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disk brake conversion recommendation

J

Jamesjames

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hello all! new guy here,

I have a 66 charger with a 440 big block in it. Right now it has the original four wheel drums. Who would y'all recommend for a four wheel disk brake conversion? I see a lot of options, but i don't know who to go with! thanks for the help and i look forward to getting to know you all.
 
Hey there,
Maybe check out the PST brake kits. They are a sponsor of this site.
Also, there are lots of Mopar guys and gals that would recommend Dr Diff/AKA Cass Eslick. He is a supplier of many brake-axle-gear components.
 
I bought a PST kit and it was very good. Leed Brakes are the supplier they use - easy instructions and great customer service.
Dr Diff is also highly recommended by most on here.
 
I did the Leed brake conversion kit. Pretty nice. Doesn’t go into a ‘64 the same as the later years but still worked. In a ‘66 it should be really smooth. Stops my Sport Fury appropriately so it’s not scary. Those drums sucked.

However you do it you should make sure you know what the components you’re using are really for. All these kits stuff the brakes from some other car onto yours. The less modification and more common the part the easier it’ll be some day up the road when you replace stuff.

Leeds uses ‘67 Mustang brakes with only a slight alteration (spacer) inside the rotor. Others use early ‘70’s LTD brakes. Many more flavors beyond that. I figure Mustang parts should always be pretty plentiful.

Be careful on the rears. Those ball bearings have a much shorter lifetime than the factory rollers. If you’re not going nuts on the street there’s little need.
 
I went with Dr. Diff. He'll help you through all the little nuances like: which MC you need for power vs. manual... disc/disc vs. disc/drum; which distribution block, etc. Cass has great customer service too; he'll answer any questions or help solve any in-process problems you may have. I haven't dealt with the other companies; they're probably pretty good too.
 
Doctor Diif.
And get the larger " Cordoba" disc from him.
It makes a big difference.
This does necessitate 15 inch rims.
14 will not clear.
 
Thank you! so would you reccomend that I only convert the front to disk brakes?
Jamesjames said:
hello all! new guy here,

I have a 66 charger with a 440 big block in it. Right now it has the original four wheel drums. Who would y'all recommend for a four wheel disk brake conversion? I see a lot of options, but i don't know who to go with! thanks for the help and i look forward to getting to know you all.
Click to expand...
Nate S said:
I did the Leed brake conversion kit. Pretty nice. Doesn’t go into a ‘64 the same as the later years but still worked. In a ‘66 it should be really smooth. Stops my Sport Fury appropriately so it’s not scary. Those drums sucked.

However you do it you should make sure you know what the components you’re using are really for. All these kits stuff the brakes from some other car onto yours. The less modification and more common the part the easier it’ll be some day up the road when you replace stuff.

Leeds uses ‘67 Mustang brakes with only a slight alteration (spacer) inside the rotor. Others use early ‘70’s LTD brakes. Many more flavors beyond that. I figure Mustang parts should always be pretty plentiful.

Be careful on the rears. Those ball bearings have a much shorter lifetime than the factory rollers. If you’re not going nuts on the street there’s little need.
Click to expand...
 
You will find that a front disc, rear drum setup works quite well.
New cars embraced the rear discs as a means to save weight.
 
That article is helpful but the author is as stubborn as an ex wife.
The assertion that the later "B" knuckle/spindle is to be avoided is junk science. He sticks by the opinion like a biased politician. The later B knuckle/spindle is fine to use and Rick Ehrenberg's opinion had been proven wrong by several sources. I've used both and have found both to be completely fine to use.
 
Yeah, I’d only do the fronts if this will be regular usage where you just want to stop better. 4 wheel disc on new cars isn’t a bad idea where the wheel bearings were designed for it and often the level of expected performance is high.

I believe all the rear disc options for the old mopars involve the “green” bearings. Replacing a roller bearing with a ball bearing in order to eliminate hub/axle drift. It works pretty well but the bearings have a notably shorter life. Question ends up being, “how hard are you really driving this?”
 
