8 3/4 rear disc brake kit conversion-which one to go with?

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

I'm in the market for a new rear disc brake conversion for my 8 3/4 and was wondering what you guys and gals have used, how did they perform, any mods you had to do, does the stock e-brake cable still work with the kit, and were you able to fit stock 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern 14" rims over the callipers and rotors.
I have a lead on a complete Wilwood conversion kit starting around $400.00. I've also looked at the complete rear SSBC kits for around $750.00.
Thanks in advance.
Shawn

[qkcuda]

I got my front kit from Engineered Components, and it is a very good product.  I have only seen pictures of the rear kits, but they look pretty good also.  !4 inch wheels may be a problem with a lot of kits.

[moparrr07]

unless your going road racing, running monster slicks, or you just really want to show off your rear end to friends, disk brakes are not needed

these little 3200 lbs cars dont need that much brake, you will lock up the rear tires with smaller drums, depending on tire size- only 30% of braking is done by the rear

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

I got my front kit from Engineered Components, and it is a very good product. I have only seen pictures of the rear kits, but they look pretty good also. !4 inch wheels may be a problem with a lot of kits.

I'll have to check them out.
I do know Wilwood says you have to have a 14" wheel or larger, so if I need to go larger i'll be ordering some rims also.

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

Anybody else have any Experience with rear disc brake kits?

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

unless your going road racing, running monster slicks, or you just really want to show off your rear end to friends, disk brakes are not needed

these little 3200 lbs cars dont need that much brake, you will lock up the rear tires with smaller drums, depending on tire size- only 30% of braking is done by the rear

I did not ask if I needed the rear disk break kit, I want to upgrade to rear disks, more or less for convenience, and I did not ask for the % of braking that is done by the rear brakes, I have more than enough experience (30+ yrs) to know that the front brakes do more work then the rear brakes. Hell and I might just do some road racing around Phoenix! OH, and you seem to do enough rear end showing around here for yourself, I.M.H.O.

I asked; if anybody has used them and how did they perform, any mods you had to do, does the stock e-brake cable still work with the kit, and were you able to fit stock 5 on 4 1/2" bolt pattern 14" rims over the callipers and rotors.

Now if you know of (or have experience with) a good rear brake conversion kit setup, I would'nt mind getting your opinion on the kit, from a technical aspect if you can give it.

[mopowers]

I saw the kit Brent aka "70Dustpan" was using on his Valiant.  Looked like a pretty slick set-up.  I think he said it used cadilac discs or something.  My memory is shot though.  Too much drinking in my college days.   

Or look into getting ford ends on your housing.  There are alot more options out there for rear discs. 

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

I saw the kit Brent aka "70Dustpan" was using on his Valiant. Looked like a pretty slick set-up. I think he said it used cadilac discs or something. My memory is shot though. Too much drinking in my college days.

Or look into getting ford ends on your housing. There are alot more options out there for rear discs.

Thanks for the reply, I was looking into the "Engineered Components" that qkcuda posted and found some very good info. here is a link.......http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/rear_discbrake_conversions.html it sounds like Brent might have used these guys.

[70 Dustpan]

I used this one. I don't know about 14" wheels I have 17". All in all a good set-up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SCAREBIRD-Rear-Disc-Brake-Conversion-8-3-4-Mopar-Dodge_W0QQitemZ150102297079QQcmdZViewItem

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

I used this one. I don't know about 14" wheels I have 17". All in all a good set-up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SCAREBIRD-Rear-Disc-Brake-Conversion-8-3-4-Mopar-Dodge_W0QQitemZ150102297079QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks,
this is getting more interesting, but I can't open the page that lists what else to buy and use.
Can you post the list?(NEVERMIND I GOT IT OPEN) and how was your set-up fitment? details please.

[70 Dustpan]

The only complaint is that the lower caliper pin can hit the leaf spring when removing the pin. When making up my rear-end housing I just clocked the ends a bit before welding them so that it had clearance. I got the rotors at Autozone for about $22 each and got the calipers from the yard for $10 each. I still need to hook up the E brake cables.

