12:05 Garage- ’70 Duster build

[racerjoe]

Just wondering if a 14” Mustang rotor and caliper would fit in an 18” wheel. I know the GT500 verts came with 18” wheels (at least for a year or two), but wondered if I was missing something.

Now that I think of it, the guy in the thread I linked earlier that used GT500 parts had 18” wheels on that car.

Because I set up my hubs for Cobra rotors, it really would only be a new bracket to bolt GT500 rotors and calipers on. Oh, and new wheels. And new tires. And....

Rather use Scat Pack rotors and calipers (I am a Mopar guy), but that setup pushes the adapter bracket to the back side of the spindle. But now that I think of it, that’s how your is. Now I can’t wait to see how yours works and what it looks like from the side.

I still have a bunch of parts to collect, rotors, pads, cerakote to paint the calipers, wheels spacers, etc. There's an event here locally around a large lake with multiple checkpoints throughout happening in March. Total mileage will probably be around 150 miles. I don't think I'll do this upgrade before then. I'll try my brackets of course, and I want to take a close look at the lines and how they will connect to the rotor. I'm not a fan of how the hose pulls on the banjo fitting (even with my current setup). The aftermaket fittings don't seem to have much surface area and I feel they can deflect when at full lock with the tension of the hose (unless I use a really long hose). I'm thinking I may run a hard line from the caliper to a fitting captured on a bracket welded to the caliper adapter, then have the hose connect to that. This would eliminate the tension pulling directly on the banjo mounted to the caliper. I'm restoring a Porsche right now for a friend and that's how those cars are setup.

 

[DionR]

I still have a bunch of parts to collect, rotors, pads, cerakote to paint the calipers, wheels spacers, etc. There's an event here locally around a large lake with multiple checkpoints throughout happening in March. Total mileage will probably be around 150 miles. I don't think I'll do this upgrade before then. I'll try my brackets of course, and I want to take a close look at the lines and how they will connect to the rotor. I'm not a fan of how the hose pulls on the banjo fitting (even with my current setup). The aftermaket fittings don't seem to have much surface area and I feel they can deflect when at full lock with the tension of the hose (unless I use a really long hose). I'm thinking I may run a hard line from the caliper to a fitting captured on a bracket welded to the caliper adapter, then have the hose connect to that. This would eliminate the tension pulling directly on the banjo mounted to the caliper. I'm restoring a Porsche right now for a friend and that's how those cars are setup.

My understanding is the best way to run the hoses is so that they cross the centerline of the spindle. I guess this gives the best chance of not stretching the hose or rubbing on anything. That’s how Mopar set up the original brakes, and most everything I have looked at recently was done that way.

I set mine up with the calipers on the back side of the spindle to match the original location of the caliper on the car they came off. My hose is an “S” curve and seems to work ok, I think it might even be how the car the calipers came off of was done. But I think I might swap things back to the front if I make a change.

 

[black954]

GREAT build! I just read the whole thing and am very impressed with the attention to detail!

 

[racerjoe]

I can't say enough good things about sendcutsend.com. Not only did they cut and ship my order within 1 day of me ordering them, their packaging is amazing, and the cut quality is great. They send it with a cardboard backing vaccum sealed. I opted out of them de-burring the brackets, but honestly, there really isn't much cutting slag to clean up. I'll test fit them soon.

 

[racerjoe]

My measurements were perfect! It ended up needing a 3/8" spacer between the bracket and the caliper to perfectly center the caliper on the rotor. Now I just need to source the rest of the parts to get this done.

 

[DionR]

My measurements were perfect! It ended up needing a 3/8" spacer between the bracket and the caliper to perfectly center the caliper on the rotor. Now I just need to source the rest of the parts to get this done.



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Are the calipers not threaded? Looks like you have nuts on the end of the bolts holding the caliper to the adapter?

Nice that it ended up with such a common thickness for the spacer.

 

[racerjoe]

Are the calipers not threaded? Looks like you have nuts on the end of the bolts holding the caliper to the adapter?

Nice that it ended up with such a common thickness for the spacer.

They are not threaded. I'll get a flange head bolt and put it through from the inside. There's actually more space in there than the pics show.

 

[racerjoe]

Since I'm never satified and I wasn't thrilled about using a wheel spacer, for some reason I looked up the 2010 SRT rear brake rotor dimensions and low and behold the offset was much greater than the RT front rotor. The diameter also grows to 13.75" I figured I'd give it a shot. I picked up an SRT rear rotor from the local store and it will be perfect. I have about 1/2' clearance to the inside spoke of the wheel so no spacers! My brackets I designed actually worked for mock up too, but the caliper is about .010" to the outside edge of the rotor. That's too close for me. I'll have two more make to give me more space. Two other wins using this rotor is the pad is damn near the same width of the brake surface and the only spacer needed now is a .100" washer between the caliper bracket and the spindle. I'm happy enough now that this will be the last iteration and I'll start sourcing parts for final assembly.


