Technical TheStopShop Brake Parts

Hello everyone! My name is Todd and I own TheStopShop, which specializes in street rod and muscle car brake systems. We are a new advertiser here on the site and I wanted to invite you all to use this thread to ask us any braking questions you may have. We make kits that include all of the tubing, fittings and armor you would need to plumb your car, as well as many disc brake conversions, parking brake cables, etc.

So ask away here or feel free to give us a call at 614-557-3442.

I promise we won't post any other threads or spam you with posts, but we wanted to at least introduce ourselves this one time. We are very glad to become a part of the H.A.M.B!

www.thestopshop.com
https://www.thestopshop.com/pages/tech-videos
614-557-3442

 

I've used your fittings and copper nickel line through Amazon. Good stuff and shipping. Glad you're here. Have a great Christmas.

 

Welcome to the Hamb.

 

Just where on this site is your Advertising?

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

 

Thanks! Merry Christmas

 

Jalopyjournal.com home page on the right hand side.

 

Serves as a reminder to some of us that we need to make it out to the main page once in a while to see what is going on and what is new. Welcome.

 

Welcome aboard sir.Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a healthy,happy and prosperous New Year.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Thanks so much! Merry Christmas to you too

 

Welcome Todd.
So being in the brake conversion business are you also well versed in the Mix-n-Match part some of us get into with using the New and Old stuff in our projects? It often gets complicated when you can get different bore size wheel cyl's for same shoe/drum size in the same rear axle family. Ford was good at that. Then GM decided to mix hard line size in same vehicle 3/16" as well as 1/4". That always makes me scratch my head. Then it get's into what Master should I actually use. Port's on one side or the other. Lot's of other "stuff" along the way. I generally get through it but I know some Hot Rod suppliers will sell you anything as the Right stuff or "Kit" as long as you don't already know what you need and then blame you the consumer for not knowing what your doing. Where do you come in on this? What can we count on from you?
The Wizzard

 

We totally agree that many companies sell parts as "universal" when really they can be far from right for certain setups.

A perfect example is combination valves in disc brake conversions. Nearly every aftermarket disc conversion kit includes the same exact valve, regardless of the weight of the vehicle and necessary brake bias. That same GM valve (made to 71-77 mid size car valve specs) is used in kits for 55-64 Full Size Chevy, Chevy Trucks, GM A/F/X body cars, etc. This valve is specifically set for a vehicle of a certain weight with a specific brake system, so it really isn't "universally correct" for any car or truck with front disc brakes. So in this case we advise people building custom cars to use an adjustable valve that can be fine tuned to your specific vehicle.

Our Valve video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=VdlfzcWCeks

When it comes to brake line size, it certainly did complicate things when in 67 GM started using 1/4" tube for the 1 line that goes the length of the vehicle to the back. I have heard many explanations for this, but generally we tell people it is fine to just use 3/16" O.D. tube throughout the vehicle when replacing lines or making a custom set. Why? While I may not be able to eloquently explain all of the technical reasons, I can tell you that one of the original engineers who helped design GM brake systems in the 60s advised me that he believed that no substantial difference would be made by using 3/16" tube all around. Many aftermarket brake companies like Wilwood also tell their customers to only use 3/16" tube when replacing lines to be used with Wilwood brake systems.

Master cylinders can be confusing for sure. Many sellers list their master cylinders as universal for "disc/drum", "disc/disc" or "drum/drum". This is an over generalization. For example, we recommend a completely different bore size master cylinder for front disc/ rear drum cars that have manual brakes as opposed to power. Each brake system is unique and the right master cylinder depends on a lot of different factors. Not just whether you have disc brakes or drum. Piston diameter, pedal ratio, power vs. manual brakes, level of vacuum among other things can all factor in.

Our master cylinder video



I hope this info at least somewhat answers your questions. If anyone has specific questions about what parts are right for their build, we will be happy to help choose the right parts, even if they don't come from us.

Todd
614-557-3442

 

Sounds good to me. Welcome aboard Todd.

 

Well answered Todd. I haven't yet watched your listed video's but will after dinner tonight and get back to you. Seriously, Welcome to the H.A.M.B. I'm so tired of generic answers, sales men talk and one Kit fit's all. Understanding the vehicle is something most don't get before throwing $$$ into parts that just arn't going to do the Job. Adding a booster isn't going to increase your current braking ability. Sounds like you get it.
Thank you, The Wizzard

 

Welcome and best wishes!

 

Welcome Todd.
Your answer in Post #12 is fresh air for sure. I've often thought that the generic "combination valve" that most sellers provide can't be right for every car. I'm using SSBCs prop valve in my cars now instead with great results. It will be great to have another HAMB member on here to chime in on brake questions.
Merry Christmas, Bob M.

 

Nice. Welcome. Pretty sure I’ve ordered from you via Amazon. Nicop line and stainless armor, nice stuff, worked out well on my 37 and my daily driver.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

Todd, the 2 listed videos above are both the same. The Master cyl one don't seem to be there. Can you correct that?
The Wizzard

 

I just recently, ordered some line from you, but descriptions on some of the things such as the sizes of the ends on rubber lines was lacking.
I was also interested in buying a brake conversion kit, but your site has no info on what the kits fit, so I bought else where. You may be losing a lot of sales for the lack of info.

