Customs Versailles rear discs, worth it?

For the guys that have gone thru with using Versailles or similar rear disc brakes on their 9inch would you do it again? I've searched and come up with that setting the ebrake situation can be a pain but other than that. Would you pick up a setup if it was cheap enough to use? Can the factory caliper mounting brackets be used on an original drum brake setup?

I grabbed a setup minus rotors because I would've regretted it if not and plan to hopefully run on my 64 Belair.

 

You are better off using Explorer or aftermarket stuff. Versailles stuff is problematic and now rare.

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every one that i know that used it would not do it again

 

The Lincoln Versailles, an overdressed Ford Granada, did not sell well because people recognized it for what it was. So, the Versailles rear end with disc brakes was rare 30 years ago, harder to find now. Front disc/rear drum setup works fine for most street driven vehicles. Friend of mine got a complete rear with discs out of a Versailles right before it got fed to the crusher and has it under his '28 Model A sedan. He's had no problems with it and drives the car a lot. So, I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I lucked up on it like he did.

 

I couldn't get mine to stop rusting up, ended up removing the discs and converting back to drums. Went to the junk yard, told them what I wanted to do, they told me which car to take the parts off from, very simple and straight forward, only thing that was noticeable was the center bung on the end of the axle stuck out a little further because the mounting surface on the drums were thinner that the discs.
BTW, I did find a Granada with that axle under it, looked to be factory. It had the same aluminum wheels as a Versailles with Ford centers instead of the Lincoln ones.

 

I'm with Gimpyshotrods in that you would be better off using the later Explorer stuff or aftermarket. There have been who knows how many million Explores built with rear disk and the aftermarket should be servicing those for a long time to come before they hit the "rare parts" list.

 

The most miserable rear caliper in the world! Only followed closely by the G.M. equivalent of about the same time period. The *@#%$ parking brake ratchets either adjust too much and make assembly/disassembly a friggin' nightmare, or they don't ratchet at all causing rear braking to gradually fade away into nothingness.... Pass as HARD as you can!!! The Explorer stuff mentioned above is vastly improved.

 

Yeah, I have a set of those GM calipers in the scrap bin, too. I was going to replace them, but all the ones I could find were pre-jammed in the box.

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Agreed with all of the above. Versailles rearends seemed to be the 80's hallelujah moment for some tech editor out there. Been there, done that. Too much bullshit to go wrong, and they are not so easy to find these days....Granada is almost the same complaint. These guys today are doing some easier builds with the Explorer pieces....plenty of threads on that. Plenty! As well, they are found at every scrap yard you will find. Most all of the big name carrier/axle companies have comparable assembled kits ready for you to pull the trigger on.......just call them with credit card in hand.......but if you want to save a little bit of money....by all means hit the Explorer disc brake threads on here....and some other forums. Pretty much a weekend project, for a coupla' hundred bucks. Good luck man.

 

I have one. It has Torino drums on it.

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Ha ha, hey I fit in for a change here !! Torino something......of course I shall now shrink back into the shadows.......shhhh. I was not here.

 

I never saw ya'.

 

Mine has Torino drums on it too. I have another pretty complete setup if anyone is interested.

 

One initial thought...isn't that rearend a bit narrow for a 64 Belair?
My opinion? Keep it simple and reliable. Stay with the drums.
I just converted my T back to rear drums (from the WS6 GM setup it was originally built with.)
The car was always a bitch to stop...mostly needing some RPV's to keep the calipers engaged...but I'm not convinced that the rear discs weren't part of the problem. I know for sure that the Parking brake setup on mine and likely yours would have been a nitemare to get correct.

Just for anyone wanting to convert BACK to drums from late 70's GM WS 6 style disc setup...I pulled the complete drum units from an S 10 at the U-pick and bolted it together with new shoes and matched up some proper length cables from the NAPAONLINE site where they offer specifications on the parts they sell.
Works great...looks WAY cleaner than the discs and the handbrake is awesome.
I think the disc system really needs the full factory layout from pedal to wheel to be correct. It really doesn't take to mixing and matching stuff like we often do in Hot Rods.