A keen eye will notice the moisture on my wheels. That's condensation. Last week was in the 20-30s here in south LA, and now its 80+ with stupid humidity. The entire car is sweating like this....Ugh.

 

[DionR]

Looks like that pad was made for the rotor. I like it!

 

[DionR]

Since I'm never satified and I wasn't thrilled about using a wheel spacer, for some reason I looked up the 2010 SRT rear brake rotor dimensions and low and behold the offset was much greater than the RT front rotor. The diameter also grows to 13.75" I figured I'd give it a shot. I picked up an SRT rear rotor from the local store and it will be perfect. I have about 1/2' clearance to the inside spoke of the wheel so no spacers! My brackets I designed actually worked for mock up too, but the caliper is about .010" to the outside edge of the rotor. That's too close for me. I'll have two more make to give me more space. Two other wins using this rotor is the pad is damn near the same width of the brake surface and the only spacer needed now is a .100" washer between the caliper bracket and the spindle. I'm happy enough now that this will be the last iteration and I'll start sourcing parts for final assembly.


A keen eye will notice the moisture on my wheels. That's condensation. Last week was in the 20-30s here in south LA, and now its 80+ with stupid humidity. The entire car is sweating like this....Ugh.

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Do you think that would fit in a 17” rim?

 

[racerjoe]

Do you think that would fit in a 17” rim?

What’s the ID of your wheel? I can measure next time I have it on there. I put it all back together so I can start getting the car ready for the 140ish mile cruise.

 

[racerjoe]

Looks like that pad was made for the rotor. I like it!

it does! Crazy how small this huge rotor makes the caliper look.

 

[DionR]

What’s the ID of your wheel? I can measure next time I have it on there. I put it all back together so I can start getting the car ready for the 140ish mile cruise.

Not sure what the ID is. Probably not much chance it will work. Might get a measurement at some point though.

My current setup is so tight that the stick on wheel weights hit the calipers and that is only with a 13” rotor. Now, they are floating calipers so maybe the bridge is really thick compared to a fix caliper that can build in some more rigidity?

I know for certain that .4” of more radius won work with these wheels and calipers, but who know with a different caliper.

 

[racerjoe]

The hub is 3/4" and the rotors are around 3/16-1/4" thick. This meant I needed studs with a long shoulder. The only ones I could find were these ARP studs. $75 for 5! They work perfectly, but go completly against the budget aspect of this project. In the end, I could have bought the aluminum hubs from Dr. Diff for the same money. The rotors that I had turned down were $25/ea. I paid a guy $100 to turn them down into hubs for me, and now $150 worth of studs. He sells his for $300. Oh well. Early on it was proof of concept and losing $150 vs $300 if it didn't work didn't sting as much.

 

[DionR]

The hub is 3/4" and the rotors are around 3/16-1/4" thick. This meant I needed studs with a long shoulder. The only ones I could find were these ARP studs. $75 for 5! They work perfectly, but go completly against the budget aspect of this project.

Don't remember what I used, but I think they are 3" and didn't cost $150. But it has been 5-10 years since I bought them so who knows what has happened since then. I know I struggled to find the right studs though, so there could be even less options than when I did it. Have to keep that in mind if I do up another set, pulled a set of old rotors to make another set and was thinking about it.

In the end, I could have bought the aluminum hubs from Dr. Diff for the same money. The rotors that I had turned down were $25/ea. I paid a guy $100 to turn them down into hubs for me, and now $150 worth of studs. He sells his for $300. Oh well. Early on it was proof of concept and losing $150 vs $300 if it didn't work didn't sting as much.

I don't really like aluminum hubs for the street. Plenty are running them so probably not an issue, just makes me nervous.

And I think his hubs set the rotor further out than the hub machined from stock rotors do. No idea how much though, @72bluNblu said it wasn't much. Would have changed how much shim material you would have needed, but probably not much of an issue.

 

[72bluNblu]

Don't remember what I used, but I think they are 3" and didn't cost $150. But it has been 5-10 years since I bought them so who knows what has happened since then. I know I struggled to find the right studs though, so there could be even less options than when I did it. Have to keep that in mind if I do up another set, pulled a set of old rotors to make another set and was thinking about it.



I don't really like aluminum hubs for the street. Plenty are running them so probably not an issue, just makes me nervous.

And I think his hubs set the rotor further out than the hub machined from stock rotors do. No idea how much though, @72bluNblu said it wasn't much. Would have changed how much shim material you would have needed, but probably not much of an issue.

