about $400 ish.
Summit & Jegs have similar kits in the $500 to $600 range that is the same as factory parts including spindles.This way I was able to run factory 14'' BBP steel wheels from a 74 Duster.

Threequarter_front.jpg
 
On my 63 Valiant convert I used the Wilwood kit for 9" drums. I bought it from summitracing on their clearance rack for $400. It was missing 1 bolt that I bought off amazon for $7. I used my original spindles and since I had already rebuilt the front end, I didn't need to replace any parts. Im running 14" Cragers with the SBP, but this kit allows either SMP or LBP, your choice.
 
Wilwood kits, one on a 3000 lb 65 Dart drag car, stops great from 153 mph, no chute needed! The other set on a street 65 dart, manual 7/8 mc, Ford Explorer 8.8 with Ford rear disc brakes, works well.
 
If you keep your 1963-72 spindles, I think Wilwood is the only front disk kit which will get you to BBP (their hubs allow both patterns). I wouldn't try drilling your existing hubs to BBP since probably not enough meat left. There were 1973+ drum cars, so search if any were BBP (forgot), but even if true you would also have to see if those hubs would fit your spindles, plus those cars are very rare now in junkyards. Converting to 1973+ spindles is cheapest and you can buy new setups on ebay. Those hubs are integral with the rotor.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Car is a 63 valiant wagon, slant six/ 4 speed.

I was originally going to leave it as drums all around because I am running a slant which is what the car originally had and it never had a problem stopping before.

however, I have not upgraded the rear end to handle some light duty towing and now it just makes sense to upgrade.....biggest reason being the new rear end has BBP, and I am not carrying two spares.

I would like to buy a kit with new parts so I am looking for feedback on what others have done.

Scarebird seems to be a reasonable option. ....maybe ???

what options are out there??

I don't need super huge disc brakes, I am running stock 14 inch wheels and its a slant six car intended for street driving and towing a lawn mower trailer, so nothing too fancy.
Click to expand...
I used SSBC totally complete and you can choose small or large bolt pattern (and later switch) I liked that I could use my SBC rallyes
 
Commando66 said:
Scarebird has a kit for the 10" drum spindle that converts to 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern. ...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. I don't recall seeing this product before (new?). Like the Wilwood kit, they provide a custom aluminum hub with bearings which fit the factory 10" drum spindle. Upside is they appear to use a commercial rotor (for a GM?) vs Wilwood's custom rotor which may prove hard or expensive to source later. Downside is they use a single pot slider caliper vs Wilwood's 4-piston. Though perhaps mixed since I recall Wilwood disclaims their caliper for a daily driver since it doesn't have dust shields.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top