willysmjeeps.com

Hello All,

I've been working on tearing down my M38 CDN for a few months now and I'm finally in the planning and purchasing phase. I have a whole bunch of questions popping up, many of which have been answered by looking back through the forums here (thanks!). My question today has to do with brakes, and the consideration of converting the fronts to disc. If I've missed an earlier thread dealing with this, I apologize.

I live in the city, and am planning on actually driving it so I am willing to make those changes that will make it safer (such as a dual master). I am also leaning towards adding an overdrive to run at lower rpm and increase my top end considering today's highway speeds.

To sum it up. Has anyone done the conversion, if so what have you found the benefits and drawbacks to be, and how relative is the safety benefit over the standard drum setup?

Thanks!

I suppose the jeep will remain stock with the L134 and T90 so we have a very light weight vehicle with not a lot of power, capable of a safe speed of 50 to 55 MPH to be used in city traffic where speed limits above 50 are rare.

The disc setup would be overkill and much more expensive then say a 11" drum conversion. So the final choice is up to you.

In a 50 MPH panic stop the difference between the front disc setup and the 11" drum setup would be the discs would lock the front wheels up a lot earlier resulting in the onset of a skid occurring much earlier in the stop then the 11" drum setup. Either would bring the jeep to stop in about the same distance.

I wouldn't consider the front disc setup unless I was doing a repower with a V6 or V8 driving the weight up and the speed up.

Hey Wes,

Thanks for the reply and advice! I wanted to feel out the opinions of the experts (never can be too safe with your investment when it comes to other idiot drivers..).

Do you have any pointers on the best place to get a kit? I was originally looking at Kaiser Willys, but after seeing everyone flaming them here it has me reconsidering. I noticed Midwest Military mentioned as a very good source in the parts section. While Canadian sources would be ideal, I don't mind ordering from the States.

Hi Guys,
Check out hermtheoverdriveguy,He carries 11in brake kits and a lot of other things. Interesting site.Herm is a good guy to do business with.
Chuck

R&P 4WD out of Oregon deals with brake conversions and driveline components. i ordered a brake conversion from them directly but they have a distributor out of BC. very helpful people. i would suggest looking up their website R-P4WD.com or call @ 1-503-557-8911

The choice is yours & I would recommend disc brakes & dual master cylinder.
You can go to any salvage yard & pick up mid 80's to mid 90's Suzuki Sidekick or Geo front calipers & rotors. Make sure not to get the calipers with centre mounted bleeders.

Get youself set of adapter plates from the guy in RENO NV mentioned in the the thread plus 1/2" spacers if you are using combat rims [not needed for 15 or 16" JEEP OR IH Scout standard rims]. Get two hoses made up @ Parker Hannefin & a set of new slightly longer Dorman wheels studs [part number is in the text somewhere].

Everything will bolt straight on with NO modification cutting or grinding.

You'll get out of this for way under $300 for the front set incl new pads..

Brakes will be @ least twice to 3 times as good & if you fit an adjustable proportioning valve in the rear brake line you can balance the brakes properly.

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... es#p968979

I fitted an Isuzu dual master cylinder with remote fill by doing some fabrication as a support for the new m/c then bolted the support to the exising master cylinder mount without cutting/modifying any of the original frame.

I have an overdrive also and always feel safe brakewise @ highway speed.
I also fitted to the rear but that is overkill & really not needed.

back in the day ('77) i had a '47 2A that i put 11" drums on from an old ford truck. put in a dual master and never had a worry. it was a daily driver with a v-6 and overdrive. my 52 m 38 is going to have a dual master and 11" drums upfront and 10" in the back. stock engine etc. anticipate no challenges in today's traffic. i worry about the stress spacers put on the studs, that's why i wont use them.

Well he did ask for opinions

i worry about the stress spacers put on the studs

Stress on what, the 10 studs?
There is no stress whatsoever if the lug nuts are tight using 1/2" spacer on a vehicle weighing about a tonne.

i've heard of the nuts holding the spacers to the hubs backing off and the aluminum breaking. some aftermarket guys advise against them. so....yup i won't use them. to each their own i suppose. cheers

Thanks for all of the advice guys, and especially for the additional part sources; that's exactly what I needed! I've been debating back and forth on the issue for a fair amount of time and it's good to see that I'm not alone.

Frank, do they stock all of their parts out in that warehouse in BC? Any other Canadian sources would be greatly appreciated, but I'll send you a pm about that.