I’m pretty sure the aluminum hubs are the same as the factory iron hubs if you machine off the rotors. The 13” cobra kit widens the track about 3/16”, which is about the thickness of the floating rotors. So the hub face is in the same place, but since the rotors are floating you add their thickness to the track.

 

[racerjoe]

I don’t think I’ve uploaded a picture of the car lately. I cleaned it up for the first cruise night of the year this past weekend. Just enjoying driving it whenever I can.

 

[mopowers]

I don’t think I’ve uploaded a picture of the car lately. I cleaned it up for the first cruise night of the year this past weekend. Just enjoying driving it whenever I can.
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Damn, that's a beautiful car! Awesome photos!

 

[racerjoe]

Here's an update on the Mitty mount engine isolators. I"m really not sure how long this mount was twisted like this because once I noticed it, I fixed it. Then after 1 drive it was back to being twisted. The steel on 1 side was actually bent, shaped like a bananna. I was able to pound it back flat, but still disappointing. I guess with the mounting bolts not in line, they tend to walk when the engine torque pulls it apart.

While I really didn't want to go back to the solid mounts, I decided to fab up an engine torque limiter. I realize these are available on the market, but I didn't buy anything to make this part. I used scrap metal and parts I had laying around in my garage. It only took me about an hour or two.

I tested it out and the rubber isolator stayed put. It also didn't introduce any unwanted vibration. I'll call it a win.

No the bolt isn't touching the PS hose...

 

[racerjoe]

I also finally received my sway bar from Hotchkis. I ordered this bar at the end of December.

It's HUGE! It's impressive how much of a difference it made. I've never had a sway bar on this car. I'm extremely happy with how this car handles!

For anyone that didn't know, Hotchkis bars are 100% weld in. Both the K-member brackets and the LCA brackets need to be welded.

 

[racerjoe]

Participated in the Cruisin da Lake fundraiser this past weekend. We drove 152 miles around Lake Ponchartrain in New Olreans. There were 8 checkpoints around the lake and at the end you can place your stamped card in a box for a drawing for $100. Car ran great and averaged 13.8mpg. I'm definetly not concerned with fuel efficiency, but that's certainly a bonus.

Missing from the picture below is a 65 mustang that also convoyed with us. Guy with the corvette has 2 hotrods, but one has a torn up engine and the transimssion in the other one quit shifting into 3&4th so he took ole' reliable. I've heard there were around 500 cars that participated in the event.

 

[DionR]

Participated in the Cruisin da Lake fundraiser this past weekend. We drove 152 miles around Lake Ponchartrain in New Olreans. There were 8 checkpoints around the lake and at the end you can place your stamped card in a box for a drawing for $100. Car ran great and averaged 13.8mpg. I'm definetly not concerned with fuel efficiency, but that's certainly a bonus.

Missing from the picture below is a 65 mustang that also convoyed with us. Guy with the corvette has 2 hotrods, but one has a torn up engine and the transimssion in the other one quit shifting into 3&4th so he took ole' reliable. I've heard there were around 500 cars that participated in the event.


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Best use of the car, IMO. Put some miles on it and enjoy your efforts.

Best looking car in the bunch, but I admit I am biased.

 

[racerjoe]

I finally decided to get my brake upgrade done. I was previously using the stock style proportioning valve that came on the Dodge Magnum my front discs came from. It worked fine with the rear disc brakes. The car would stop really well, but honestly couldn't lock the brakes up. I decided to ditch the stock style proportioning valve and go with an adjustable valve. That meant I had to make some new brake lines. Of course, the hardest two fittings to access had leaks after letting them sit overnight. It took a couple hours and some bruised forearms to get them to stop leaking.
I had a hard time deciding what color to paint the calipers, but finally decided on silver with red lettering. I think they came out fairly decent. These calipers were black with the viper logo on them. I bead blasted them down to clean aluminum in preparation for the Cerakote paint. Amazon had some cheap Brembo vinyl I used for masking purposes.

Instead of using my hand pump to bleed the brakes, I removed the hand pump and connected it to a vacuum pump (the type used to vacuum AC systems). It worked great. I highly recommend doing this if you have lots of air to get out of your lines, and of course if you have those tools available.
The pedal has a very good feel to it. I'm ready for a test drive, but it's been raining pretty much every day for the last month here and there's no end in sight.

 

[DionR]

I like it! Nice combination.

What's next?

 

[racerjoe]

I like it! Nice combination.

What's next?

That's a good question! I'm about 85% sure I'm going to take it to Holley Moparty and participate in the Grandmasters competition. It should be fun making an *** out of myself on the autocross and slalom course. The drag racing part I can handle.