[68dodge]

I used the Wilwood set-up with the E-brake. Went on pretty good. Had to open the mounting holes a little. Have not ran the car yet.

[urchinhead]

I saw the kit Brent aka "70Dustpan" was using on his Valiant. Looked like a pretty slick set-up. I think he said it used cadilac discs or something. My memory is shot though. Too much drinking in my college days.

Or look into getting ford ends on your housing. There are alot more options out there for rear discs.

Thanks for the reply, I was looking into the "Engineered Components" that qkcuda posted and found some very good info. here is a link.......http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/rear_discbrake_conversions.html it sounds like Brent might have used these guys.

Wait...did you know that your rear brakes only do 30% of the stopping...

[70 Dustpan]

Wait...did you know that your rear brakes only do 30% of the stopping...

Yea but rear disc work more consistently, weight less, are easier to work on and just plain look better then drums.

[moparrr07]

i was just stating that for anyone who didn't already know it, i dont know your knowledge, these boards are for anyone who want to learn to read, theres no need to be an ass about it

[west]

i was just stating that for anyone who didn't already know it, i dont know your knowledge, these boards are for anyone who want to learn to read, theres no need to be an ass about it

you made a good point on the brakes and are correct.  I also feel any and all input is welcome here,it's up to the reader who he wants to take advice from.there are some here that i take their word as truth and tested knowledge,some i take with a grain of salt,and some i won't even read because they have proven to be an idiot.
some posts you may think are simple and elementary,while some youngster or newbie is really stoked that someone took the time to share their knowledge.
 so i say it's good to post anything that you may think pertains to the thread whether it directly addresses the posters question or not.because there are many people reading these threads for different reasons.

[69 GTS Clonvertible]

moparrr07 - In the future please try to keep to the specific topic that the post is written about, And Hi-jacking a thread for your own amusement is petty and foolish. The info you posted may be very informative to some people but, my point is that if you wander away from the main topic that I posted for myself to get information, it just makes it much harder to get back on track to that topic, when you have people blurbing in with ther own comment, (about your comment) that did not pertain to the original topic that I posted.
If you want to start a topic on how the rear breaks work and % of stopping power, than by all means post it, but, start your own thread. and I'm not being an ass, I only want the information that I asked for not something I did not ask for. If I wanted to know about something, than I would have asked the question in my topic.

west - yes he did make a point...... and all input is welcome - (sure) and it is up to the reader (or poster) if he wants to take somebody's advice (I agree), but sticking to the topic is what most of us on the board would rather see, I.M.H.O. maybe on occasion a re-direction of a thread is worth the effort but in this case I don't agree.

[moparrr07]

well then im sorry i caused your finger to cramp by using the scroll function to go down 1/2 a page

[west]

moparrr07 - In the future please try to keep to the specific topic that the post is written about, And Hi-jacking a thread for your own amusement is petty and foolish. The info you posted may be very informative to some people but, my point is that if you wander away from the main topic that I posted for myself to get information, it just makes it much harder to get back on track to that topic, when you have people blurbing in with ther own comment, (about your comment) that did not pertain to the original topic that I posted.
If you want to start a topic on how the rear breaks work and % of stopping power, than by all means post it, but, start your own thread. and I'm not being an ass, I only want the information that I asked for not something I did not ask for. If I wanted to know about something, than I would have asked the question in my topic.

west - yes he did make a point...... and all input is welcome - (sure) and it is up to the reader (or poster) if he wants to take somebody's advice (I agree), but sticking to the topic is what most of us on the board would rather see, I.M.H.O. maybe on occasion a re-direction of a thread is worth the effort but in this case I don't agree.

good point as well,i know it can be frustrating to not get your question answered because a thread got misdirected,however alot of information may become available that you never knew existed due to the natural flow of conversation.If we only replied to your exact question and never threw in our 2 cents we would be missing out on alot of other peoples experience and knowledge,there are alot of very knowledgable people here that don't post anything,ever.I think we are lucky to have guys willing to take the time to give us their unsolicited opinion on various things,and if your thread gets a little off track(which they often do)just redirect it in the direction you want it to go.which is what we should do here,i will step aside and mind to myself while we talk rear disc brakes

[loiq]

unless your going road racing, running monster slicks, or you just really want to show off your rear end to friends, disk brakes are not needed

these little 3200 lbs cars dont need that much brake, you will lock up the rear tires with smaller drums, depending on tire size- only 30% of braking is done by the rear

Drums will lock up due to their inherent design - that's why discs are better.

