A Body Disc Brake Swap 101

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OK Then....
I am getting started on my Disc Brake Upgrade/Swap on my 1970 Dart GT. Since it seems that nobody has posted a step by step with PICTURES I am now going to do so. This is for 67-72 SBP cars to the 73 - up LBP Brake setup. It may work on older A's but I am only saying what I know it fits.

This is the Old School swap using used parts... NOT a "Kit".
As for other parts and pieces that can be used to do the swap; There are many other threads to help you with this. So if you don't mind, Please don't ask me about all the other interchanges in this thread. Thanks!

Starting out.
You will need to find donor parts from a 1973 - up A body with Disc Brakes to get the parts from.

You will need the following:
Upper Control Arms (Grab the Cam Bolts for "Just in case" too).
Spindles with ALL attached parts (Spindle, Caliper, Caliper Mount, and Rotor/Hub). Don't forget the Lug Nuts as they are bigger than Small Bolt Pattern Lug Nuts. Proportioning/Meter Valve. I am not recomending you get the Brake Soft Lines because I would use new ones. But you may want to get them for reference purposes. You will also need Big Bolt Pattern Rims.

Also, This would be the time to rebuild your Front End too! Hint Hint.

Hose down the Upper Ball Joint Cam Nuts and the Brake Lines connectors with WD-40 or ?? of your choice at least the night before you start this project!

That's it!

Now, just a note on MY cars swap; I only bought new Upper Control Arm Bushings, Upper and Lower Ball Joints since her Front End has less than 10,000 miles on it from the last rebuild.

OK then.... Off to start this! I will post pics later today as we get 'er done.

Thanks for looking!
Bruce B.

I found a donor 78 volare. Will the the disc brakes from it line up with my 70 dart? I read something about geometry. Do you have a recommended thread I should be reading?
 
Not sure. Can u post a pic or 2 from the back of it.
 
I just finished changing out my ball joints, upper bushings, rotors, pads, and tie rods on my car which was swapped at some point in its life. Wish I would had read this before I ordered parts! Luckily I was able to return most of them. Who knows what the rubber rings are that comes with the brake hardware kits? When I pulled my calipers off they didnt have these. Thanks!
The ones in this picture:
H5516__ra_p.jpg
 
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Rebuilding calipers I believe
 
I just finished changing out my ball joints, upper bushings, rotors, pads, and tie rods on my car which was swapped at some point in its life. Wish I would had read this before I ordered parts! Luckily I was able to return most of them. Who knows what the rubber rings are that comes with the brake hardware kits? When I pulled my calipers off they didnt have these. Thanks!
The ones in this picture:
View attachment 1715063174
The rubber bands go right in there about the caliper to the ways that they sit in. I forget exactly how the rubber bands are oriented. Many factory service manuals show them.... aaaand that's about the only place they are ever seen. They would break and disappear. Brakes work just as well without them.
 
Well....
Everything went fairley good....Except:
The Upper Ball Joint on the Drivers side fought back bad!
What you DON'T see is the 7 foot Steel Pipe on the end of the 3/4 Drive Breaker Bar!
View attachment 142769

My friend George (now FABO Member 318dart) stopped by to wrench!! THANK-YOU George!! :supz:
Passenger Side re-assembly.....
View attachment 142770

Spindle......
View attachment 142771

Removing old Upper Ball Joint......
View attachment 142772

Out with the old....
View attachment 142773

Passenger side pretty much done......
NOTE: The Lower Ball Joint Bolts are on BACKWARDS!!! We noticed and corrected this of course! LOL
View attachment 142774

Passenger side waiting on Caliper, Rotor, and Pads.....
View attachment 142775

Now the Drivers side.... (See 1st pic for Upper Ball Joint removal....UGH)......
View attachment 142776

Passenger Side..... DONE!
View attachment 142777

Drivers Side..... DONE!
View attachment 142778

See 1970 Dart GT - A day in the life
For the pics of the Magnum 500's going on.

This is how it is done.....
Nothing to it!
AND: The Disc Setup clears the Sway Bar with the Sway Bar Mounts I Made.
(see: 1970 Dart GT - A day in the life
Post # Twenty-Eight)

Later,
Bruce B.

