Reasonably priced BIG BRAKE alternative that fits in a 15” wheel

[Hell ya A body]

I know this is likely the biggest kick in the teeth for anyone on a budget. My solution gives looks, function and fits in a 15” wheel as a bonus..
specs:
Wilwood D52 twin piston caliper, ya it’s GM based but hate later, it looks like nothing the general ever stuck on anything
Rotor: Chrysler Cordoba 12” rotor (11.75”) close enough lol
Spindle: Mopar disc brake
Steel plate: 3/8” thick

 

[Hell ya A body]

I know this is likely the biggest kick in the teeth for anyone on a budget. My solution gives looks, function and fits in a 15” wheel as a bonus..
specs:
Wilwood D52 twin piston caliper, ya it’s GM based but hate later, it looks like nothing anything the general ever stuck on anything
Rotor: Chrysler Cordoba 12” rotor (11.75”) close enough lol
Spindle: Mopar disc brake
Steel plate: 3/8” thick

View attachment 1716163957

View attachment 1716163958

View attachment 1716163959

Mock up
3/8” plate was cut and trimmed with a 4” cut off wheel and grinder, no fancy tools needed besides basic hand tools tape measure, drill and some patience.

 

[Hell ya A body]

You should be able to reuse your original hardware, but don’t cheap out on bolts if you’re buying, grade 8 or better.. but here’s the finalized design. The bonus of the 3/8 plate is that it provides enough material to drill and tap directly.

 

[Hell ya A body]

Bonus with this setup, reproduction backing plates clear and No suspension clearance issues!
Good luck guys if you use my idea, should be able to build for a reasonable amount of money and get over the counter parts like pads & rotors from your local parts supplier without getting hosed buying from one off aftermarket suppliers, complicating replacement parts

 

[blind bat]

Very nice! Kudos.

 

[MidnightSwinger]

Rad, good work!

 

[Inertia]

Great work.
I often do similar, but refuse to pay Wilwood prices.
You can prob move up to better/bigger calipers with those brackets.
Nice job .

 

[Hell ya A body]

The D52’s are pretty cheap, got them for $465CA ($337US) on Amazon of all places lol and it comes with pads. And it uses over the counter GM truck pads.

 

[qkcuda]

That is a great idea. The disc brake conversion I did on my cuda years ago was made by ESC, and utilized the stock 10 inch drum spindles and D52 GM calipers. I had often thought about trading out the stock calipers for those Wilwood units.

 

[Inertia]

.

 

[Hell ya A body]

How did you mount them and which spindle? I tried multiple integrated calipers and found caliper to spindle interference and offset issues even with the larger rotor. That’s why I went D52, because there’s no integrated hanging bolt mounts.

 

[Inertia]

We kept breaking spindles and losing the RF wheel, (roundy-round) so changed to a different mopar spindle, but had them on original spindles to start.
Was decades ago, but are my go-to caliper for fab .

 

[Hell ya A body]

Ok, what type of spindle? Disc or drum? And what did you use to mount it? Because looking at that caliper I see a whole host of mounting issues. This isn’t to be questioning what you built, but overly complicated mounting that the average guy can’t fabricate without a machine shop isn’t helpful in a backyard situation. a $25 GM truck caliper works with mine also with the benefit of a production 12” over the counter rotor. It’s not about fancy but cost effective and simplicity.

 

[Inertia]

Ok, what type of spindle? Disc or drum? And what did you use to mount it? Because looking at that caliper I see a whole host of mounting issues. This isn’t to be questioning what you built, but overly complicated mounting that the average guy can’t fabricate without a machine shop isn’t helpful in a backyard situation. a $25 GM truck caliper works with mine also with the benefit of a production 12” over the counter rotor. It’s not about fancy but cost effective and simplicity.

You made a fantastic conversion demonstrating lotsa craftsmanship and skill, that you shared, much respect.
I certainly meant no offense .
I built crap back in the 70s when you did what had to be done to win.
I did back then, - what you did now, used imagination and what was avail/affordable to get the job done. We thought we needed better brakes on our dart, made it so, - but started having the wheel/spindle leave too often.
I graduated to building late-model stocks, then super-modifieds using Camaro front clips and tubing.
I have never had to leave the Mopar family of products for brakes as all needed is made by Mopar, for my needs, - but my experience is available to all .
The full floating pistons avails the caliper to a solid mount .

 

[Hell ya A body]

Not meaning to insult, I’m always looking to help guys out in the game with affordable ideas, I’ve been building cars since the 80’s and it’s getting pretty expensive for a lot of good people to get in the game without overpaying or getting hosed, I’m not looking to sell anything just passing on to the others what makes hot rodding fun, mix and matching with simple tools. If people give me ideas I’m willing to look into it and pass on what I learn.I hate that this has become a game of the rich with their overpriced and many times overrated parts.

