by m1dadio Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:17 amCost and availability of disc brake brackets for 2012
If any body is or has been thinking about having disc brakes on their van in 2012 , Read this because now is the time to act on it.
I am at the point of making final decission about having another batch made as you may recall from previos posts, linked here.
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t5297-disc-brake-conversion-kits-expert-opinions
We have just about enough names on the list to proceed.
If you are considering doing disc brakes this year, now is the time to get your name on the list and get the brackets by Feb or so. The rest you can do later.
If you want Disc brake brackets you must Email me with your request/intention to buy; and which brackets you want at
m1dadio@shaw.ca
Posting on this thread that you want brackets or “PM” me will not get your name on the list.
I will keep you posted on how many people get their name on the list and what the outcome is on Jan 6th2012 or so. Following that, should there be enough interest I will ask for a deposit of $50 towards each bracket set requested Via paypal. When the brackets are manufactured (could be two months or so) I will collect the ballance owing and deliver them right away.
More imformation on my three different disc brake options can be found on page 21 of the linked thread.
A couple of disc brake concerns/questions have come up in the past while that I think should be addressed at this time.
The first; “How much to do disc brakes on my van”?
The following is not price quotes or estimates; they are general numbers from previous experience. The cost to do your van is subject to many variables like what year your van is, what state of disrepair the brakes are currently in, do you have a sway bar, have any adjoining parts been previously modified and so on.
Separate from that the simple answer is between about $800 to $1000 for a decent, basic Disc/Drum duel circuit manual brake system conversion if you do the job yourself. Many peoplel report doint it for much less then that (50%) less for some.
That is cheap! as far as disc/drum conversions go. Lets put that into perspective with some other examples. Go online yourself and look up disc brake conversion for very popular and abundant kits for cars like late 60s mustangs, Novas, Chevelle and so on. Kits for those very popular vehicles are anywhere for $850 to $1600 depending on the Car and up for higher performance kits and some require addition machining or costly changes to the vehicle. I would think those kits should be cheaper then that because they are so popular and mass produced by the thousands, usually in China.
You can also see brake kits in the 2 to 3 thousand dollar range, you know those are “made in America” brake kits.
For you to have access to a “custom” disc brake bracket created for a very small van market that only does about ten van disc brake conversions a year, and made so the do-it yourselfer can complete it in the driveway with basic hand skills and without any major modifications to any other van parts and for only $800 to $1000 is extremely reasonable value for your money.
Lets break that down a little further.
Of the “front axle” conversion to disc brakes the brackets had been costing about $260 with shipping , comprehensive installation instructions,additional parts list and all. This is likely to go up in price on the next batch by about 15 to 20%, I have to check what the production costs are going to be this year. The rest of the parts (very common and very available at your local car parts store)rotors, calipers, hoses and other misc parts come in around $125 to $225 depending on the cost of parts where you live. The “front axle part” has been costing under $500, the brackets being the most expensive part of that.
Add to that a replacement master cylinder, new lines, fluid, and other needed valves are around $100 to $350 depending on your van and its needs. Some people choose extras or higher grade parts and that’s where this conversion can cost between $800 and $1000, or more if you want higher quality or performance chrome everything; thats your call.
If you want to go to four wheel discs add about another $500 to $1000 to do the rear with operating park brake and all. If you want to go to power assisted brakes add around another $500 or so with all the design and fabrication of relocating the master cylinder.
One other concern I have heard from several vanners is the lack of consistent availability of disc brake brackets to the G van community.
I think this very post and everything script above speaks to why that is.
Said another way; the economic laws of “supply vs demand” are always at play affecting both inconsistent supply and higher costs. The real problem is the very small number of vanners doing disc conversions, about 10 or 12 a year. If there were 50 or more vanners doing disc brake conversions each year I could then make these brackets available all the time and at less then half the cost they are now. But that isn’t what’s happening; the market (demand) is just to small.
thank you
M1D
On another note: I really like the 12" rotor design they have stronger stopping force as expected. But also as expected with the smaller pads they eat the brake pads like crazy which makes for much brake dust on my wheels and additional dissimular metal corrosion to the wheels if not cleaned almost daily. Looks like I will have to pollish my wheels again.
