which rear disc brake kit ?

[John_S]

i own a 1964 bug ..IRS'ed back end
but because its wide five i spacered out my original drums on the rear axels to make work
now i want to go to rear disk but dont know which convertion to use
can any body shed any light ?

[FJCamper]

Above: We run a no-handbrake kit on the rear of our 1970 road-race Ghia, using standard Varga calipers. So far, the standard caliper bracket has been adequate.

Hi John,

The type of kit depends on if you want your handbrakes to work or not. Most handbrake kits use a generic rear caliper. Also, most kits are of generic parts unless you're ordering up a special part-by-part selection from Airkewled.

I'm presuming you want handbrakes and you are installing on a street car, not a road racer?

The wide-5 pattern kits are more expensive than 4-bolt. Tell me something about your car, wheels, and application.

FJC

[MinamiKotaro]

I'm very happy with my CB Wide 5 front disc kit. I would get a rear disc kit from them if I could afford it.

[John_S]

I'm very happy with my CB Wide 5 front disc kit. I would get a rear disc kit from them if I could afford it.

yeh i have cb front end

cb rear end is about £500 ....


car is fast street car 2276 turbo (250 bhp approx)
irs back end but ive kept wide 5 drums and use late shoes by using spacers



hope this makes sense

[FJCamper]

Hi John,

We ran rear drums on our '70 road race Ghia until the rear disc changeover, then moved them to our '65 road race Ghia. Even with stock shoes we always had good results. I can't tell by your photo, but do you have your drums drilled across the swept area? It works.

FJC

[John_S]

the drums are std wide five drums .....not messed with em other than spacer either side

[FJCamper]

Hi John,

You may not need it for the street, but getting your drums drilled is a very effective brake upgrade. Here in the USA, we have http://www.chtopping.com that does it.

FJC

[John_S]

i take it drilling the drums is like when u drill a disk ... let material out and heat ?

[FJCamper]

Hi John,

Yes, drilling lets out water, dust, and hot gasses.

The hole pattern is such that no one hole overlaps another as the drum rotates.

We can testify to the effectiveness of this simple modification. No need for disk conversion.

FJC

[Bigg Tim]

I too am looking for a rear disk brake kit. Its really more of a cosmetic thing, I want to match to front look. How do the AC industries, EMPI and CB kits compare to each other? I will be using a wide 5 kit with e brake. Since its more for looks than function, I don't really want to spend the money for an Airkewld or CSP kit.

[FJCamper]

Hi Bigg Tim,

The off-the-shelf rear brake kits are all about the same, almost identiical. The big difference -- and important -- is the substitution of the stock kit rear caliper bracket for a stronger racing bracket if you are racing. If not, use the stock kit bracket.

Get whatever wide-five handbrake-equipped kit has the best price.

FJC

[Bigg Tim]

Thanks for the info. Looking at the CB kit vs the EMPI kit, the CB kit looks to have a stronger looking bracket. would anyone know if the CB bracket is actually better or not? The cheap price of the other kits scare me a little, just seems too good to be true.

[Steve Arndt]

When in doubt of CB vs Empi, I would go CB based of their customer service. You can get CB through aircooled.net

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