Morris Minor Owners Club

My 1968 traveller which I bought about 18 months ago was fitted with Ford Sierra front disc brakes in December 2000 and I am trying to determine which Sierra model they would have been designed for. I am presuming it would be the 1.6 model. How can I find out?
I have tried to telephone the company who did the work in 2000 but their phone number is not recognised so perhaps they have gone out of bisiness.

The renowned experts on Minor disc brakes are JLH - ask Jono. http://www.jlhmorrisminors.co.uk/

Apparently there are several types of caliper (and therefore pad), so best to take a picture or two and send them to JLH. As bmcecosse says, Jono will see you right.

I am thinking of replacing just the calipers themselves because both the outer gaiters which keep all the dust and water out had become dislodged, causing quite heavy rusting. The brake pads were new last year when I got the car, but the car tends to pull slightly to the left under heavy braking. Both of the 24mm vented brake discs are in very good condition.
The left hand brake was sticking on slightly but I have temporarily cured that problem by cleaning the worst of the muck out and then replacing the gaiter properly, the right hand caliper seems to have a tendancy to stick off under light braking for the same reason.
Because of the corrosion I think it best that I replace both the calipers.
I am going to get the wheels off on Sunday and hopefully will be able to see some identification numbers or marks on the calipers themselves.

Must be an extremely high powered Minor to need fancy vented disc brakes - let's see some details - and some pictures!

Or just a standard Minor with much better stopping power

I'm interested to know if a Minor can indeed have brakes that are too good. I'm thinking here about the extra stresses on components designed for lesser braking forces. I've even worried about the fact that the 4 holes in the flanges of the uprights have to be opened up, when fitting discs. What do you think?

The opening up of holes would indeed worry me, but doesn't seem to worry others - but since my simple brakes can lock the wheels all too easily over and over again, I see no need for better braking. What I DO need are better tyres.......

Surely it isn't about locking the wheels up, but about progressive braking without fading etc which drum brakes just don't seem to do.

It's a bog-standard 1968 traveller - it just happened to have the disc brakes and telescopic dampers fitted 12 years ago, long before I bought it. With all the idiots on the roads these days, especially in Bradford where I live, good brakes are a must as the car is in daily use. However I wouldn't chosen to fit discs myself.
I've had a few moggies over the years and never had any stopping problems with any of them, two of them had vac servo units and one even had a three-branch exhaust and twin SU carbs - that thing went like a rocket !

I don't envy you driving through Bradford - Traffic lights are merely a guide for most drivers
Several hairy moments, particularly on 7 inch drums all round

Oh the drums can certainly do progressive braking ok - no problem there - and certainly no fade.

bmcecosse wrote:Oh the drums can certainly do progressive braking ok - no problem there - and certainly no fade.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with that. Halfway down a long winding hill just out of Bath my brakes went completely and had to stop (with the handbrake) and wait for them to cool down before continuing. I think that modern disc brakes disipate the heat a lot more efficiently allowing for constant braking performance. After all, I don't think many modern cars come with front drum brakes as standard

ratrodmog wrote:

bmcecosse wrote:Oh the drums can certainly do progressive braking ok - no problem there - and certainly no fade.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with that. Halfway down a long winding hill just out of Bath my brakes went completely and had to stop (with the handbrake) and wait for them to cool down before continuing. I think that modern disc brakes disipate the heat a lot more efficiently allowing for constant braking performance. After all, I don't think many modern cars come with front drum brakes as standard

7 inch drums fade very easily (ask how I know..), so easily I'm forced to fit 8 inch drums. Just the insurance holding me back now..

How would the handbrake stop a car if the foot brake couldn't.? They both use the same shoes!

les wrote:How would the handbrake stop a car if the foot brake couldn't.? They both use the same shoes!

Am I right in thinking that most of the stopping power is from the front brakes and I guess it was these that overheated. I may also have been able to apply more power to the rear brakes with the handbrake, that combined with very faded fronts brought the car to a (slow) stop.

Has anything been found out about the Sierra callipers as per originally asked?

les wrote:How would the handbrake stop a car if the foot brake couldn't.? They both use the same shoes!

Hot brakes = boiled fluid = vapour = gas = compressible.

Handbrake isn't hydraulic... still works!

It was 'the brakes went completely' that threw me!

Are you saying that it's not the hot linings that cause the fade but the fact that they can't be pushed against the drums hard enough?

It is the hot linings that cause the fade - you would need to be going something to boil the fluid - certainly more than a reasonably standard Minor can ever do - and it's FAR more likely with a disc brake car where the caliper piston is in direct contact with the hot brake pad. The cylinder in a drum brake is much more isolated from the heat source. Yes - the 7" drums are pretty hopeless, the 8" drums are much better, and (wait for it....) the 9" Wolseley drums are best by far!!