Now that we have this forum I can finally ask the question frowned upon in the other one. My '52 Stude pickup has '58-'59 Plymouth or Dodge front suspension. Yep, they did front clips way back in 1962-63 when this hot rod truck was built. It also has the wonderful dual wheel cylinder drum brakes. This is an often-used parts chaser truck and will occasionally tow a small trailer. I want to convert it to disc brakes. Not 16" 6 piston whizbang drilled carbon fiber stuff, just a good kit that uses common parts. I'm hoping to get some ringing endor*****ts (and some, STAY AWAY FROM....) from folks who have actually converted to discs using somebody's kit. Can anyone help?
My son has front disc brakes on his 57 Dodge wagon. 57 was the 1st year for the torsion bar suspension and should be the same suspension for the 58 & 59. There was a disc brake conversion that came with the car when he bought it that was not installed. The single piston caliper, rotor, and front spindles were reported to have come off of a later 70s Chrysler "C" body car. It also came with one of those generic "brake pedal/booster/master cylinder kits." That brake pedal kit has already been replaced. The rod between the pedal and the booster failed one day (broke in 1/2) and the 8" booster was junk. That was replaced with a Wilwood master and pedal kit.
Thanks Gene, I wondered if later parts might fit the earlier spindles. Next time I have it on the hoist I’ll pull a front hub and drum and take dimensions just to have them available. I finally remembered the name of the company that someone told me about, ECI. It looks like they list a kit for my spindles. I’ll give them a call. Anyone use their kit?
Check out these guys, they have a setup that will work. Good guys to deal with. https://aajbrakes.com/
https://ecihotrodbrakes.com/dodge_plymouth_discbrake_conversions I haven't dealt with this company, but have not heard anything bad about them.
Just to clarify, your truck has torsion bar front suspension? That's wild, since they would've had to do far more fabrication than literally any other suspension swap in that era.
Yes, it’s the ‘57-‘58 version of the Plymouth /Dodge torsion bar suspension. 1959 and later had eccentric adjusters for caster and camber instead of shims. Needless to say, the front clip replaces a bunch of the Stude frame because it had to include the crossmember that has the torsion bar anchors. I modified the crossmember to allow the transmission to be removed without pulling out the engine. The truck was built around 1962-3 by the Pisano Bros of Fuel Altered and Funny car fame. They built three Studebaker pickups, two with Plymouth IFS and one with Hudson IFS. Two were 389 Pontiac powered, one had a 413 Plymouth. This one sat in a warehouse in Long Beach, Ca for about 50 years before I got it. It had a Treadle-Vac power brake unit on it but after a couple unsuccessful attempts to rebuild it I just replaced it with a more modern dual m/c. I’m still in the process of tweaking to get the brakes the way I want them. .
Does your truck have power steering on it, or manual steering? The steering box/column on the 57-59 torsion bar frames is unique to that era. Also, which motor did your truck get built with, and what powers it now? I like that old Stude truck.
It has manual steering, no power. So far the box seems fine, no slop, and it’s not bad to steer. From my experience with Mopar power steering, I’m glad it’s manual. They built this one with a 1959 315 hp 389 and a StratoFlight 4spd Hydramatic. The rear end is a 1956 Chevy Positraction, 3.36 gears I believe. I ***ume it all came from a local wrecking yard. It came with a 1957 Pontiac Rochester fuel injection on it but I installed a 1960 factory Tri-power. The F.I. Pump drive cable was broken and I figured that the Tri-power was easier to get running. I got it running, the compression came up in all eight and the transmission worked, barely. After pulling and replacing the oil pan and cleaning the transmission pan and filter, it runs great and drives great. I’m very pleased with it.
Great story and history. You might pm https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/members/george.4371/ He has a 60? Ply and might have some insight.
In trying to find newer models to update brakes, within the same manuf, I'd start by looking at the wheel bearing. See what years used the same ones, inner and outer. That would point to the spindles being the same.
This company apparently makes adapter brackets but I see no info on calipers or rotors, weird. https://www.scarebird.com/shop/cate...=1958&fitment_submodel=&vehicle_platform_ids=
Heres more info - https://www.scarebird.com/shop/fwd-...mouth-dodge-front-disc-2987?category=55#attr=
Another source - https://www.oldmoparts.com/parts/g_service_brakes/front-disc-brake-conversion-kit-1955-1957/
My C-Body, 1968 has drop spindles that use Lebaron brakes and were supplied from https://www.fatmanfab.com/. They were for B-body cars and I modified them to fit my car. They will make spindles for your car, dropped or stock if you send in your existing ones. Not sure of the cost anymore. Also check Hemmings motor news. I can remember other vendors with this service.
Thanks. Since the demise of the magazines, I haven’t thought about Fatman. They used to make all kinds of stuff.
The Jalopy Journal