If any body is or has been thinking about having disc brakes on their van in 2012 , Read this because now is the time to act on it.
I am at the point of making final decission about having another batch made as you may recall from previos posts, linked here.
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t5297-disc-brake-conversion-kits-expert-opinions
We have just about enough names on the list to proceed.
If you are considering doing disc brakes this year, now is the time to get your name on the list and get the brackets by Feb or so. The rest you can do later.
If you want Disc brake brackets you must Email me with your request/intention to buy; and which brackets you want at
m1dadio@shaw.ca
Posting on this thread that you want brackets or “PM” me will not get your name on the list.
I will keep you posted on how many people get their name on the list and what the outcome is on Jan 6th2012 or so. Following that, should there be enough interest I will ask for a deposit of $50 towards each bracket set requested Via paypal. When the brackets are manufactured (could be two months or so) I will collect the ballance owing and deliver them right away.
More imformation on my three different disc brake options can be found on page 21 of the linked thread.
A couple of disc brake concerns/questions have come up in the past while that I think should be addressed at this time.
The first; “How much to do disc brakes on my van”?
The following is not price quotes or estimates; they are general numbers from previous experience. The cost to do your van is subject to many variables like what year your van is, what state of disrepair the brakes are currently in, do you have a sway bar, have any adjoining parts been previously modified and so on.
Separate from that the simple answer is between about $800 to $1000 for a decent, basic Disc/Drum duel circuit manual brake system conversion if you do the job yourself. Many peoplel report doint it for much less then that (50%) less for some.
That is cheap! as far as disc/drum conversions go. Lets put that into perspective with some other examples. Go online yourself and look up disc brake conversion for very popular and abundant kits for cars like late 60s mustangs, Novas, Chevelle and so on. Kits for those very popular vehicles are anywhere for $850 to $1600 depending on the Car and up for higher performance kits and some require addition machining or costly changes to the vehicle. I would think those kits should be cheaper then that because they are so popular and mass produced by the thousands, usually in China.
You can also see brake kits in the 2 to 3 thousand dollar range, you know those are “made in America” brake kits.
For you to have access to a “custom” disc brake bracket created for a very small van market that only does about ten van disc brake conversions a year, and made so the do-it yourselfer can complete it in the driveway with basic hand skills and without any major modifications to any other van parts and for only $800 to $1000 is extremely reasonable value for your money.
Lets break that down a little further.
Of the “front axle” conversion to disc brakes the brackets had been costing about $260 with shipping , comprehensive installation instructions,additional parts list and all. This is likely to go up in price on the next batch by about 15 to 20%, I have to check what the production costs are going to be this year. The rest of the parts (very common and very available at your local car parts store)rotors, calipers, hoses and other misc parts come in around $125 to $225 depending on the cost of parts where you live. The “front axle part” has been costing under $500, the brackets being the most expensive part of that.
Add to that a replacement master cylinder, new lines, fluid, and other needed valves are around $100 to $350 depending on your van and its needs. Some people choose extras or higher grade parts and that’s where this conversion can cost between $800 and $1000, or more if you want higher quality or performance chrome everything; thats your call.
If you want to go to four wheel discs add about another $500 to $1000 to do the rear with operating park brake and all. If you want to go to power assisted brakes add around another $500 or so with all the design and fabrication of relocating the master cylinder.
One other concern I have heard from several vanners is the lack of consistent availability of disc brake brackets to the G van community.
I think this very post and everything script above speaks to why that is.
Said another way; the economic laws of “supply vs demand” are always at play affecting both inconsistent supply and higher costs. The real problem is the very small number of vanners doing disc conversions, about 10 or 12 a year. If there were 50 or more vanners doing disc brake conversions each year I could then make these brackets available all the time and at less then half the cost they are now. But that isn’t what’s happening; the market (demand) is just to small.
thank you
M1D
On another note: I really like the 12" rotor design they have stronger stopping force as expected. But also as expected with the smaller pads they eat the brake pads like crazy which makes for much brake dust on my wheels and additional dissimular metal corrosion to the wheels if not cleaned almost daily. Looks like I will have to pollish my wheels again.
If any of you are interested in this kit, but did not get your name on the list, let me know. Since I don't have them in hand, you can get contact M1D and get them directly from him on my behalf. 
Any updates?