Thread: Disc brakes for light weight early Ford?

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Why is it the simplest plans seem to involve the biggest headaches!!!? I'm building what amounts to a T-bucket chassis with a '24 T-35 Bugatti body (yes, it's a little weird, but we all need a toy!).

Anyhow, I go to order the front brake set up from Speedway and they're saying that the 11" disc kits they offer are too big and heavy for the weight of this project! They offer the Pinto disc kits, but they're designed for the early Chevy spindles. Or they have the Wilwood steering/brake kit for just under A GRAND!!!!! I don't think so!

Okay so what are all the T-bucket/Track T and light weight early Ford roadster guys running for front discs?

The axle is a Ford I-beam (unknown vintage, but likely mid '30's) with a 4" drop, and I plan on using Speedway's Ford spindles. The car's running 21" Model A spokes and should weigh in around 1600 lbs.

Motivation comes from an early inline 6 Ford (110 Hp) with a toploader and 8" rear.

The only other requirement is a realistic budget!

Thanks,
Marty

I'll probably get spanked for even bringin' this up, but at 1600 lbs, I might be visiting some of the motorcycle boneyards to eyeball front disc setups from some of the bigger bikes, Harley, Gold Wing Honda, Moto Guzzi, etc. and use discs on all four corners with a proportioning valve to cut pressure to the rears. These are non-power systems and should be the ultimate in simplicity and effectiveness. A little shy about the effectiveness? No problem, make brackets to mount two calipers on each rotor at the front and one caliper on each at the back.

Now don't start whinin' about the engineering and machine work involved. It is one possibility that I personally would look at, 'cause engineering and fabricating such a system might not be for you, but it would be right up my alley and would give me huge braggin' rights down at the Sonic.

Well if you get the Speedway kit save all the boxes because it really is a conglomerate of parts. The one I have has Dodge rotors and mid-size Chevy caliphers along with some sort of wheel bearings from Czechoslovakia. I am most concerned about someday having to replace those wheel bearings. I hope the specs on the boxes will help in case Speedway moves on and no longer stocks that kit. I am answering mainly because Tech1 mentioned a Sonic. We just got a Sonic down the street and the hamburgers were not very good but now that Tech1 mentions it it may be a future local site for informal rod meets. MacDonald's burgers run rings around the Sonics and Wendy's is pretty good too but they don't have the nostalgia factor. Maybe Sonic has good milkshakes? The burgers here are sort of like soggy sponges!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/Teen Rodder

Well- my 32 roadster is plenty light.
Up front- I'm running Wilwood 4 piston calipers, hidden in So-Cal's faux Buick drum. Out back- I have big Ford drum brakes. Under the dash is a Kugel 90 degree pedal assy w/ power booster. Overkill- maybe. But it stops on a dime- tires permitting.

I think I can offer you some first hand experience with this subject. When we built my Son Don's T bucket we had a chromed GM setup that I had bought for another project, so we used it. Mickey Luria from Total Performance told me at Daytona that we weren't going to like them on the front of this lightweight car, but we already had them on there and they were all chromed.

After he started driving the car it just never felt right in the front.........too much rotating mass. We scrapped the whole deal and bought a complete new setup including new spindles and Wilwood discs. The front now felt great and the stopping power was much improved.

Listen to what Speedway is telling you. Those GM brakes were made for a 3000+ pound car that uses A arm suspension. A light rod with a straight axle has a whole different way of reacting to unsprung, rotating mass. We have a really nice, all chrome GM setup sitting on the shelf that we won't sell or give to anyone because we don't want them to have the problems we had.

Don

I used a Wilwood single piston set up on my T bucket after the Total Performance/Airheart system turned out to be crap (sorry guys, if yours works, OK, my Wilwood's were much better). I think you would have to spend some time with the Wilwood catalog as mine came from Speedway and what they offer now are not the same - but the rotor was 3/8 vs the Total 1/4, the brackets were much stronger (no flex), the calipers worked right without a rebuild - and they could actually be locked up if you really wanted to

Originally Posted by IC2

I used a Wilwood single piston set up on my T bucket after the Total Performance/Airheart system turned out to be crap (sorry guys, if yours works, OK, my Wilwood's were much better). I think you would have to spend some time with the Wilwood catalog as mine came from Speedway and what they offer now are not the same - but the rotor was 3/8 vs the Total 1/4, the brackets were much stronger (no flex), the calipers worked right without a rebuild - and they could actually be locked up if you really wanted to

I agree completely. I've been running the same thing on my T bucket for 9 years. The Total performance brakes are more expensive but now that Speedway owns TP maybe they are a little cheaper. I've been using Speedways Chevy spindle set up so that I am able to use their wilwood single piston brakes as a very inexpensive option.

Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Well if you get the Speedway kit save all the boxes because it really is a conglomerate of parts. The one I have has Dodge rotors and mid-size Chevy caliphers along with some sort of wheel bearings from Czechoslovakia. I am most concerned about someday having to replace those wheel bearings. I hope the specs on the boxes will help in case Speedway moves on and no longer stocks that kit. I am answering mainly because Tech1 mentioned a Sonic. We just got a Sonic down the street and the hamburgers were not very good but now that Tech1 mentions it it may be a future local site for informal rod meets. MacDonald's burgers run rings around the Sonics and Wendy's is pretty good too but they don't have the nostalgia factor. Maybe Sonic has good milkshakes? The burgers here are sort of like soggy sponges!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/Teen Rodder

No problem on the bearings. The races and the bearings have numbers that are stamped on them. They are a pretty much standard number for all bearings. Even if you can't see the numbers, no problem. Tote the bearings and races to a bearing supply store and they will measure them for you and fix you up with new ones.