drums to disks

[Brian (up north) Morris]

hi all. im thinking about converting my front drums to disks on the melos. noticed in summer that quite a lot of hard breaking really does not suite the drums and brakes get really bad when hot. so i guess what im asking is what would i need to do this and how much will it cost.. i know im going to need hubs discs and calipers. is their anything else. my meloses has mk2 escort running gear. any help/advice greatly appreciated gentleman 

[Steve Kerswell]

you may be lucky and find that some on here have certain parts.

[Adrian Southgate]

Brian

You will need a pair of cut down stub axles, hubs, discs, calipers.Disc hubs don't fit on drum stubs.

There are two sizes of disc, two types of caliper and two types of stubs (one with a fixed steering arm one bolt on) The larger discs can also be converted to vented but will also need converted calipers to match (M16)

Best option would be M16 or type 16 calipers and standard discs. 

Fixed steering arm stubs can be imperial or metric taper so make that three types of stub axle.

(have I put you off yet... no? then read on) 

You don't have to change the TCA or lower suspension arms however if you are going to poly bushes then it would be best to have new TCA's as they contain the lower ball joint. Upper ball joint is austin maxi, upper wishbone bushes are triumph spitfire/herald items.

changing from drum to discs means changing the master cylinder too. The drum cylinder wont move enough fluid to make the discs effective, change up to a larger bore cylinder, move more fluid.

(Still not put off? good) 

Don't buy anything yet. I may be in a position soon which would enable me to obtain some of these parts new and at a better price than you can get them on ebay, same applies to anyone else needing new parts.

[Brian (up north) Morris]

oh s##t. way too much work for me. omg so much to do. think ill just slow down, thanks i thought it would be much easier than that chaps. stumped again lol. thankyou adrian 

[Brian (up north) Morris]

lol thanks daryl. im just too lazy for all that..

[Steve Kerswell]

You can make drum brakes work, just need to ensure you use the best materials etc. Used to be vg95 linings for my. Rally imp. Used to get hot but never lost them :-))

[Brian (up north) Morris]

where would i get them from steve...thanks

[Brian (up north) Morris]

my gear is mk2 graham.

[Adrian Southgate]

Once you have the parts it can be done in a day, getting some parts new and some 2nd user could be a cheaper solution.

Hubs are rare unless you pay £59 each for ally ones but then you have to buy the studs and bearings too.

Wait until I know what I can get new and what will have to be recon and whatever you do, don't take it apart until you have ALL the bits to do the conversion.

[Brian (up north) Morris]

hows about this. the guy who broke the yellow melos from durham . is breaking a sierra. it has discs on front. if i bought the strut ect. and master cylinder. would that be a easy swap....?

[Jim (across the pond) Adamek]

lol, Sounds like the best bet would be to trade your beauty for one that already has disk brakes otherwise enjoy the old girl as she is..

[Brian (up north) Morris]

lol sticking with drums....lol

[Brian (up north) Morris]

lol ano. ill have a look at it over winter. maybe i could steel melosmans car and strip it lol... thanks for you help gentleman