Disc Brake conversion

Greetings, I'm new here so I hope this is in the right place. I've got a 68 A pick up and the brakes are suprizeing, you never know where you'll end up. I've heard the early Econoline disc brakes bolt right on after swapping spindles of course, is there any truth to this, I'm looking for and economical solution to my braking issue, thanks guys in advance.

Mr. John I can't help you here, but we have alot of "A" guys who can. Welcome to the site.

welcome Mr.John, if you go to dual master cylender conversion on this section theres good info. nice A you have there!

Benwah, I've got the hydralics down, I need hardware! All the after market stuff is crap ie: Harwood. Someone here has to have converted an Dodge A series, I've also heard stories of useing Toronado rotors and s-10 calipers? Does anyone have pics of an early Econoline with disc brakes, in particular the spindle and drag link areas. And I'm not sure what years those were avalible as well. Thanks guys.

Mr,John , im not sure of the complete list ,but a friend of mine is working on a setup. it uses the stock 11"drum spindals i guess the 10"drum spindals are diffrent , 87 dodge dakota 4x4 roters, i believe gm calipers . next time i see him ill get the lowdown. last i knew he was working on getting the bracket that holds the calipers machined. i never heard of anyone booeing the aftermarket brake people before. any reason? im asking because i was strongly thinking of getting an aftermarket set up for my 65 sportsman,

I've only heard good things about these guys. The stuff isn't listed on their website, but they have it and I've heard they are very helpful.

http://www.aajbrakes.com/

Check out Toast's posts:

https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/between-the-seats-a-f16/dual-master-conversion-t1661-30.htm

benwah wrote:Mr,John , im not sure of the complete list ,but a friend of mine is working on a setup. it uses the stock 11"drum spindals i guess the 10"drum spindals are diffrent , 87 dodge dakota 4x4 roters, i believe gm calipers . next time i see him ill get the lowdown. last i knew he was working on getting the bracket that holds the calipers machined. i never heard of anyone booeing the aftermarket brake people before. any reason? im asking because i was strongly thinking of getting an aftermarket set up for my 65 sportsman,

I installed a set up on a 69 barracuda, what a pain! little fiddlely washers, missfitting calipers and i actually think the 9" drums worked better. theres nothing like factory prove'in parts, now some of the kits use just that only the brackets are aftermarket, most likely a better way to go.Would like to see some pics of your freinds set up!

read somewhere about duster disc brake parts would work with some modifications but have never seen the article again. the only reason i say this is because i gathered up a disc setup (complete) from a duster for the conversion then sold my only spare front axle. i was gonna do it on the spare to make sure it worked before hackin up the #1. i'll look around for the article again and post it if it shows. uglytruckling.com go to this site and use a d-100 pickup as a reference. the axle i am quite sure is the same at the wheels but wider for the pickups. ((check with them first))

The bolt pattern holding the backing plates to the spindles are different between the D-series pickups and the A-series vans/trucks. I assume the caliper bracket is held in place by these bolts???

I have not done a disc swap on any of my A's yet.

Does anyone know Steve Scott in Ohio...he has the yellow SS/V van. He did up a disc brake swap on his trucks. I don't have an email or phone no. for him.

i think Rick has his email and phone# . he has the list of parts from Steve. i know our club has a pile of front ends, Rick took one in the basement and started building one. ill have to shoot over there after the hollidays.

Thanks guys for checking around, I'll keep checking back. I also just read an article about a pro street A pick-up with Volvo disc brakes up front but no pics or other info. The search continues!

Talked to the guys from AAJ today and he was very helpful. 250- for the brackets and he is sending a list of the parts needed to finish the setup, so I can buy them locally and not have to pay the shipping. He has also designed a mounting bracket for our sway bars. More to follow when he sends me the parts lists.

if i get the spare front axle from a friend of mine i am going to "create" a disc brake set up for a's. and of course using all dodge parts except the caliper mounts. for them i will entrust a cnc machine and hopefully be able to help alot of guys here too.

Make sure you know what # front axle it is, the guy said they each have a bracket specific to them and are not interchangeable. I plan on posting the list of parts used when he sends it to me . I have to check my spare and see which one it is, I am hoping I can build up my spare and have it ready to roll in once I get the body done.

Welcome Mr.John,
You can "Search" the forums for just about anything you have interest in. There is "Ton" of great info here and 100's of great folks to help!!!

Again Welcome!!

67a 100 pickup wrote:Make sure you know what # front axle it is, the guy said they each have a bracket specific to them and are not interchangeable. I plan on posting the list of parts used when he sends it to me . I have to check my spare and see which one it is, I am hoping I can build up my spare and have it ready to roll in once I get the body done.

Theres two diffrent front ends one has the 10" brakes and the optional11", Wheres the casting #'s on the axle?

I'm going to blast my spare this weekend and see if I can find some numbers. But someone put 10" drums on my '68 which had the heavier axle and the only way I found out was when I went to replace the king pins and the retaining groove was in the wrong place.

Thanks guys, I'm still tinkering around with rotors. I've made a template out of card board for the caliper mount but the rotor is the issue. I have an extra A100 to mockup on so I'll keep checking back.

Alright guys it's been a long dusty road but I drove my A-1 with the disc brake conversion it's actually a piece of cake! I did run into the different spindle size as a fabricated my mounting plate using my 65 A1.
Then I began the conversion the other day and discovered the difference!!!!!!
I was able to cut a slot and use the plate for testing, now it's coming back apart to clean and paint and make a new plate.

Engineering question...... why do the car companies put the caliper between 9 and 12 O'clock?? Top mounting looks like away to solve our clearance issues, how does the truck stop??? And do you have a parts list??

67a 100 pickup wrote:Engineering question...... why do the car companies put the caliper between 9 and 12 O'clock?? Top mounting looks like away to solve our clearance issues, how does the truck stop??? And do you have a parts list??

Top mounting is in the way of most vehicles, due to the fact that most have a balljoint or the strut in that area.
Watch out for bleeding issues if you do mount there. The bleeder must be at the top for it to be able to let the air out.

Yes bleeding was an issue but easily solved simply leave the caliper on the leaf spring with the bleeder screw up then gravity bleed as usual.
I'll be making a parts list it's all Mopar except the rotors. I got the new bolts today and found a shop to cut the plates useing a water jet. This will save me a ton of work.

Well I'm waiting on the broken water jet machine i found an outfit that will cut them out for 85 bucks cash! Got the calipers done used VHT caliper paint.

Took the confounded door off I kept running into it!

Caliper looks really good