Kern Dog said:
That article is helpful but the author is as stubborn as an ex wife.
The assertion that the later "B" knuckle/spindle is to be avoided is junk science. He sticks by the opinion like a biased politician. The later B knuckle/spindle is fine to use and Rick Ehrenberg's opinion had been proven wrong by several sources. I've used both and have found both to be completely fine to use.
Click to expand...
Mancini is currently selling the "correct" stock height spindles and caliper brackets for $168 a pair
 
pushrod said:
I used the kit from Pirate Jack.
Fits under 14" wheels, easy install.
Click to expand...
Easy? They must have sent you a completely different kit.
Pirate jacks instructions ... a total joke

I was missing about half the bolts and nuts, e brake lines were wrong, I had to rig up a custom spacer and use the shortest booster arm to barely get appropriate pedal spacing

proportioner valve genuinely doesn’t fit with their connector lines

their bracket design is terrible.... the rear should have been a pre assembled piece that bolts to the differential plate not 3/4 plates with an army of random nuts and bolts, rotors seem ok

I opted for the black finish... terrible. The “finish” looks like a retarded monkey hungover gave it a go.

of the included bolts many were ... sub par quality, round off easy or simply snap. Included clips snapped for the rubber lines... I mean they only included 1 of the 4 needed so why wouldn’t it break.

did I mention the direction are honestly all but worthless?

installing brakes isn’t overly complicated and I did get it installed. Thank god I didn’t need directions as well again their booklets are worthless.

Did I mention it was missing honestly about half the nuts and bolts?
 
Last edited:
Mine was a front end kit and everything worked for me. I did not do the rear brakes. I did have the problem with the mc rod being to long. Had to rethread and shorten.
 
pushrod said:
Mine was a front end kit and everything worked for me. I did not do the rear brakes. I did have the problem with the mc rod being to long. Had to rethread and shorten.
Click to expand...
The front portion of their kit did go on a lot smoother. I had to cut most of the threaded post off and use 3/4 spacer or cut the connector bolt. How did you get the proportioner valve to work bolted to the master? I bought their “willwood” style master and the valve assembly is all but touching the inner fender. Cause the lines to have to have extreme bends in them. I removed it and bought another valve so I wouldn’t have a nightmare of a time bleeding it.
 
PAPA_E said:
Pirate jacks instructions ... a total joke

I was missing about half the bolts and nuts, e brake lines were wrong, I had to rig up a custom spacer and use the shortest booster arm to barely get appropriate pedal spacing
proportioner valve genuinely doesn’t fit with their connector lines their bracket design is terrible.... the rear should have been a pre assembled piece that bolts to the differential plate not 3/4 plates with an army of random nuts and bolts, rotors seem ok I opted for the black finish... terrible. The “finish” looks like a retarded monkey hungover gave it a go of the included bolts many were ... sub par quality, round off easy or simply snap. Included clips snapped for the rubber lines... I mean they only included 1 of the 4 needed so why wouldn’t it break.

did I mention the direction are honestly all but worthless?

installing brakes isn’t overly complicated and I did get it installed. Thank god I didn’t need directions as well again their booklets are worthless.

Did I mention it was missing honestly about half the nuts and bolts?
Click to expand...

But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
 
Charger Dana said:
But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Click to expand...

so the brakes stop, and I’m still toying around with the settings to see if I can make it better. It’s nothing to write home about buuuut the car does stop when I want it too.

I suppose I expected a lot more and am already eyeing going to a willwood set up in the next year or two
 
PAPA_E said:
so the brakes stop, and I’m still toying around with the settings to see if I can make it better. It’s nothing to write home about buuuut the car does stop when I want it too.
Click to expand...
I was just kidding- on a serious note you provided good information though, it’s hard and expensive to leap into purchases so sharing experiences here is valuable.

I used the disk-o-tech article and 73 cuda spindles, NOS rotors, there was some grumbling and a few hoses purchased, but it’s awesome on my 67 Charger. Not crazy expensive, all well engineered Chrysler parts, drives wonderfully. I think the f-body solution is even better- larger, still accessible parts, likely even more affordable.
 
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