Whats your thoughts on them? Are caliper rebuild kits still available? Rotors? I can get some for cheap and just dont know a whole lot about them. Any input appreciated.
there was a recent post on airheart brake parts , here it is: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41119&highlight=airheart
GG- Airheart is alive and well. I have two sets of vintage calipers - one of which I plan to use on the front of my RPU. I've contacted Airheart about both styles (one pair is the old "Hurst/Airheart" type, and the other pair came off a Mark Williams digger built in the mid 60s) and they still have all the rebuild parts for both items. I e-mailed photos and heard back from them within the same week. They seem like good guys. I'm at work now and don't have the address, but you can easily find them online with just a simple search. PM me if you don't connect with them and I'll get you the address. They're somewhere in Arizona now , if I recall correctly. Good luck!
My thoughts? I wouldn't use them on anything on the street. Maybe ok on a 290 pound half-miler (bike). Maybe ok just for a line-loc on a strip- only car...but they were the very beginning of disc brake technology and don't even have cast rotors. They have small pads and pistons and the cylinder ratios ore wierd. Just my opinion- I don't think they are safe
Disastron probably makes a good point. The Airhearts are pretty "basic" design-wise, and he's definately correct about the small pads (pucks). Most of the Airhearts I've seen were used on very lightweight race cars (dragsters, altereds, etc.). A whole different ball game than daily street driving. I'm planning on using my Airhearts (I found some with two pads per caliper), on the front of a fairly lightweight open-wheel rod. I have a '65 Pontiac rear end with wide 11" drum brakes to provide the primary stopping power, and am using the Airhearts mostly to get that "period" race car look. Even so, I'm reserving the right to switch to something newer if I don't end up with the stopping power I want. If it's all the same (a fendered car where the calipers won't be seen - or if you aren't going for a certain look, like I am), I'd recommend considering something current (Wilwood, etc.) - especially if you're talking all four wheels. Just my 2 cents - I'm certainly no expert in this area.
I think Wilwood's Billet Spot Caliper is the same as the Airheart. Part number 120-1064 Replacement pads 150-1251K Should be available at any Wilwood Dealer. DSO
Around '68-'69, I put a set of 150's on my Harley. They wouldn't stop the bike, so I went to 175's. When you clamped down on the brakes, you could see the calipers spread. The harder you braked, the more the caliper flexed. What a scarey sight! THey were OK in slow, light traffic, but they wouldn't lock up. Before I switched to Honda calipers, that one moment I needed brakes, I couldn't stop and totaled my bike. I have nobody to blame but myself. A word to the wise, use 150-175's on what they were designed for, go carts. It totally amazed me that they were used as the accepted standard on the front of T buckets back in the 70's. And guys drove their buckets as if the Airhearts really worked. Luv to all, Dirts32
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