 

[slant six]

Nice work,
Do you have any drawings or CAD Files of the brackets to share? I can Help Make them into a CAD File with dimensions if you give me a full-size paper tracing of your brackets.

I am not sure if you want to share the intellectual property you have created or not.

Disclaimer: I am not interested in selling your brackets for profit or reproducing them for any other purpose other than my own personal use.

I could digitize the bracket to make it easier to share with others.

Is there a recommended type of metal or plate alloy that should be used?

Thank you for your parts sleuthing on this.

 

[Hell ya A body]

All hand made with simple tools, this was truly a back of a napkin job lol… I’ll post a to scale drawing when I get a chance. Good idea, people can print it off and trace it onto the plate. It’s just regular mild steel 3/8” thick 5x10” pieces. It’s plenty strong and easy to work with, drill & tap

 

[Hell ya A body]

Nice work,
Do you have any drawings or CAD Files of the brackets to share? I can Help Make them into a CAD File with dimensions if you give me a full-size paper tracing of your brackets.

I am not sure if you want to share the intellectual property you have created or not.

Disclaimer: I am not interested in selling your brackets for profit or reproducing them for any other purpose other than my own personal use.

I could digitize the bracket to make it easier to share with others.

Is there a recommended type of metal or plate alloy that should be used?

Thank you for your parts sleuthing on this.

Here’s the drawing, hope you can work with this

 

[Inertia]

Not meaning to insult, I’m always looking to help guys out in the game with affordable ideas, I’ve been building cars since the 80’s and it’s getting pretty expensive for a lot of good people to get in the game without overpaying or getting hosed, I’m not looking to sell anything just passing on to the others what makes hot rodding fun, mix and matching with simple tools. If people give me ideas I’m willing to look into it and pass on what I learn.I hate that this has become a game of the rich with their overpriced and many times overrated parts.

I usually had a tight budget, racer's always do, and again kudos for the info.
I kinda build bigger brakes for whatever rules, tire restrictions, space etc, lotta open wheel etc.
But you got me curious, cuz I never needed bigger that the Mopar big slider.
Pls bear with me, did you get down to a spindle and hub assembly that you could mount a "hat" over, like a drum hub, then consider an offset rotors to move caliper inboard, if that were somehow possible. Perhaps machine a rotor down to a "hub" ?
Just musing here, and maybe planting a seed.
I once used a hat with 4" offset . (Not for Mopar)
Spitballing here . lol

disc brake rotors images - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

www.bing.com

 

[360notch]

I know this is likely the biggest kick in the teeth for anyone on a budget. My solution gives looks, function and fits in a 15” wheel as a bonus..
specs:
Wilwood D52 twin piston caliper, ya it’s GM based but hate later, it looks like nothing the general ever stuck on anything
Rotor: Chrysler Cordoba 12” rotor (11.75”) close enough lol
Spindle: Mopar disc brake
Steel plate: 3/8” thick

View attachment 1716163957

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I apologize if I missed it, but did you reply to the questions about which Mopar knuckle you used? Also, where did you source them?

 

[Hell ya A body]

I apologize if I missed it, but did you reply to the questions about which Mopar knuckle you used? Also, where did you source th Disc brake knuckle

Disc brake knuckle, needed to convert a drum set up so I bought it off eBay, was looking for something better looking than the crappy oem single piston caliper that didn’t break the bank and get me stuck with one off parts from the aftermarket.

 

[clementine]

I love this kind of stuff.

 

[Dave999]

those sumitomo calipers that "inertia" Posted off the hilux and lancruiser bolt on more or less without a bracket if you use small rotors
they are a favorite upgrade caliper for the datsun/nissan 240 280 z people

They use a 3.5 inch bolt mounting spacing
like many Wilwood, one of their calipers is nearly an aluminium clone of this caliper
like mopar bracket based calipers , like Austin, like jaguar xj

details here disk equipped 14 inch 15 inch wheel A body update to 4 pot calipers
landcruiser caliper upgrade - Mopar Muscle Association UK

and here
using a bracket to cater for bigger rotors
Anton's 68 Charger - 2012 Update - Page 7 - Mopar Muscle Association UK

 

[360notch]

Disc brake knuckle, needed to convert a drum set up so I bought it off eBay, was looking for something better looking than the crappy oem single piston caliper that didn’t break the bank and get me stuck with one off parts from the aftermarket.

Thanks. Do you happen to know what years those disc brake knuckles fit?

 

[Hell ya A body]

Thanks. Do you happen to know what years those disc brake knuckles fit?

It works with the 73-76 upper control arm, it’s going on my 1973 scamp.