Liberty Rear Disk Brakes for A-Body

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jrcr_15 said:
Do you have and more photos? Are they installed now?
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Yeah they are installed but I haven't had a chance to test them on the road yet. Didn't get any pics cause I was doing full rear-end rebuild and had so much going on.
 
Although I started my conversion to rear disk brakes quite a while ago, I finally got everything done. I used the Jeep brake lines as is and adapted the metric ferrules to SAE by cutting off the metric ones. Simple. Then just bend and straighten as needed. The mount for the hose is an issue but there are a number of solutions to this from clamping to welding. I am looking into Lokar rear emergency brake cables for a clean instillation as the Factory e-brake cables are much bigger in diameter than the Jeep caliber mounting holes. The Lokar cables are listed for a Ford, but this is the same setup as the Jeep rear disks. I think the e-brake cable mounting tab on the frame will work fine and you won't need the Lokar mounting tab. Lokar supplies the right link from the brake cable to the parking brake pad lever which makes a clean instillation rather than the welding and cable cutting used in the Mopar Action article.

My main reason for swapping disk for drum is the weight savings but not far back is the better brake performance including modulation. I nearly spun my 383 Cuda during a hard stop as modern cars really do stop better. So following distances must increase if you drive an older car.
When I first raced my 'Cuda back in 1969, it weighed 3050 lbs with 1/4 tank gas and the back seat removed. That was ideal. It turned 13.50's all night long at 105 MPH. A727, 3.55 Sure Grip, H70-14 retreaded sticky tires (read early street slicks, but with limited lifetime).
Now, at Bandimere, the car weighs 3300 and I want to get that down. I blame part of this on the '73 Dart brakes with 11.75" police rotors. Heavy, but very functional. Part is also due to the 11x2.5" B-body drums which now are replaced with Liberty disk brakes (-40 to 50 lbs). Also I am currently running factor steel 15" wheels which replaced the Cragar 14" wheels that were on the car when I purchased it in June 1969. So I just purchased Weld ProStar wheels which should help unsprung weight a little.
Right now, consulting is eating up my time so I will not make much progress for a month or two, but I at least will get the wheels on in a week. I also swapped from 3.55's to 2.94's as I got tired of spinning the engine to 3500 at 65 MPH. Slightly taller tires and taller gears will definitely help, but I may need to change the torque converter if the stall speed is too high.
 
72bluNblu said:
Because there really was a design problem with the “first generation” of the green bearings. And because guys like Ehrenberg STILL tell people they put their “lives in danger” running green bearings even though that’s been total BS since the redesigned bearings came out well over a decade ago.

The write up Cass did that I linked in post #16 explains that, which also explains how the bad rap was initially earned.



Careful with the copyright laws posting that. It’s not like posting the old articles while the magazine was defunct.

Sadly I bought both magazines, what a rip off. Not at all impressed with that brake conversion, the amount of machining that has to be done seems like it would really weaken that mount. Now OE stuff usually has a pretty big safety factor built in, but I think going down to .1”, given what the factory put there, is probably pushing some luck. They don’t show the finished mount after it’s machined in much detail though, hard to tell.

And the cable mount/conversion they did is pretty amateur. I mean I’m sure it’ll work, but what they published looks like the shade tree shortcut version, not the version I’d expect to see published in a magazine. That’s one of those things I would have expected to see made custom for the article and then short cut by guys doing it themselves in their garage to save some time/money. Instead the magazine did the short cut and left folks that want a better thought out solution to find it for themselves. Kinda weak.



What we really need is a few more people to try it and post their findings. The article seems to gloss over some pretty important details of the installation.
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Some of those pieces look just like 8.8 xploder rear disc brake parts lol.
 
That is probably correct, or at least the configuration is the same. The basic components are identical to an Escape rear disk brake system. Calipers, rotors, and other parts interchange per multiple parts sites like Rock Auto. So this means that service parts are going to be available for some time which is a very good thing, and they are cheap and reliable.
I am looking into the Lokar rear brake cable system to make the parking brake functional. Lokar has the correct cable and cable ends to directly use the lever activating the rear brake shoes, something that MA had to cobble together cutting up the stock brake cable. When I get to that point, I will post what I learn trying this approach.
 
If you look into the sticky 8.8 thread in the drivetrain section you will see I have done the R&D on parking brake cables. Mopar front explorer back. The jeep liberty bracket doesnt look different from the explorer at all.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I love this kinda stuff. It's true hot rodding. But I still have to ask why people thing a car that hovers around 3K pounds needs 4 wheel discs? I guess it's more of a want/bench racing kinda thing, unless you're doing something where they are actually necessary.
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Rear disks do stop better when everything is new and works 100%. Add some dirt
grime and weather that always hits the back of the car ... so long 100% . Almost
every car with rear disks do not wear evenly, especially those with slider pins which
most cars use. Different story for same setup in the fronts almost always work 100%
and wear evenly.
 
If you don't care about a parking brake you can buy aftermarket disc brake brackets that weld on your axle tubes...maybe $12.00 each. You use GM metric calipers and whatever rotor you want. I used Mopar mini van pieces last time. Might have $75.00 in the whole deal.
 
