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front disc brakes

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:39 pm
by fireguyfire
I am just sand blasting and painting the frame on my 1970 d100 full restoration project. I am now debating when I rebuild the front end, do I go to front discs on the truck. I have read some threads on the full power disc kits, as well as doing the scare bird version.
I am trying to keep the costs reasonable but want the brakes to be as good as possible; can anyone that has done these conversions and then driven them for a while chime in and give me opinions on which way to go?
I am also curious just how much cheaper the scare bird conversion is over a kit; I haven't yet priced out the Ford and GM parts to do the full conversion.
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated!

Re: front disc brakes

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 10:22 pm
by Conrad
I'm in the middle of a scarebird conversion now. With the hours I have in finding the right bits and pieces, the kit is much less of a hassle if you can get it. I didn't go that way as I avoid vendors who don't document the specs of their parts.

Re: front disc brakes

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:13 pm
by gbentley
I used the Scarebird conversion on my 66 D100. I had to get larger rims so the caliper would clear, but the other parts were readily available and cheap at Rockauto. I bought the hubs from Scarebird as well. Everything went together well, but I had to shave a bit off of the ends of some attaching bolts, as they would have dug a groove into the back of the caliper. I drove the truck for a few thousand miles with the Scarebird conversion and had no issues. I remember I had to slam on the brakes once in an emergency and the truck stopped well, without pulling or locking up. Great system, IMO.

Re: front disc brakes

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:56 am
by fireguyfire
Thanks for the inputs; I'm pretty convinced to go scare bird, but want to make sure it is for sure an upgrade over the drums; otherwise I will completely rebuilt the drums system.
Sounds like I need to start sourcing some scare bird parts!