Technical I need good disc brakes on my Willys but I hate the look of new parts!

I wasn't going to post this, because in the past it didnt seem to help at all.

But its been a while since I posted it, so I'll give you what I've learned from personal experience.

More than likely, you dont need discs.

Disc brakes have one big disadvantage compared to good drums, and that is that they are not self energising ( and a good drum setup is )

The feel of a good drum setup can be hard to beat, and you can get them really close to locking up( without actually locking them up )

I've done it on road a road race track, fighting for position with an identical car ( except that one had discs).
I cooked the brakes, and had to replace the drums after that day ( ovalled them, after they cooled )
But on track performance was at least as good as the disc brake equipped car.
( I was able to keep it just on the right side of fade...)

Which is the achilles heel of drums.

They cant dissipate heat like discs can.
( and some drum setups are not self adjusting, so that is a pain in the ass )

On the street ( or drag strip ) you wont get them that hot.
I never did on my supercharged '28 roadster.
I ran F100 drums on that, until I replaced them with 12" finned aluminum ones ( the change was for looks only, the F100's worked perfectly )

Both the supercharged engine and the same F100 drum setup are now going on my new build ( Off Topic for the HAMB, it will be on radials )

As far as optimum braking performance, its very unlikely you are going to hit the sweet spot, with the parts right out of the 1-800 bubblewrap.

Front/rear weight distribution, wheel& tire sizes, and even bias ply or radials all have an influence on your front to rear brake bias.

Spending time and attention there could make a big difference...

 

You mean people would cut out their own brackets? Measure and drill a few holes? Heaven forbid. I hear people complain about a bolt that is too long from a 1- 800 part.

 

Thank you!
I definitely think thats it would be interesting to test the idea of drums. I am already on the path to installing my discs but I am going to search for an affordable set of drums, after I install and give it a test drive and report back!

 

start saving up.

 

TELL ME MORE!!!!!!!!!

 

Spindle Mount Front Brake Kit for American Rebel 'Starburst' Wheels Polished (roadstersupply.com)
750 bucks plus the wheels
econo kit 440
Starburst 15x4.5 M | home (americanrebelmfg.com)
no pricing on them, shame

worth noting
the caliper adaptor is aluminium so is the carrier and the caliper
they are an 10 3/4'' rotor i think 3/4'' wide - at least thats what comes with the standard lug rotor, ideal for doing wheelies

the banjo bolt is m10 and goes into the centre of the piston, handy.
note they GO STRAIGHT ON THE SPINDLE no need for a bearing adaptor!!

fyi - IF you have a 48'' wide axle and a wheel with a 1/8'' positive offset, your tyres central track will be 57 1/4'' - non spindle mount lug bolt rotor!
thats with the rotor/hub combined - looks like they do one with a seperate hub thats even narrower by 1/2''

they 'still' have not incorporated a bolt on dust guard with a central air scoop to direct the air into the centre to be centrifugally spun out into the kit though. just saying

what I mean about going straight on the spindle too is the bearings 'spread' is wider, which is 'nice'

Spindle Mount Front Brake Kit for American Rebel 'Starburst' Wheels Plain Finned Finish (roadstersupply.com)
funk, non porridged is 600 bucks, thats 'only 160 bucks more........

 

What’s on this Midget at my old bosses shop?

 

Halibrand single spot calipers and rotors.

 

Wondered what the disc at the back was for now I can see.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/help-with-halibrand-caliper-rebuild.931232/