66jim said:
Rear disks do stop better when everything is new and works 100%. Add some dirt
grime and weather that always hits the back of the car ... so long 100% . Almost
every car with rear disks do not wear evenly, especially those with slider pins which
most cars use. Different story for same setup in the fronts almost always work 100%
and wear evenly.
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Also add in the fairly new brake lock differential that works through the ABS to aid traction loss and pad wear goes up even more. It's a nice feature though.
 
Krooser said:
If you don't care about a parking brake you can buy aftermarket disc brake brackets that weld on your axle tubes...maybe $12.00 each. You use GM metric calipers and whatever rotor you want. I used Mopar mini van pieces last time. Might have $75.00 in the whole deal.
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Yep the weld on brackets are a great idea. I have also seen the GM metric calipers with an integral built in emergency brake cable crank on them. Very similar to 87-88 dodge Daytona Shelby and Daytona Pacifica rear calipers. This way you dont have the additional having to fadiddle around with shoe brakes for an emergency brake.
 
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But unfortunatly, it's not really a 'parking' brake.
It's an emergency brake. A simple backup to the (once) original brake system (which has now been modified by a hobbyist so the emergency brake might be more important then ever now).
 
MoparMat2000
I look through the massive 8.8 rear thread and found your comments about using Bruin Brake Cable to fabricate replacement cables with the correct Ford couplers. I e-mailed them with the info from the thread and hopefully will hear back shortly. This will be a very nice way to incorporate emergency brakes to the system. I must admit that the 8.8" approach although very functional, does require a significant amount of work and skill to accomplish.
 
Yes it does, however in my neck of the woods there are no 8.25 A body rears to use. Boneyards are empty. Otherwise I woulda used one, and adapted liberty discs, along with a niceky geared sure grip out of a jeep cherokee.

The amount of xploder 8.8s out here like everywhere else is freaking insane. Most logical way to go. I pieced together an 8.75 mopar drum brake rear with 3.73s for my 67 notch. Ended up with $1,600 in it. 8.8 is a cheaper way. Sometimes ya gotta work with whatcha got.
 
Thanks to MoparMat2000, and to Bruin Brake Cables, here are the part numbers for the cables needed to connect the Jeep/Ford rear parking brake levers to the Mopar a-body emergency brake system.

Right/rear – part #97369 – Overall length of wire and fittings = 74-1/2” / Outer housing mounting length = 58-3/8” - $35.00 each

Left/rear – part #97368 – Overall length of wire and fittings = 35-3/8” / Outer housing mounting length = 19-1/4” - $30.00 each

I am ordering them today and will let all know how they worked out. This is a far better system than using the Lokar components, and much cleaner than what Mopar Action did with their system.
 
Short left and long right cables. They will only fit up to 1972. After that, from 1973 to 1976 it's a different cable.
 
If you have part numbers of lengths for the '73 to '76 vehicles, I am sure someone will appreciate that info. My '68 should be happy with the ones I ordered. Thanks!
 
Sorry I don't have that information The cars I am working on are a 1967 and a 1969
 
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Well, after 6 months of consulting work this year, I finally had time to finish the brakes and get new wheels and tires on the Cuda. The photo is not great as you really can't see much of the brakes due to the reflection off the rims, but they do look good.
I just ordered parking brake cables from Bruin for $75. I looked at the Lokar kit that would adapt the Jeep/Ford rear parking brake lever to the original cable mount on the frame rail, but that looks less than ideal. The Bruin cables will just replace the original cables and have the right ends for the Jeep calipers. I will let you know how this works out, probably by 24 Aug.

Liberty Disk Brakes behind Weld ProStar Wheels.jpg
 
RLF Cuda said:
Well, after 6 months of consulting work this year, I finally had time to finish the brakes and get new wheels and tires on the Cuda. The photo is not great as you really can't see much of the brakes due to the reflection off the rims, but they do look good.
I just ordered parking brake cables from Bruin for $75. I looked at the Lokar kit that would adapt the Jeep/Ford rear parking brake lever to the original cable mount on the frame rail, but that looks less than ideal. The Bruin cables will just replace the original cables and have the right ends for the Jeep calipers. I will let you know how this works out, probably by 24 Aug.

View attachment 1715380316
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I also need the same emergency brake lines for my Dart but I cant find them on the Bruin website, they only seem to have an Ebay store. Did you have to call them to get these ordered?
 
Here are the Part Numbers:
Right/rear – part #97369 – Overall length of wire and fittings = 74-1/2” / Outer housing mounting length = 58-3/8” - $35.00 each

Left/rear – part #97368 – Overall length of wire and fittings = 35-3/8” / Outer housing mounting length = 19-1/4” - $30.00 each
I would talk with Greg at Bruin and measure your cable length accounting for the difference in caliper mounting vs drum brake mounting. My cables worked well but they could be at least 2" shorter and put the adjustor outer part of the threaded rod. I have about 2" of adjustment left but all works fine.

Greg
Tech Help
Bruin Brake Cables
www.bruinbrakecables.com
224-225-1009
 
The front circuit cable that they have is for 108" wheelbase cars. Darts are 111" wheelbase. The rear circuit cables are the same all 67-71 A body.

I test fit my prototype cables and the inner cable and was thinking outer sheath probably could be shorter by about 2 inches.
 
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Here are photos of the
20190826_175713.jpg
cables installed on the Liberty rear disk brakes.
 
What year A body are you using these on RLF? Is the outer cable sheath length a good length based on the lengths I came up with with Bruin ? Is it just the inner cable thats a bit too long to take up the adjustment?
 
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