Whick brake upgrade?

[bmcecosse]

I suppose if doing big/daily mileage it makes sense. I don't get any wear on my big W brakes - so effectively they are 'self adjusting' - they don't need any! At least - not between pre MOT checks when I pull the drums anyway. And I found that TR7 (late model with 9" rear brakes) rear brake shoes are very very similar - so a good supply of cheap shoes is readily available. I think most folks find a servo is necessary with the discs -and a remote reservoir. And frankly the idea of fiddling with master cylinder seals makes my blood run cold. I would have to buy a NEW master cylinder that had already been modified........ And of course - it's a LOT more expensive to fit discs......... the sale of these redundant 9" W brakes will be interesting!!

[tysonn]

Put me top in the list for those Wolseley brakes!

[tysonn]

Just a thought for linearaudio.If you do upgrade to disks and are going to fit a servo I have a brand new one that came with my car.I am going to upgrade the drum brakes so wont be needing it.

[gatsby989]

My mog has the original 7" drums on front. I was thinking of upgrading to the 8" drums. But am I correct in that I would have to swap out the master cylinder for the smaller 11/16" MC? Also, I can't seem to find any of the adjusting snails for the 8" brakes, which I understand are a bit bigger than the ones for the 7". I got some second hand, but they are so worn I don't want to use them.

Edit to fix mix up in MC size.

[IslipMinor]

With the change from 7" to 8" front brakes, Morris made three changes at the same time to increase braking efficiency and reduce pedal effort.

The drums were increased to 8" diameter and used the same sized front cylinders (15/16" dia)
The rear cylinders were reduced from 7/8" to 3/4" dia
The master cylinder bore was reduced from 7/8" to 13/16" dia

The effect was to reduce the pedal pressure required for 1g braking from 143lb down to 119lb and the front/rear brake balance from 63%F/37%R to 74%F/26%R. The 7" set up needs a very high pedal pressure and also is horribly overbraked at the rear - hence the fundamental changes with the 1098 engined cars.

If your master cylinder hasn't been changed in the last 10 years, or is of unknown parentage/history it would be worth changing that at the same time to the smaller bore (13/16"), along with the rear cylinders as well to the later, 3/4" diameter ones. And of course at least new seals in the front cylinders and new hoses all round!!

Bleeding them is usally a bit of a pain, so the more work done at the same time the better.

[Beardyjon]

in my honest opinon its really down to personal taste, looks, wheels, and whats around at the time! So for me on the wifes car its stock 7" setup. its not faded yet (yes i have tried and got close and smelly but not done it yet) the pedal pressure on this setup is fine stiff but not too heavy and works... i can lock all 4 wheels if i wish in the dry on tarmac so the rest is down to useability!!
to me you start with the weak link in this case (with 145R14 tyres) its traction. fade is something which is scary but rare in normal driving and you have to be doing something fairly major to get it!
however my project which has larger tyres and wheels will get disks vented front and solid rear. partly due to costs (disk setups are cheap when compared with buying an entire drum setup and its a ford axle!). with no servo (not a minor pedal box though) this will work fine as the bias can be adjusted and the parts readyily available and consistant (unlike the drum options). and mostly due to looks!! disks look better through open alloys than drums IMO!

i do though laugh at how the minor comunity seem to hold brake servos in such high regard, having spent most of my rallying days ripping them out to get better "feel"!!

jon

[bmcecosse]

Agree with the servo comment - even more popular than 'vaccum guages'

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Morris cars generally had good brakes, it was Herbert Austin who said 'good brakes make bad drivers', a thought which seems to have predominated amongst Austin's brake designers right through to the 1970s, servo or no servo.

[MarkyB]

Mr Austin must be rotating in his grave at quite a rate now then.
I'd be surprised to find a modern car that didn't have ABS, let alone a servo!

[bmcecosse]

And grippy tyres.......By far the limiting factor for my Trav is the miniscule tyre grip to the road - especially when wet........

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

But the thing with the Minor is that skids can be corrected quickly and easily. It doesn't leave you in a fluster, even on crossplies which I have had some instances with (on an empty car park of course).

[les]

Mr Austin must be rotating in his grave at quite a rate now then.
I'd be surprised to find a modern car that didn't have ABS, let alone a servo!

He may have been right then. Perhaps that's why there are so many bad drivers!