View attachment 142769

View attachment 142770

View attachment 142771

View attachment 142772

View attachment 142773

View attachment 142774

View attachment 142775

View attachment 142776

View attachment 142777

View attachment 142778
 
Well....
Everything went fairley good....Except:
The Upper Ball Joint on the Drivers side fought back bad!
What you DON'T see is the 7 foot Steel Pipe on the end of the 3/4 Drive Breaker Bar!
View attachment 142769

My friend George (now FABO Member 318dart) stopped by to wrench!! THANK-YOU George!! :supz:
Passenger Side re-assembly.....
View attachment 142770

Spindle......
View attachment 142771

Removing old Upper Ball Joint......
View attachment 142772

Out with the old....
View attachment 142773

Passenger side waiting on Caliper, Rotor, and Pads.....
View attachment 142775

Now the Drivers side.... (See 1st pic for Upper Ball Joint removal....UGH)......
View attachment 142776

Passenger Side..... DONE!
View attachment 142777

Drivers Side..... DONE!
View attachment 142778

See 1970 Dart GT - A day in the life
For the pics of the Magnum 500's going on.

This is how it is done.....
Nothing to it!
AND: The Disc Setup clears the Sway Bar with the Sway Bar Mounts I Made.
(see: 1970 Dart GT - A day in the life
Post # Twenty-Eight)

Later,
Bruce B.

View attachment 142769

View attachment 142770

View attachment 142771

View attachment 142772

View attachment 142773

View attachment 142774

View attachment 142775

View attachment 142776

View attachment 142777

View attachment 142778
Hi Bruce, thanks for your post! I was wondering if you had any issues with your stock sway bars contacting the '73 disk brake set-up. I was under the impression that it was necessary to use a rear mounted caliper bracket set-up when using the stock '67-'72 sway bar/lower control arms.
 
So these rubber rings go around the tops of the bracket as an anti vibe when you install the caliper.
Rip bruce
 
I have a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 Vin .it has drum brakes with sbp on the front and I'm planning on doing the disc swap to bbp. I did see in this thread that the 340s came with discs so they must have been hijacked.. From what I have researched the best parts to use are from a 76 A body for the larger caliper piston. And the calipers need to be mounted on the rear due to the sway bar. Am I headed on the right track here. And now for my question.... Does anyone have a complete part list to go to Napa , Advance Auto or Autozone and buy all the parts.. I dont have a donor vehicle. THANK YOU for the help!!
 
Look up Scare Bird brake conversions. They give you the parts list. I have not done mine yet but hope to soon.
 
guess Bruce wont be answering...just noticed he is no longer with us, RIP Bruce, :/

No it was pretty sad too. I took him to his chemo treatments and he went downhill so fast. It was a heartbreaking thing.
 
I have a 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 Vin .it has drum brakes with sbp on the front and I'm planning on doing the disc swap to bbp. I did see in this thread that the 340s came with discs so they must have been hijacked.. From what I have researched the best parts to use are from a 76 A body for the larger caliper piston. And the calipers need to be mounted on the rear due to the sway bar. Am I headed on the right track here. And now for my question.... Does anyone have a complete part list to go to Napa , Advance Auto or Autozone and buy all the parts.. I dont have a donor vehicle. THANK YOU for the help!!

Your best bet to buy all the parts you need for the 73+ BBP swap is DoctorDiff. He sells complete kits that are made up of all the 73+ OE style Mopar parts. Having a donor vehicle is nice, but after having done it that was as well you end up buying a lot of parts anyway. Often times most of your donor vehicle's parts will need to be reconditioned or replaced anyway, leaving you to buy new or reconditioned calipers, new bearings, brake hoses, etc. Unlike some of the other kits out there Cass sells the kits with Timken bearings, new lines, and has options for all the other stuff you may need as well. Keep in mine that 73+ BBP swap will also require either large ball joint upper control arms, or tapered ball joint spacers for the spindles.

10.95" Front Disc Brake Kit (Stage 1)

No it was pretty sad too. I took him to his chemo treatments and he went downhill so fast. It was a heartbreaking thing.

A real loss for us here, he was an incredible resource for those of us with the '70 and '71 GT's.
 
Your best bet to buy all the parts you need for the 73+ BBP swap is DoctorDiff. He sells complete kits that are made up of all the 73+ OE style Mopar parts. Having a donor vehicle is nice, but after having done it that was as well you end up buying a lot of parts anyway. Often times most of your donor vehicle's parts will need to be reconditioned or replaced anyway, leaving you to buy new or reconditioned calipers, new bearings, brake hoses, etc. Unlike some of the other kits out there Cass sells the kits with Timken bearings, new lines, and has options for all the other stuff you may need as well. Keep in mine that 73+ BBP swap will also require either large ball joint upper control arms, or tapered ball joint spacers for the spindles.

10.95" Front Disc Brake Kit (Stage 1)



A real loss for us here, he was an incredible resource for those of us with the '70 and '71 GT's.

That's for sure. I feel honored to have a few of the books he had.
 
Ok .. Doctor Diff looks like the way to go. I am currently working with manual brakes. Do I have to switch to power brakes or is my manual master still ok. And would it benefit in any way to do the 11.75 inch Kit.
 
