Morris Minor Owners Club

just wondering about disc brake conversions?

There have been lots of threads on this subject. If you click on the "search" link at the top of this page and enter "disc brakes" you'll be able to trawl through them all.

Thankyou Louise!

It's quite a 'touchy' subject - as you will see!

My father has an obsession with them, I kinda just want to keep them as they are, but he thinks she needs him to fit his brand new brakes =/

Carry on - if you knows what he is doing. There is quite a bit to it as you will see if you read the threads.

trust me you need them. as you probily know i have mine on the way should get them by friday from esm for 350 pound but i also have a brake survo. i think drum brakes arnt really safe for a 17 year old to have haha,

I'm Keeping out of it
Welcome to the forum, Chelsea!

hotrodder13 wrote:i think drum brakes arnt really safe for a 17 year old to have haha,

The moggy was my first car after I passed my test and I think having drum brakes has made me a better driver. Compared to my mates my age who drive I am much more aware of what is going on around me because of the need to brake earlier than modern cars. I just learnt to look three cars infront instead of one

hotrodder - your brakes 'failed' because they weren't properly maintained. The cylinder seals don't just suddenly give way - they may start to leak when old - and the fluid level then goes down slowly. Good maintenance would spot this - and check where the fluid was going - and solve the problem before it got to the dangerous state!
This can happen equally well with disc brakes- certainly the ones you are buying will be nice and new - always a good thing - but all types of brakes still require regular checks and maintenance to keep them safe.
Drum brakes in good condition will lock the wheels just the same as discs - no advantage there - the emphasis is on 'good condition' - which applies equally well to disc brakes.

Seals can *just* fail, although its very rare. I agree its more likely to have happened because the seals were old and degrading to the point they then ruptured and a leak would probably be in evidence before it failed

the guy who i baught my car off said that he put new wheel cylinders on 2 months before i baught the car 2 months ago so that ment the breaks were 4 months old. when i press the peddle fluid goes every were its not just a little leak. so i just dont trust them. it probily will make you more aware and make you be a bit more careful. but i dont wana to trust them.

Never known seals to just suddenly 'fail' - very very unlikely certainly with the original 'bucket' type seals - not so sure about the repro cylinders which I think have a very simple seal in a groove in the piston ? Gradual loss of fluid has always been my experience - leading first to a spongey pedal with long travel and eventually loss of brakes.

I don't see why the seals on disc calipers would be inherently any safer than than those on drum cylinders. The main advantages of discs are that they are harder to fade and they don't need adjusting as the pads wear down.

Somebody on here reported finding manufacturing swarf inside brand new cylinders - maybe that's what happened here?

Or - they were so badly adjusted that the piston came right out the end of the cylinder! Would need to be seriously bad adjustment though on the original cylinders - again - I don't know about repro cylinders - how far the seals are away from the open end ?

the guy who i baught my car off said that he put new wheel cylinders on 2 months before i baught the car

Perhaps he didn't though! But that incident doesn't write of all drum brakes and cylinders ,surely?

Hopefully not as he will struggle with the rears ;-)

yah xD my dad wants to fit discs as we race our landrovers and have plenty lying around. i'm familiar with the maintenance of them - just not the fitting and the general opinion.
i'm pretty confident i'd be okay with drums. either way.

thanks for the opinions, guys, also the welcome from linearaudio! <3

I'm surprised you didn't just go with a Series 1 Landy - on the original 1600 engine, not too bad on fuel - especially if you put it on LPG! !

I doubt you'll be able to fit make Landy disc brakes fit on a Minor. I think the two main options are Morris Marina (getting a bit scarce now) or Ford Escort (readily available new but not cheap).