upgrading from 7" to 8" brakes

[Old Nick]

I have a 61 948 cc 2 door with a 1098 engine fitted,and at the momment i am stripping the front suspension down to replace the kingpins etc etc,
I was wondering if this might be a good time to upgrade from 7" too 8" front brakes ?Is this worth the expense and more importantly is the braking that much more improved ? and is it just the back plate and drums i replace ? or do the wheel cylinders have to be changed ?
Has any one else done this ? your thoughts would be appreciated !

[bmcecosse]

Yes - that will be WELL worth doing. Pretty much everything needs changing - same wheel cylinders - everything else larger. Can probably buy a complete set from someone who has upgraded to the excellent larger 9" Wolseley brakes - or discs .

[kennatt]

you need shoes,drums,backplates and the larger snail adjusters Massive improvement over7s

[Old Nick]

Thanks for your prompt replies,I have on your recomendation bmceccose put my trust in you and purchased said worsley brakes,Are the spares available for the brake cylinders/shoes ok and where are said parts available from ?any info as always appreciated !

[bmcecosse]

Cylinder repair kits are available - always on ebay. Cylinders are quite hard to find - and tend to be a bit expensive. If yours are useable - do so. It's relatively easy to change them for standard Minor cylinders - although initially I found the brake pedal too light with the Minor cylinders, but a change of shoes to 'old stock' has put this right. Shoes - maybe 'earlpart' could do them - I have a couple of sets to keep me going (will be for 100 years - because the wear with these brakes is negligible!) - and I bought (very cheaply) some 9" rear shoes for my TR7 - and behold - they are almost the same - just lacking the little groove for the adjuster, which will be easy to make with a file if I need to use them on my Minor!
You will notice a HUGE difference going from 7" drums to W 9" drums! Fasten your seatbelt before trying the new brakes - to save you going through the screen!!

[Old Nick]

Hmmmm Seat Belts, dont have them !, Now there's an expense i did not reckon on when costing upgrading to better brakes !

[bmcecosse]

Have to say - seatbelts really ARE a very good idea on any car. Just hang on tight meantime !