 

Outdated and heavy

 

The Versailles rear is 58-1/2" wide, with factory rotors.

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Thought I'ld bring this one back up - I bought a Versailles rear because of the width needed for my truck - '38 chevy - want to go with drums too - bought rebuilt 9 center section & drums - so for those who have done this what did you do with caliper bracket ? What did you do to hold bearing in place ? Fab a new bracket ? Thanks for your help.

 

I have one under my 40. E brake is a real pain, I can only get one side to engage. Also calipers are nearly impossible to find now, especially the left for some reason. Rear hoses almost don't exist either. I was able to find an aftermarket pair that work nice. It stops great and fit nice. But I am afraid in a few more year that there will be no replacement parts at all.

 

That's why I reposted this thread - all that I've read said the disc brakes weren't worth it - mainly the E brake - some people converted to drums and I'm trying to figure out how to do it - I've got complete set of discs etc. - think I saw where RockAuto had parts.

 

I passed on a Falcon street machine because it had one on it. Real killer of a car too, but I checked out the "what if" on the rear end a found out a bunch of problems I didn't want.

 

Are the problematic GM calipers mentioned here the ones that "Right Stuff" uses in their disc brake kits?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Right-Stuff/965/ZDCDS01/10002/-1?parentProductId=1164460

 

The Versailles rear discs are a 'used under license' gm design/idea/manufacture. Avoid this planned obsolescence.

However, (and if memory serves me correctly) certain Larger Lincolns, of the ~75 to ~77 variety were sometimes optioned with larger Ford Designed rear disc brakes of a very robust nature.
They can be found under certain Lincoln Town Cars and the odd Mark IV Mark V (Just reach (underneath the car) and back around the tire and if you feel a brake drum, move on). A car with 6 seatbelts was considered extra weight bearing, and therefor was factory optioned with rear discs.
A car with 5 seatbelts will generally have drums (unless special ordered).
-I use the 'reach around' method when I'm in the junkyard as it only takes a second to 'feel for' that undesirable brake drum

Difficult to find today but not impossible and like most Ford Caliper Designs, eeeextremely long lasting and trouble free. I have several sets (complete) along with one pair of calipers that I rebuilt about 35 years ago "just for future considerations". -Generally, the calipers will last at least the life of the car with many original equipment sets still running around under 40 year old 3 ton Lincolns today. -They are reliable.


But,
the rebuild kits (seals) have not been manufactured for many years and as in the case of most none running (junkyard) cars, the lack of regular usage is of detrimental value to their condition.
-use them or loose them as they say.
As with anything, It would be highly preferable to find a set that is/has been in recent use rather than use something that has been sitting in the weeds for dozens of years.

Also, Beware that The Larger Ford Designed Lincoln Rear Disc Brake Mounting Bracket uses the larger axle flange bolt pattern more commonly found on Trucks and Vans etc.

All that being said, if you didn't get while the getting was easy,
...opt for explorer rear discs


j.m.altzheimers.o.,
moe


.

 

Seems like over-kill and over complexity for 99% of cars.

 

Those look as good as any "chinese aftermarket brake kit" that I have never used.

Take it for what it's worth.


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I have used the rear brake kits from these guys on a couple projects we did. Uses the later Mustang calipers and rotors. And you have the option of a couple of different sizes rotors. http://www.northracecars.com/index.html

 

I honestly don't remember what parts car I used to convert from disc to drum on mine. I know I never bothered to hook up an e-brake on either the disc or drum. (my bad)

 

I thought about cutting the housing ends off and welding new ends on. That would give you a big bearing if you choose and complete drum brake units are easy to buy.

 

Me bad swade41 - I checked and this has been done - I'm needing to know what takes the place of the caliper bracket when switching to drums - thanks for all y'all 's posts so far

 

I did it 25 years ago,way to expensive,not worth the money or the trouble.

 

I would presume you take off the disc stuff and bolt on the drum backing plate and so on. If it needs a spacer make one or lop the ears off the caliper bracket.