How to move calipers to the rear of spindle?

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pettybludart

pettybludart

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I have the frontend ripped apart on my 66 Dart.While it,s apart,I was wondering how guys change their calipers from the front to the back?I have 73 disc brake setup,can this be done and how?Thanks.
 
You have to swap the spindles from side to side. I have them to the rear on my 66, done by accident when I installed the spindles but it don't really matter, just harder to bleed the brakes cause the angle of the bleeder is off.
 
66340SEDAN said:
You have to swap the spindles from side to side. I have them to the rear on my 66, done by accident when I installed the spindles but it don't really matter, just harder to bleed the brakes cause the angle of the bleeder is off.
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Bingo! Other than the position of the caliper, swapping the spindles side to side doesn't change anything. The bleeder does end up in a less useful place, and you'll have to keep an eye on your brake line routing to make sure your lines are long enough and don't hang up on anything.
 
You will need different brake hoses too, I used some from a Volare/Aspen cause they are longer
 
66340SEDAN said:
You have to swap the spindles from side to side. I have them to the rear on my 66, done by accident when I installed the spindles but it don't really matter, just harder to bleed the brakes cause the angle of the bleeder is off.
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You have to swap the calipers side to side too to keep the bleeders at the top of the caliper so you can bleed them properly.
 
Move the spindle rotor and calipers. The ball joints and control arms stay where they are.
 
To do the job correctly you need to use calipers that are designed to be rear hung. The later model FMJ cars came with rear hung calipers and a rear mounted hard line so that is the setup that you want to copy.
 
AndyF said:
To do the job correctly you need to use calipers that are designed to be rear hung. The later model FMJ cars came with rear hung calipers and a rear mounted hard line so that is the setup that you want to copy.
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The front mounted caliper on an A-body is the same part as the rear mounted caliper on an F body. Just the right and left part numbers are switched; that is the part number listed for an A-body right is a F-body left.

When you switch the spindle & caliper side to side to rear hang them you do want to use the F body flexable brake lines so you have the correct length. From a functional standpoint the caliper doesn't know or care if its front, back, top or bottom, it works the same: may be some impact on the action of the suspension but that's a different discussion.
 
dgc333 said:
The front mounted caliper on an A-body is the same part as the rear mounted caliper on an F body. Just the right and left part numbers are switched; that is the part number listed for an A-body right is a F-body left.

When you switch the spindle & caliper side to side to rear hang them you do want to use the F body flexable brake lines so you have the correct length. From a functional standpoint the caliper doesn't know or care if its front, back, top or bottom, it works the same: may be some impact on the action of the suspension but that's a different discussion.
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No they aren't. Mopar engineers designed different calipers for the rear hung applications. The hose routing is different on the rear hung calipers. These swaps work better when you use the correct parts.
 
AndyF said:
No they aren't. Mopar engineers designed different calipers for the rear hung applications. The hose routing is different on the rear hung calipers. These swaps work better when you use the correct parts.
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Agreed the hose routing is different but the hose is not part of the caliper and I had recomended the use of Aspen hoses when swapping the calipers side to side.

I do stand corrected that the A-body anb F-body calipers are different, F-body calipers are listed for both front and rear hung applications on opposite sides. The F-body has a slightly larger piston (2.75 vs 2.6) which would provide for addtional stopping power in the heavier F-body and would be a good choice whether you are front or rear mounting them on an A-body.

I've been an engineer for 30+ years and there is no design consideration other than the bleeder postion for how the brakes work based on the position around the spindle (front, back, top, bottom) they are placed.
 
Challenger said:
when switching cailpers to the rear what brake hoses work best
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There aren't any stock hoses that work very well for the rear hung calipers. But that isn't really a problem, just buy a set of braided hoses or have a local shop build you a set of hoses that are the correct length and have the proper fittings on each end.

If you use the FMJ rear hung calipers then the hose routing is easy because the fitting comes off the back side. A body calipers have the fitting pointed forward which makes for really akward hose routing.

Like I said before, using the correct parts makes the job a lot easier. For some reason a lot of people make this harder than it needs to be. At almost any Mopar show I go to there are a bunch of cars with hacked up brake jobs. I've seen a bunch of cars with brake hoses that loop up in the air or around the caliper. It is fairly common to see calipers that can't be bled because the bleeder valve isn't at the top.
 
AndyF said:
For some reason a lot of people make this harder than it needs to be.
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And you are being one of them.

Here is an A-Body Left Caliper.

LeftfrontA-body.jpg


Here is a F-Body Right Caliper.

F-bodyRightFront.jpg


The bleeders and connection for the brake line are in exactly the same position. So, please tell me how swapping the left side A-body caliper to the right side when swapping spindles for rear hanging is any different than using an F-body caliper?

Now that you have the brake caliper rear hung you need to us F-body brake hoses. The steel tube on the A-body hose is longer (it passes from the front of the spindle to the rear before connecting to the frame) than the F-body. If you use A-body hoses on the rear hung the hose will kink at the steel tube to rubber hose joint when the wheels are turned to full to the stops.
 
The difference is in how the square end block and steel tube route away from the calipers.
 
The tab on the caliper that keeps the block on the hose from rotating when the banjo bolt is tightened is in the same position on both calipers so if you swap an A-body caliper from the left to the right to rear hang it and use an F-body hose it is going to come off the caliper the same as in an F-body application.
 
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