A proporioniung valve will cure your front to rear bias.

[moparrr07]

i was just stating that even little drum will lock them up, this is why disk are overkill, i have a proportioning valve sitting here that will be going in the next few months

[loiq]

But you don't want your brakes to lock up, that's why you swap to discs. You can dial in more brake at the rear with discs than you can with drums. You put an adjustable proportioning valve in with drums in the rear and you'll dial all the braking out of the rear before you stop locking up.

[west]

the main reason for rear brakes locking up is weight transfer,all the weight is being lifted off of the rear during braking.if you go fast in reverse and hit the brakes the fronts will lock up too whether its disc or drum.

[Stroked GT]

im gonna go with wilwoods mainly because I already have them up front and want it to match. Theres a company called scarebird that makes conversion, check em out http://scarebird.com/  you use parts of production cars, should be pretty cheap, their bracket to adapt the parts are only like $100 I think, if you can get a deal on the parts it will be cheap. and hey if you pass up on that wilwood kit, let me in on it if you dont mind, provided it has the e-brake too (4 speed). I really want to show off my rear end to friends 

[jamesdart]

talk to the diff doctor or doctor diff whatever his name is. hes got an awsome rear disk kit, he claims its lighter than wilwoods too, and uses factory parts. a mustang or cobra caliper and toyota rotor or something, with  a nice little trick billet bracket. you ar enot going ot yel at me too are yo fullmoonu?

[moparrr07]

the way im looking at it, the rear tire can only hold to so much braking before it locks, i understand that a drum will lock easier but its not like if you switch to disk the tire magically gets more traction, with the prop valve you get it so the fronts will lock just before the backs, you would just have to give the rears more pressure to get them to lock, but its not going to make the tire have better traction, with the drums in the back, you just lower the pressure alittle-

back on topic- ive heard lots of people that use the scarebird kit with good results, just not as pretty as a willwood kit, you get what you pay for, in this case, its looks, get whatever you have to match the front

[uwee440]

I have ssbc rear discs  on my dart,and wilwoods on my challenger,I think both companies are pretty similar,Both are great quality,I like the bleeder screws on the wilwoods better.I have not noticed any difference in braking performance.They are both easy to install, just that the ssbc are more pricy.Both stop great in the 1/4 mile.I only drive the cars locally around 20 mile round trip,so can't really account for everyday use.

[loiq]

I've heard good and bad about Scarebird - here's a bad one:

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=665011&highlight=scarebird

[Stroked GT]

the way im looking at it, the rear tire can only hold to so much braking before it locks, i understand that a drum will lock easier but its not like if you switch to disk the tire magically gets more traction, with the prop valve you get it so the fronts will lock just before the backs, you would just have to give the rears more pressure to get them to lock, but its not going to make the tire have better traction, with the drums in the back, you just lower the pressure alittle-

back on topic- ive heard lots of people that use the scarebird kit with good results, just not as pretty as a willwood kit, you get what you pay for, in this case, its looks, get whatever you have to match the front

i dont think he cares about lock up, I think he just wants to improve his ride like everyone else. Sure it may not be a huge difference over drums, but its still an upgrade, I dont see Vettes or Vipers rolling around on drum brakes, hell not even lesser cars than that, why should his car be any different. For some it could be for looks, others for stopping performance, saftey, show off the brakes with some new wheels, or to reduce weight, or the ease of brake pad changes vs taking off a heavy ass drum thats stuck and having springs falling out everywhere, for me it happens to be all of them. I know you have a point in what your saying but c'mon man your defending drum brakes over discs, let it go.