Ok .. Doctor Diff looks like the way to go. I am currently working with manual brakes. Do I have to switch to power brakes or is my manual master still ok. And would it benefit in any way to do the 11.75 inch Kit.

You don't have to switch to manual brakes, but you should replace your master cylinder because it's a drum/drum master cylinder. I use 15/16" bore manual master cylinders on my cars, they give a little more pedal travel than stock so not as hard of a pedal to deal with. Plus the little bit of additional travel improves pedal feel and brake control, at least in my opinion.

There is a benefit to the 11.75" kit, more stopping power and better heat dissipation. They're still all stock parts too, used on the later B and R bodies. I've had them on my Challenger for like 70k miles, they work well and are a nice upgrade over the 10.95's. The do require 15" wheels though, 14's won't work so if you have 14" wheels that's definitely a consideration.
 
You don't have to switch to manual brakes, but you should replace your master cylinder because it's a drum/drum master cylinder. I use 15/16" bore manual master cylinders on my cars, they give a little more pedal travel than stock so not as hard of a pedal to deal with. Plus the little bit of additional travel improves pedal feel and brake control, at least in my opinion.

There is a benefit to the 11.75" kit, more stopping power and better heat dissipation. They're still all stock parts too, used on the later B and R bodies. I've had them on my Challenger for like 70k miles, they work well and are a nice upgrade over the 10.95's. The do require 15" wheels though, 14's won't work so if you have 14" wheels that's definitely a consideration.
 
I have a 65 barracuda that's a 10 inch drum brake car. My lower ball joints are shot. I have a 73+ disk brake swap in the garage and running 5x4.5 wheels with adapters on car already.

Now my questions are: Can I use the lower ball joints from the 73+ disc swap with my 65 barracuda lower control arms with the disc swap or do I HAVE to use the 65 lower ball joints with the 73+ spindles?

For the cost of 2 lower 65 barracuda ball joints I can buy new calipers, pads, and wheel bearings to put on my 73+ disc swap.

My disc swap has good ball joints and upper control arm Bushings and came with good soft lines I could use. I'd prefer to use the soft brake lines on my car as they are brand new, just not sure if they will work.

I've searched and cant find a clear answer. So thanks in advance for any advice offered. I'd prefer to here fro the guys that have done the swap on there early As as I know they have a few different quirks to there setups
 
I have a 65 barracuda that's a 10 inch drum brake car. My lower ball joints are shot. I have a 73+ disk brake swap in the garage and running 5x4.5 wheels with adapters on car already.

Now my questions are: Can I use the lower ball joints from the 73+ disc swap with my 65 barracuda lower control arms with the disc swap or do I HAVE to use the 65 lower ball joints with the 73+ spindles?

For the cost of 2 lower 65 barracuda ball joints I can buy new calipers, pads, and wheel bearings to put on my 73+ disc swap.

My disc swap has good ball joints and upper control arm Bushings and came with good soft lines I could use. I'd prefer to use the soft brake lines on my car as they are brand new, just not sure if they will work.

I've searched and cant find a clear answer. So thanks in advance for any advice offered. I'd prefer to here fro the guys that have done the swap on there early As as I know they have a few different quirks to there setups

Your LCAs have no bearing on which lower ball joint you need. The '73+ spindles require the large bolt holes that are in the later ball joints, so you're good there.
Your upper ball joints need to be the 73+ large shaft to fit the spindle, which requires the '73+ upper control arm, or use the early UCA and an adapter sleeve like those sold by Dr. Diff.
 
Your LCAs have no bearing on which lower ball joint you need. The '73+ spindles require the large bolt holes that are in the later ball joints, so you're good there.
Your upper ball joints need to be the 73+ large shaft to fit the spindle, which requires the '73+ upper control arm, or use the early UCA and an adapter sleeve like those sold by Dr. Diff.

Thank you, I was familiar with the use of the upper control arm and larger upper ball joint. Just not sure if the 73+ ball joint would work with the stock lower barracuda control arm.

That makes me happy so now I can do my disc conversion with what I have for actually less money than buying a pair of factory 65 lower ball joints. Just hope my outer tie rid ends from the 65 barracuda will work with the 73 lower balljoint/steering arm.
 
Thank you, I was familiar with the use of the upper control arm and larger upper ball joint. Just not sure if the 73+ ball joint would work with the stock lower barracuda control arm.

That makes me happy so now I can do my disc conversion with what I have for actually less money than buying a pair of factory 65 lower ball joints. Just hope my outer tie rid ends from the 65 barracuda will work with the 73 lower balljoint/steering arm.

You'll need larger ball joint to spindle bolts, too. As long as your tie rod adjusting sleeves aren't frozen to reset the toe adjustment, they should be fine.
 
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