Disc Brake Question

[71Demon340]

I bought all the stuff from an E-body (UCA, spindles, knuckles, sliding calipers, etc) to put on the front of my 71 A-body. Probably a dumb question, but do the calipers go to the front or the rear of the wheedl. I've already got everything assembled, with the calipers to the rear, and seems like the hoses are too long and in an awkward location. Tried referencing my manual, but I don't even know what "car line" the Demon is (P, C, Y, V, L, ?). Some pics show calipers to the front and some to the rear. I took the original Kelsey Hayes calipers off so long ago, I can't even remember what their location was. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

The E-Body calipers are mounted to the rear of the spindle on my Demon.

The Demon/Dart is considered an "L" in the Mopar catalogs.

 

[71Demon340]

Thanks. Any problem with your hoses? Mine attach near the top of the caliper, then kind of loop down and back up where they attach to the hard lines. The loop seems like it might rub against the caliper, frame rail, and possibly the wheel. Just don't want to go rubbing holes in them!

 

[moparsegura]

I didn't know you could use E stuff on an A-body??? how well does it work and bolt up?

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Hmmm, gonna make me think about the conversion which was done quite awhile ago :scratch:

I remember using the single piston calipers, spindles, and rotors for sure.

71Demon340, If you need pix of the brake hose routings I can take them for you.

 

[autoxcuda]

I didn't know you could use E stuff on an A-body??? how well does it work and bolt up?

For a 73-76 A-body disk brake swap many of the wear items are common between an A and 73-74 E-body.

Upper ball joint (62-72 B/E body also)
Lower ball joints
lower control arm bushings (62-72 B/E body also)
upper control arm bushings (62-72 B/E body also)
strut rod bushings (62-72 B/E body also)
disk brake spindles
disk brake rotors
bearings
caliper adapters (70-72 B/E body also with corresponding pin calipers)
calipers


These parts DO NOT INTERCHANGE like:
Upper Control Arms -different length and width between upper bushing
Lower Control Arms -different length
Sway Bars -different width and different shape thought K-member
Strut Rods -different length; shoves the wheel back so you can't align it and the wheelbase will be different one side to the next.
idler arm -puts the centerlink at an angle and tweaks the idler bearings

BTW, found most of that stuff out first hand by trial and error!

 

[72bluNblu]

Actually, the stock E-body calipers should be to the front of the rotor! At least they are on the E-body's. Rear mounted calipers are more efficient, so that's where most of the aftermarket calipers are mounted. I can't see a reason why they won't work mounted to the rear, other than the brake line issue. They'd basically just be swapped side to side. You might have to go with a aftermarket line to make it work properly though.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Great info there autoxcuda :cheers:

Just want to mention that my swap was a 72 Demon SBP Kelsey Hayes disc brake setup to the E-Body LBP single piston calipers.

 

[autoxcuda]

Thanks. Any problem with your hoses? Mine attach near the top of the caliper, then kind of loop down and back up where they attach to the hard lines. The loop seems like it might rub against the caliper, frame rail, and possibly the wheel. Just don't want to go rubbing holes in them!

This setup has over 30K miles on it.

Better detail but too big to post here:
http://www.cpwclub.com/steve/auto/dart/oilpan/DSCN0009.JPG

Another view.

 

[autoxcuda]

Actually, the stock E-body calipers should be to the front of the rotor! At least they are on the E-body's. Rear mounted calipers are more efficient, so that's where most of the aftermarket calipers are mounted. I can't see a reason why they won't work mounted to the rear, other than the brake line issue. They'd basically just be swapped side to side. You might have to go with a aftermarket line to make it work properly though.

Has anyone proven the rear vs front disk as being more efficient? I thought it was mostly done for brake duct routing and to avoid sway bar interference.

To run the disks in the rear you need to swap the spindles side to side. Always make sure the caliper brake bleeder is on top of the caliper when installed. If it's not, you need to swap it to the other side.

 

[mattsmopars]

Have a friend that did a LBP disc swap on his 72 duster and he put the caliper to the rear. I think he just put the LH spindle on the RH side and the RH spindle on the Lh side to do this. He also sent with the 11.87" rotors.
Matt

 

[AndyF]

Calipers can go to either the front or the rear. Only difference is hose routing and maybe some interference with the anti-sway bar depending on what year and model you're messing with. No change in performance. Not sure what efficiency is but whatever it is it doesn't change either.

There are some calipers that can't be rear hung due to their design. Best ones to rear hang are the ones that are designed to be rear hung such as the late model FMJ units.

It is easy to get custom hoses built so don't bother trying to use some dumb looking factory hose that loops all over the place. Just measure out what you need and go to a place that can build custom brake hoses for you. Lots of shops have the ability these days.

 

[71Demon340]

Hmmm, gonna make me think about the conversion which was done quite awhile ago :scratch:

I remember using the single piston calipers, spindles, and rotors for sure.

71Demon340, If you need pix of the brake hose routings I can take them for you.

I'd like to see some pics of your set-up if you have the time to take them.

Thanks for all the comments guys.

Now that I think about it I bought the UCA's from Ebay for a 73+ A-body. The Ebay brake kit I ordered was for an E-body and came with spindles, calipers, pads, rotors, adapters, etc. I had to order the steering arms/knuckles from Autozone for an E-body. I think my OEM spindles were tapped for the steering arm attachment, but the new E-body spindles were not, so I had to use bolts and nuts to attached the arms on the new setup. Everything seems to fit nicely, except for the hoses. Won't be able to comment on performance until I get the car running.

 

[2 Darts]

Has anyone proven the rear vs front disk as being more efficient? I thought it was mostly done for brake duct routing

Have not seen any tests on the efficiency issue. I agree on the duct routing issue, specifically to cool the caliper and pads. Back in the day when we went to disks on a roundy-round car, we preferred to mount the caliper forward to get an air duct to it without having to go through the engine compartment.

Noted from the Bentley Continental Speed and an AMG SL65 in the garage at work, the front calipers are mounted low and to the rear. This seems to expose at least part of the caliper to the air stream under the car. Both cars have a little flap underneath that looks like it would direct air to the caliper.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

The E-Body calipers are mounted to the rear of the spindle on my Demon.

My mistake, duh.........the calipers are mounted on the front of the spindle.

I'd like to see some pics of your set-up if you have the time to take them.

Here is the drivers side






And the passenger side hose routing