Disc Brake Conversion

Post by **Faulkner** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 6:53 pm

This fine series of articles by Stefan Steinmaier is more than 10 years old now - but full of exceptional details about how to convert your drum brakes to disc. -Dan

"Ever since I've owned my 59 Fury, the car has demanded more repair time than it's offered time on the roads. Nevertheless, there have been many hours of fun and learning over the years and there have been so many difficult things to change, repair or adjust that it is almost impossible to remember all of them.

One of the major casualties on my Fury were the brakes. When it came from the US in 1986 there was not one drum that had all threads in the hubs and the surfaces were deeply chamfered. I found it necessary to acquire new or good brake drums. Let me only say that it is something between 'very difficult' and 'almost impossible' when you don’t live in the USA.

At that time I had a friend with a 59 Flathead. He loved to show me his trust in his car, while speeding at 60 mph up to a red traffic light, putting his hands behind his back and hitting the brakes. That salmon coloured Belvedere always stopped, never leaving a trace. I couldn’t try that with my Fury. Sometimes it went to the right, sometimes it went the left. Sometimes it went to one side so hard that I had to grab the steering wheel to avoid a collision. All adjustments failed to help and a 'specialist' who tried to rework the drums on the turning lathe mounted it with the hub out of center. After that, the Fury was not only a Fury with bad brakes but a bouncing Fury with bad brakes. I decided that the only way to close this chapter of years of not knowing 'where she stops' was a Disc Brake Conversion Kit from AAJ Brakes, who offered a complete set with everything included.

This Disc Brake Conversion (DBC) is a part of the big 'Fury-Adventure' to me, as it is a winter project. It will take some time and substantial patience to complete this work -- and I'll only have the opportunity to work on it from time to time -- but I hope it will pay off in the future. Anyhow I’ll keep you informed about the progress and also about the final results."

The “Super Deluxe Kit” from AAJ-Brakes contains everything you need to change the brake drums to disc brakes, except brake lines. Included is also a modified master brake cylinder and a proportioning valve to adjust the pressure to the rear drums.

I put the car on blocks and remove the tires. It occurs to me that I worked so hard to restore the Fury to be “original” but in MY special case I don’t waste a tear on the drums. They go to stock – forever!

Remove the drums and the brake shoes. Than disconnect the flexible brake hose and loosen the 4 bolts that hold the anchor plate. Now you can pull out the bolts and take the anchor plate off.

To avoid getting dirt into the bearings it’s necessary to clean the spindle from all sides, also from the back. A Brake and Clutch Cleaner spray works great here. It removes also the old grease and cleans the threads.

Now put some grease inside the adapter and on the spindle and push the adapter over the spindle as far as you can without force.

You will notice that there is no clearance between the adapter and the spindle and you probably can’t push the adapter until it touches the backing plate of the spindle. DON’T use a hammer, screwdriver or any other hard device now!

To force the adapter in the right position put the inner bearing over the adapter now.

Take the disc, as it is without grease and seal and put it on the spindle with the outer bearing, the washer and the nut. (Note: the disc is yellow now, a zinc bath prevents rust)

Tightening the nut brings the adapter in position without any risk of damage.

Now, remove the disc and the bearings again. The gap is gone and the adapter is not damaged.

damaged.
To connect the brackets for the calipers – bring the rod into position.

The original brackets are marked “L” or “R”. This picture helps you to find the right position now. Use the three bolts and nuts delivered by AAJ to attach the brackets. The nuts are self locking so I didn’t us lock-tite. One hole remains empty. (Note: I painted the bracket for rust protection)

Time to grease it up! Use special grease that can stand high temperatures!

Put the inner bearing into the cup and place the seal (caution – this picture shows the wrong way!!!)

This is the right way! The seal is very sensitive, so better be careful! Use a ring over the seal to hammer it in the right position.

You can mount the discs now. Use the original nut, washer and “crown”. A new cotter pin is in the kit.

One side is almost done. Now I do the other side.

Now, it’s time to mount the caliper. Due to the grease I’ve used before I cleaned the discs with Brake and Clutch Cleaner spray and changed the gloves.

Almost ready to mount the tires again, almost. The master brake and brake lines come next. To be continued...

Post by **Faulkner** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 7:01 pm

Several weeks have passed since I finished installing the disc brakes. The Fury is still on blocks and received the regular, necessary services and also some improvements on the chassis - like an original sway bar. More about it later…

Next thing on my “To Do List” is the master brake cylinder and the hardware to install.

The MBC doesn’t have any rust protection so it should be painted before installing. Also the callipers already show some rust spots on the surface so I had the pleasure to remove them again and paint them with special high temperature paint for callipers.

Before the MBC can be installed the push rod grommet of the original master should be installed. The grommet delivered with the kit is too small. Removing the air pressure tank of the PS-unit gives a free access to place the new brake lines.

With the push rod screwed completely back the MBC can be installed.

A front outlet is provided for the brake light switch, but it doesn’t fit in. Either the thread on the brake light switch or on the MBC must be reworked.

Another possibility is to close the outlet and install a separate brake light switch that works without hydraulic pressure on the brake pedal. I already did that some years before due to the fact that the stock switch needs a certain minimum pressure to work and is not adjustable. Also it is not very reliable and I had to change two of them in one year. The manual switch is adjustable and works immediately when you hit the pedal.

The brake lines can be brought in position now. I decided to start with the rear circuit. Due to the headers in my engine compartment there was no better chance except to fasten the original brake line like this: I had to overhaul the PS-unit so removing it was no extra work for me.

Proportioning valve is installed. I used a brass connection with a double thread between the MBC and the valve. Now the MBC works as a bracket for the proportioning valve.

The outlet for the front circuit is very close to the air pressure tank. Consider that when you seek a place for the lines.

Front circuit to junction block. The former intake of the junction block is bigger than the three outlets. The kit contains a plug to close the intake (red arrow). I used the outlet of the former rear circuit as an inlet for the new front circuit. – Works fine!

The flexible brake hoses are installed, but the bracket bent the hoses too much. It doesn’t look very safe to me!

… drill a second hole about 90 degrees above the first one in the same distance to the center hole.

This looks way much better now and allows the brake hose a free movement without being bent to the limits. A new brake line can be prepared now

Special brake line tool helps a lot, but the neck of a Coke bottle does the same!

Do the same on the right side of the car, the difference being the hole is drilled 90 degrees under the first one.

The brake lines can be bled now. Check if all lines are tight, especially the new ones! When this work is done it most likely happens that the brake pedal hits the ground. Don’t be concerned! It happened to me, cost me two evenings of work and I pushed another two quarts of brake fluid trough the lines in a despairing search for bubbles. The reason is the push rod. It must be adjusted to the right position. But before you do it, readjust the rear brake drums. It permits a more precise adjustment of the MBC.

Conclusion:

I haven’t driven the Fury for more than a couple of miles now and it is probably to soon to give a final statement about how the disc brakes work and if they deliver what they promise. One thing is for sure: The bouncing disappeared, the pedal gives a more precise pressure point and the fading to the left or right is gone. Maybe - I’ll purchase the kit for the rear axle too. – Stay tuned!

Post by **Faulkner** » Sun Feb 25, 2018 7:15 pm

As you probably know from reading the first and second part of the DBC, my Sport Fury had severe problems with the front and rear brakes due to a misalignment of the turn lace during the brake drum overhaul. After the front end was done the behaviour improved considerably, but the rear end was still hopping. The options were to buy another set of used brake drums and run the risk of failure, or to spend a little more money and make it NEW. As I had already crushed several sets of drums the decision wasn’t very difficult. Here are the pictures for you – enjoy it!