Popular Myths

Spent Tuesday getting Hester ('66 V200 4 door) swapped over to disc brakes on the front. Got everything except the calipers off a '75 Duster in Missoula, MT (ebag). Poor girl was on the rack for 10 hours, but she now has brakes, all new brake lines, new ball joints and control arm bushings, a 4 wheel alignment, and new tires on 14X5.5 wheels from another '75 Duster in Chicago, IL (ditto). Got all this done for $400 in labor and the parts I have been accumulating. The wife is pissed and thinks I got ripped off. I guess it hasn't sunk in yet that I can't do stuff like that anymore. Now, on to the myths:

Calipers should be mounted to the rear, and A body brake hoses are too short.
My calipers are mounted to the front because that is the way God and Ma Mopar intended it to be. Also used '75 Duster brake hoses (gotta tell the counter guy something). At full lock there was a sharp bend where the hose meets the metal line to the caliper and the hose was tight. Put the hose in a vise, slipped a piece of pipe over it, and put a slight bend (around 30 degrees) in the end of the metal line, away from the spindle. At full lock the sharp bend is gone and the hose is straight but there is still a little slack.

Used a small bore master cylinder ('74 Charger) and love the brakes. My pedal travels roughly 1/4 of the way to the floor and stops. The neat part is that I have braking from the time I touch the brake pedal until I take my foot off the pedal. It doesn't feel like I am pressing on a rock harder and harder to stop, just a nice easy progression to lock up. Hester will stop on a dime and give you 7 cents change. I'm a happy man.
Author: admin