Advice please on brake upgrade

[Longdog]

You dont need a servo with discs.I run a highly modified car which had the "best brake upgrade" ie Wolseley drums.Now I have the Ford based kit and the braking is much better.Only somebody who has tried both can give an accurate appraisal.

[M25VAN]

£299 plus vat...thats £360 plus fitting at £180 as quoted by mechanic...not far off that £600 unless you can fit it yourself

Sorry Morrisbetsy, I didn't fully read your original post. Maybe find out what it would cost to get the Wolseley setup fitted.
You will then have a better informed choice between going with discs now or waiting for a
Wolseley or Marina setup to come up on Ebay or for sale here.

From memory, I swapped to discs because I drove through a Ford and filled up the drums with water and got a big fright when I tried to use the brakes.

[Alex'n'Ane]

From memory, I swapped to discs because I drove through a Ford and filled up the drums with water and got a big fright when I tried to use the brakes.

When i drove through a ford i got a mini water feature right in the middle of the car, from around the gearstick

[ASL642]

What a plonker!

[bmcecosse]

Longdog - I agree - a 'highly modified' car IS going to be wanting decent discs. I've never suggested otherwise - except perhaps in a very 'tongue-in-cheek' fashion! The W conversion is an excellent upgrade for the standard car - and for moderate power increases - including a 1275 engine in standard form, driven sensibly on the highway. But once an owner starts to go 'highly modified' - he/she obviously intends to do some pretty serious hard driving!

[Obtuse]

"for moderate power increases - including a 1275 engine in standard form, driven sensibly" - You have personal experience of a 1275 Minor, I take it, or is this a 'mate down the pub/friend of a friend type opinion?

[bmcecosse]

A standard 1275 engine is nothing special - not that much more than a 1098, and often dulled down by fitting a lower (numerically) final drive. So yes - I do know that the W brakes can easily cope with a sensibly driven 1275 Minor. After all - they came from a rather heavier and more powerful car in the first place!

[M25VAN]

From memory, I swapped to discs because I drove through a Ford and filled up the drums with water and got a big fright when I tried to use the brakes.

When i drove through a ford i got a mini water feature right in the middle of the car, from around the gearstick

Like it!
I get a similar thing with a missing steering rack grommet on the passenger side. No carpets, so there is a nice incoming jet for every big puddle. Gets 'em every time

[minor_hickup]

"for moderate power increases - including a 1275 engine in standard form, driven sensibly" - You have personal experience of a 1275 Minor, I take it, or is this a 'mate down the pub/friend of a friend type opinion?

My minor with a 1300 Ital engine (HS6, mg metro head, LCB) is fine with standard 8" drums. 9" drums would be ideal, but 8" are fine as long as the car is driven sympathetically and the brakes are not allowed to over heat, which I've always found is much harder than people make out on a healthy braking system.

[bmcecosse]

Sounds like a good Ital engine! And I agree - 8" drums are much maligned - but with good linings (and that may be the difficult part these days) they are fine for even moderate hard driving.

[Biggles1957]

Mines a standard 1098 traveller and I've just fitted Wolsely brakes - absolutely brilliant! Very easy to fit and they work brilliantly! Smooth and progressive, less pedal effort than the originals and no grabbing etc. I think they are brilliant!!

[bmcecosse]

Well done ! Maybe we should form a Wolseley Brake Branch.........

[minor_hickup]

Twas a very good Ital engine indeed, the best standard 1275 I've ever had until it was massively over heated on the auto bahn thanks to a stuck thermostat and a que of traffic! Still at least it gave me the push to pull it out and build it properly, should be at 1330cc next week!

[dellerie]

its really all down to the brake linings these days. if you can get hold of original asbestos linings, that makes alot of difference. these modern linings are rubbish

[bmcecosse]

Absolutely right unfortunately - although some modern linings seem to be ok. You probably gets what you pays for........