Disc Brake Conversion Kits for a 63 ply

[TheGodfather]

I know the subject of Disc Brake Conversion Kits has been covered countless times before and the more I read about everyone's experiences; the more confusing it seems to get. I did read the article by Richard Ehrenberg and it was excellant however, my goal is to purchase a one stop shoping Disc Brake Conversion Kit from one of the companies that make them. Wilwood, SSBC, MP Brakes, and many others make these Kits and have many choices. My Plymouth weighs around 3900lbs and should fly at 120mph at the strip. It will also be a street driven vehicle. MP Brakes STRONGLY recommends a single caliper over a 4-piston type? Do any of you guys really know what's the best setup for this street/strip application including information on single vs. 4-piston type calipers? Your feedback is usually very good so thanks in advance for any information and your personal experiences-

 

[Chris]

I have a 68 Satellite and needed similar performance upgrades. I just did the Wilwood conversion for the fronts and rebuilt the rear drums. I also read the MA article and did a lot of research. This kit seemed decent for the price and I have seen a ton of them on mopars. The instructions and tech support for a weekend mechanic were not the best.



As soon as the snow thaws in NJ I'll let you know how she stops...

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Get the STRANGE front Disc Brake setup. Best out there. Wilwoods Customer service sucks. I'll never buy another Wilwood product.

 

[TheGodfather]

Get the STRANGE front Disc Brake setup. Best out there. Wilwoods Customer service sucks. I'll never buy another Wilwood product.

I received this email from Strange Engineering last Friday:

"Unfortunately we do not make a disc brake conversion for your vehicle that would be streetable. Our brakes are drag race only style. Sorry we could not help" Thanks
Jim Buschman

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

The wear patterns on that disc brake set up look terrible,maybe the rotors are warped alittle but not smooth.I am very happy with the SSBC kit.:munky2:

 

[TheGodfather]

The wear patterns on that disc brake set up look terrible,maybe the rotors are warped alittle but not smooth.I am very happy with the SSBC kit.:munky2:

**Thanks for the feedback Hemi-Itis. I would agree with you that the wear pattern on the Strange Racing Brakes do look bad.........Something's up with that? How long have you had your SSBC Brakes on your 63? Any warpage issues at all?

The more research I do; the more I'm concluding that the Stainless 4-piston SSBC Kits are the best available and their Tech Department has been VERY responsive to my email questions. AND SSBC is made in the good ole USA.
Wilwood Tech has yet to answer a single email I've sent to them? Some customer service...Huh?

 

[383man]

From what I have been told the A-body disc brake setup will work on our 63's. I still have the factory power drum brakes on mine. Ron

 

[Dodge 330]

I kicked a number of different options around and finally decided on Wilwood's as well for my street/strip car. The strange are nice and lightweight looking but belong on a racecar IMO.

Never have tried to talk to anyone at Wilwood but I will say the hubs, rotors, calipers, everything are really nice quality and the bolts are all drilled so you can safety wire the hub to the rotor.

Great swap especially if you have the original drum spindles and don't want to pull the spindles off.

Another cool option is drum spindles, AREngineering caliper adapters, 1st gen Viper calipers, and 11.75" cop rotors. The calipers run me about $350 through Archer racing and I got Brembo rotors on sale for $25 apiece. I think AR's kit is $180.00 now... Fair warning, this combo won't fit 14" wheels or 15" Ralleye's but WILL fit 15" steelies and cop rims. I didn't want this look on my '63 but did it on my old '71 Cuda and it stopped AMAZINGLY quick.

 

[TheGodfather]

Disc Brake Conversion Kits?

**Thanks to all of you that replied to my Disc Brake Conversion confusion for my 63 Ply..........I really appreciate you. Keep in mind this is a street and Strip vehicle. I've done a TON of homework on this by reading and looking at five differerent brands of Disc Brake Conversion Kits. I also talked to a few Brake Company experts. All the products will stop the car fine and all of them will work well at the beginning. Some of them have serious caliper corosion problems after only one year of use due to where they buy their aluminum. AND some manufactures do not offer DOT approved disc brakes. As an example-Strange offers only Racing type lightweight disc brakes that are NOT recommeded for the street. Because I plan to Drag Race this vehicle and drive it on the street; there are complexities that must be considered and thought through. I don't have a Trans-Brake so one part of my study was based on which brake system was best at "Static Holding" ability on the starting line of a Drag Strip and how that affects overall consistency. It's really important!! Then there's the antidotal information I received from the distributors like, Summit, Jegs, BuyBrakes, NAPA, and others. Several sell several different brands of conversions Kits.......Bottom line is? Drum roll please!! SSBC was my vote for Best Disc Brake Conversion Kits going for excellance in product quality, extremely helpful and knowledgable tech people, choices, and fewer warranty/call back issues than any of the others. The prices were all within a $100 of each other so that was a non-issue. I ordered the SSBC Brakes and now have to wait 3-4 weeks to get them.

 

[Darter6]

Brakes

I run the SSBC Front and rear disc on a 65 Belevdere for 6 years now and also foot braked the car at the track. They work very well. I think you will be satisfied with your choice.

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

I run the SSBC Front and rear disc on a 65 Belevdere for 6 years now and also foot braked the car at the track. They work very well. I think you will be satisfied with your choice.

Which rear caliper did you choose??Does is have an emergency brake??

 

[Darter6]

63

Sorry I was out of town for 5 days at the Nostaliga Drags at Speedworld in AZ. The SSBC rear kit is the one that uses Ford calipers and yes it has the E-brake setup and comes with cables.