Going to cast wide five disc brake front hubs for early spindles

I have got my rear adapter covers done and for sale. Next is the front covers then on to disc brake hubs. Jim

 

VERY Niceeeee!

 

Very cool, keep it up!


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Thanks for the encouragement! Jim Ford

 

Nice work, good luck.

 

I have a poll on which style front hub you like. Round face or angle face

 

I prefer the top picture. By the way, I received the back covers and they look fantastic. I may do the fronts also just to polish them!

Stan

 

Glad you like them, what are they going on? Jim Ford

 

Disc adapters look like a nice option.

 

I saw a need and figured I could fill it. I am working on the design today. Jim Ford

 

Not sure if I want to put them on my 29 RPU or my 32 5W, haven't decided yet. Any updates on the fronts yet?

 

Nice job good to see someone grabbing the bull by the horns!

 

After many Hours of research I finally nailed down the perfect rotor and caliper combination. I will be doing mockup for the caliper bracket next.

My friend and I went to a pattern shop today to talk about having patterns and core boxes made. The cost is high so it makes sense for us to do it ourselves as our time is better spent that way instead of working to pay someone else.

Sorry I have not got to this sooner, work and life got in the way, but I am more focused now. Jim Ford

 

This is great. Can't wait to see more.

 

Well I like the rotor that I chose but the caliper is very bulky and I think I will try another option. I will post some pics when I can. Jim Ford

 

I may have found a place to make the brackets and will talk to them Friday about making them. Jim Ford

 

Pm me. I work for a large manufacturing company. We have laser cutting ability as well as forming. I would like to help you out if you're looking to get brackets manufactured

 

Thank you deto, you have been a great help in this. Laser cutting and CNC forming sure makes a nice part, the test caliper brackets look great and the final ones will have a more refined shape.

I have got the adapter to go on the back of a 2 piece front hub designed. This replaces the brake drum and is held in place with the stock studs and allows the rotor to be hub centric. I have a local machine shop that can have the parts water jet out and machined to spec at a reasonable price. They are also going to make wide five adapter plates in 5x4.5", 5x4.75", and 5x5.5". If anyone needs 5x5" they can be done while I am having a run done at a minimal extra cost.

Dick Spadaro is no longer going to be selling the adapter plates as they are closing the shop. I talked to his brother Frank and got the go ahead to make the adapter plates and sell them. I wanted to make sure that I was not stepping on anyone else's business like some other unnamed company's have done to others.

I know that this has taken a long time to get done and thank you for your patience. Buying a house and getting if fixed enough to live in has been taking a lot of my time but I finally have a small (900sq. ft.) shop to work in.

Thanks,
Jim Ford

 

Small ? You are about to do many things in that 8 car garage. Good going man !

 

Subscribed. Very interested in these.

 

There are room for three cars but no room to work on them if they are all in at the same time. The main garage is 18' x 24' and the small one is 14' x 22' and the third area is 14' x 16' between the other two areas.
Jim Ford

 

Mechanical vs hydraulic makes no difference as to the drums--'39 hydraulics used the same drums as '37-'38 on front ('36 fronts are one year only), while rear drums interchange '36-'39.

 

Update: I will be having the adapters done next month and for sale. $85 each or $165 a pair.

Thanks, Jim Ford

 

As stated earlier I have been busy with moving and re plumbing the house, but now things are getting back to normal and am only working 45-50 hr. a week so now I have some free time to work on the wide five disc brake kit. I was not happy with the 2 piston caliper for the wide five kit because it was kind of big and bulky looking. I also don't like the GM metric caliper because it is only 63.5mm or 2.5" on the piston bore that equals 4.9 square inches of piston area. So it takes to much pressure to have a good pedal feel with manual brakes.

So after much more research I have settled on a T-bird caliper that is 66mm or 2.6" piston bore that equals 5.3 sq. in. of piston area. This a fairly compact caliper with a decent size for good pedal feel and front to rear brake balance. The full size GM caliper is 75 mm or 2.95 bore with 6.8 sq. in. leading to the need for a bigger master cylinder so you don't have a spongy pedal.

I have all the parts to mock it up this week and will need to design a caliper bracket. I have already designed the rotor adapter to fit with stock wide five 2 piece front hubs. Later on I want to cast new hubs that the rotor will bolt directly to with out an adapter so there will be choices.
I have also been toying with the idea of casting the hubs pictured below. They are 36 hubs but since I will need to make a pattern anyway I can set them up to fit 37-48 spindles. What are your thoughts on this hub design?

I am also open to ideas on other applications that people want disc brake kits for, aimed mainly at the person who wants to keep their stock wheels and run disc brakes without a wheel spacer. After the wide five kit I want to go after one that will work with 40-48 wheels (and yes I know 40 is different) it will use the same spacing on the rotor and the same caliper and bracket as the wide five. Any input is welcome, and thanks for your input. Jim Ford

 

How much are wide five to 4-1/2" adapters and how much do they widen the track?
Dick's design is suppose to be better, lighter and narrower than the speed way ones.
Thanks

 

They are $195 a pair, and widen the total track width by 1" that is 1/2" per side. They are almost the same as Dick's but instead of having the heads of the studs stick out on the back I created a recess that allows it to sit nearly flush so it does not interfere with brake drums. They are available in 4.5", 4.75"and 5.5" bolt patterns.

 

awesome 55willys! keep it up man!

 

I have been focusing most of my "spare time"(LOL) on my Willys 4x4 disc brake kit that will fit with 16" stock Willys wheels so progress has been slow on the wide five disc conversion. Here are some pics of the Willys kit that will fit from 41'-77' Willys and Jeeps.
This kit should be ready for sale in about a month.

 

It has been a while since I have been able to work on the wide five disc brake kit and I still have not got the willys kit done due to manufacturing issues. I am working on a hot rod for myself and it will have the wide fives on it using the adapters and covers that I sell on the rear and I have the prototype disc adapters being made this week for the front disc brake kit. Killing two stones with one bird, I will update when I have some pictures to post.