front brake disc conversion

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moggymate
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front brake disc conversion

Post by moggymate »

hi there to all
I have been told that escort mk3 xr3i front disc's and caliper's will they fit the front of the minor

if this is correct is there any spacer's backing plates etc that are required and also were to purchase from
only I no some were. were there is 3 in three in a yard
and is it a easy job to do

I have all the gear and no idea :lol: I even bought a sealey maxi mig 195 :D yes there fun aint they

regards
Darren



MORRIS MINOR 1957 948cc 4 DOOR BLACK
bmcecosse
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by bmcecosse »

If your car is a 948 -your best upgrade will be to the later 8" drum brakes. Much better - and perfectly adequate for any sane road use with a 948! Disc conversions do not 'bolt on' - budget for ~ £800/1000 to do the job properly. But you don't need discs for a humble 948.......
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aupickup
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by aupickup »

the best upgrade i did on a van was indeed disc brakes
sorry roy :oops: :oops:
bmcecosse
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by bmcecosse »

No need to be sorry Denis! If the OP has the cash to spend - but from the tone of the posting....I rather doubt it.... hence I suggest the 'economic' solution for better braking! Of course - it's a while since I mentioned the MUCH better 9" drum conversion from a Wolseley 1500... Now that IS 'bolt on' and gives VERY adequate braking - even for 'insane' use of a Minor! :D
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rayofleamington
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by rayofleamington »

There ares some budget methods for DIY disk conversion, but to be honest you need to know what you're doing before playing with brakes.
Bigger front drums - much better than small ones! (948 were 7", Minor 1098 were 8", Wolseley/Riley 1500 were 9"..)

with 9" front drums, you can lock the wheels in many cases, so by comparison disks would only give a small advantage on a standard car. However disks are much less prone to fade and done need adjusting for wear, but should have extra reservoir capacity added to offset the lack of adjustment.

A well engineered adaptor kit is a good investment if you want a "bolt on" disk conversion.
For a real DIY solution, some were using polo donor parts and a mounting kit made from flat steel plate. Using disks with wrong PCD that still fitted over the Minor studs isn't a good solution IMHO, but someone did suggest that!
Ray. MMOC#47368. Forum moderator.

Jan 06: The Minor SII Africa adventure: http://www.minor-detour.com
Oct 06: back from Dresden with my Trabant 601 Kombi
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Sept 2010 - finally gave up breaking down in a SII Landy...
where to break down next?
2013... managed to seize my 1275 just by driving it round the block :(
alexmcguffie
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by alexmcguffie »

Darren,

Fitting discs isn't to complicated if you know what you're doing.

JLH sell kits based on XR3 parts, they may sell you the bits you can't find yourself seperately. I wouldn't use second hand discs and pads though. If you do need the discs drilling to suit 4" PCD have it done by a good machine shop with a rotationg table on a milling machine. Don't do it yourself with a drill as it needs to be accurate.
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bmcecosse
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by bmcecosse »

Even 7" drums will lock the front wheels at 30 mph or so....just ask my Driving Test examiner.....although it was 50 years ago now so he may not be around....... Remember if doing a DIY disc conversion - to remove the master cylinder and take the 'top hat' seal out.... Not a simple job in itself. You may then find the brakes are too heavy - causing the rears to lock before the fronts do anything worthwhile.. and you may decide you need a servo - and probably a pressure limiting valve to the rear brakes...and as Ray mentions -a remote reservoir to make sure you don't run short of fluid. My 9" drums get 'nipped up' once a year before the MOT test. Often they won't take even one click.
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tysonn
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Re: front brake disc conversion

Post by tysonn »

Must agree with Roy about the Wolseley brakes.They stop my 1275 superbly!
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