 

Thanks for the heads up. The link is fixed

 

Thanks Todd. I am currently doing some service work on on of my Mix-n-Match drivers. While at it I believe I can improve the stopping power by changing up a few things. Before asking what you might recommend I first need to get some numbers so we know where we're starting from.
The Wizzard

 

Always good to have a new Alliance vendor on board!

I tend to go with OEM parts myself when doing disc conversions. I like to know the pedigree of what I'm using. I see a lot of guys that get in over their heads with brake parts and conversions, hope you can help them out.

 

Great. Feel free to reach out any time. You can give me a call to discuss your setup when the time comes if you would like.

Todd

 

Thank you very much for the feedback. A lot of our products, like disc brake conversions, are application specific. So if you enter your year, make and model did you not get a list of conversions that fit your car? The site is designed so that when you enter your vehicle you get a list of categories filtered to contain parts that only fit your car. Sounds like that didn't work in your case. Sorry about that! Thanks again.

Todd
614-447-3442

 

Sorry, Just saw your links from your previous post. We don't carry any kits specifically for a 54, so nothing would show up even if you enter your vehicle. We have a lot of parts that may work, but I honestly would have to know a lot more info to know for sure. (like what rear end, master cylinder and booster, etc.). What kit did you end up using to put discs on the front?

 

Welcome to the HAMB. I've got front calipers from a 73 dart and rear end from a 74 dart. Calm down everyone the vehicle they are goin in is 64 not OT.

I'm looking to upgrade the brake hoses to stainless steel, do you have hoses for that? I'd rather not have to disassemble the system and measure the threads and then order the parts.

 

Todd; When starting this project some 18 years ago I had Zero when it comes to brake parts including a pedal unit. After deciding what brakes were going on the 4 corners I found a nice 2 page Color add in a Magazine and they had a unit listed for my Car, Pedal, mount booster and master. After talking to the Tec department in length I gave them a Visa number. The project took a few years before first drive. I always had pedal pressure but upon actually driving the car that's all it was. So after another conversation with them I was on my own to make things better. Today all that's left in the Car that was part of the "Kit" is the pedal and bracket and I'm not sure even that's what it should be.
So what I have here is a 3,050 lb car. I have 1970 Nova oem front brakes. The rear is a Ford unit with 2" X 10" drum brakes. Until this go around it had 15/16" rear wheel cyl's. I just changed them to 7/8" trying to boost my rear braking some. I have been through 3 sets of front pads while the rear shoes are at least 3/4 of new. So I'm braking hard on the front and always has.
The first booster was one of those little 6" single diaphragm ones with a Master for 4 wheel disc and 1-1/16 bore. I now have an 8" dual diaphragm and a 1" bore master. It to was a dual disc unit so I have a 3lb valve in the rear line. The car does stop but I'm not thrilled.
After watching both of your Video's what I'm lacking is any kind of Meetering or Combination valve, just the residual check valve. The first go around Kit had a combination valve with it but some where along the way it came out. What I'm giving you is a over view of the issues. I'm on the 4th master and it currently needs to be replaced due to bypassing and leaking past piston.
What I've tried to do is get the Brake system as close to a Factory 70 Nova system as possible not fully understanding the involvement of all the valves.
Looks like I will be doing a little more plumbing again but that's fine if it improves a little more. Improving a lot would be outstanding.
So what do you think of all this?
The Wizzard

 

If you are not getting adequate pressure to the rear, adding a metering valve in line to the front brakes could improve things some, but would not make a substantial difference. This valve holds off pressure to the front discs at very low pressures so that the rear shoes have time to engage. (discs on the front otherwise grab faster than the shoes in the rear.) The combination valve or a proportioning valve would make the problem worse as it would restrict the amount of pressure getting to the rear brakes, and it sounds like the problem is that you already don't have enough back there. This would be the answer if you had the opposite problem of too much pressure to the rear. A combination valve would have the metering function built in as well, (combination = metering block, proportioning valve and distribution block rolled into 1 which started on disc brake GM vehicles in 1971) but the proportioning part wouldn't help.

How much vacuum does your engine create at idle? This is an important factor in how well your power brake would function. An 8" dual booster is far better than the 6" or 7" single, but vacuum level is still very important.

The 1" bore master cylinder that you have is what I would recommend.

Does it feel like your pedal is too hard (stepping on a brick) or too spongy? This would also help diagnose what the next best step is.

I hope we can get to the bottom of this! I know it is no fun to keep changing parts and still not stop great.

Todd

 

Todd, I typically don't enter in the vehicle information because it really isn't helpful. Many of these cars are using a mix of parts. My rear end is not a '54 Chevy rear end, so it doesn't make sense to enter that info.
Logic would tell you to enter the vehicle info of the rear end, however this is easier said than done.
This rear end came in the car when I bought it, and I'm not sure what vehicle it came out of, so I can't enter it's info.

I have to narrow my options by using what info I do have, which is that it's a GM 7.5 10 bolt rear end, then I have to rely heavily on product descriptions and photos to find the kit that works with my rear end and axle flange configuration. Obviously with no descriptions, that makes it difficult. I ended up buying through Summit, because they have a lot of selectable options that make narrowing down your options easy.
I went with Right Stuff Detailing kit AFXRDM78, which I see that you sell, but I had no way of knowing if it would work for me.

And since you sell Right Stuff's products, maybe you can relay a message. I installed the kit today, and it sure would have been nice if the caliper even fit the bracket they provide. Assembly required modification to the bracket and the caliper.