Disc Brake upgrade help

I am looking to upgrade my 1970 bay to disc brakes and was wondering if any members have done this and have any pointers or recommendations for kit suppliers? Thanks in advance.

Loads of options ref disk brakes on the front - all depends on whether you want to remain wide 5 or change stud pattern.
If you stay wide 5 you can get CSP Disk Brakes which have been a trouble free solution on my bus if not a tad expensive.
Change your stud pattern and you can go late bay disks, porsche pattern or any number of other alternatives.
An advantage of changing stud pattern is there are more options for a rear conversion should you want it in the future unlike those of us with wide 5

Another option would be a RED9 front end conversion that completely changes the front end to a wishbone setup and comes with rack and pinion steering along with modern disks and pads.

Plenty of options to consider budget being the primary limiting factor.

I would say in order of price Late Bay setup would be cheapest, followed by a good used Porsche, then CSP then a full conversion with RED9

Thanks Stu I have been looking at the CPS conversion and it looks good quality. Do you need to change the master cylinder when you do this?
Cheers
john

Dont think my master cylinder was changed - the non return valve needs to be removed I think, was a while ago though.
If you can find one a remote brake servo is also a worthwhile investment although nearly everywhere in the world is out of stock at the min.
Might be worth getting a servo installed before committing to disks due to the massive improvement in feel and pedal response one gets from this simple addition.

While CSP brakes work ok I feel over 1k is a lot for Vauxhall Astra cailpers :?

I’ve gone Porsche 944 turbo with vented & cross drilled discs and 4 pot Brembo cailpers. However if you want to stay wide 5 the fellows speed shop kit is the best and they pack 4 pot Willwood cailpers, not cheap but I’ve fitted them to a mates bus and the power behind them is awesome.

Hi I’ve just done the csp conversion on me 1970 westy and must say it’s the bollocks it is expensive but well worth it a good option is to get one from just kampers on interest free credit I’m payin 70 a month which isn’t so painful on the wallet! I didn’t change the master cylinder but I did buy two valve nuts from csp which your supposed to fit on the master cylinder but these didn’t fit mine so I emailed csp and they said as long as there is no other valves on the cylinder it would be fine!? I’m taking their word for it and running it as it is little bit confused to be honest as to whether it’s right or wrong any advise would be cool cheers I also have a rubbing noise from the front wheel which I’m going to look at again any advise would be great thank you!

Cheers
Darren

Justkampers do a kit, £633 as no vat offer. you could ask around to see who has fitted one.
JK must be happy enough to stock it. Looks similar to CSP.

http://www.justkampers.com/catalog/product/view/_ignore_category/1/id/23860/s/22-2940-0-empi-front-disc-brake-kit-vw-t2-bay-1967-1970

Another vote for the fellows kit. It is ££££ but well worth it imho.

I wanted to stay wide 5 but also has the advantage of easily fitting porsche wheels if you wanted too at a later date (simply by moving studs into pre machined holes).

The stopping power is great I would say a servo is not really ness with them.
(n.b. I haven't driven a bus with the csp brakes so can't comment on how good they are in comparison).

Also the fellows kit looks fantastic ... I should be on commission

The csp kit is on sale at JK for £806.67 at the min

https://www.justkampers.com/csp-front-disc-brake-kit-vw-t2-split-1964-67-t2-bay-1968-70-for-14in-15in-steel-wheels.html

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Darren2030 said:

didn’t change the master cylinder but I did buy two valve nuts from csp which your supposed to fit on the master cylinder but these didn’t fit mine so I emailed csp and they said as long as there is no other valves on the cylinder it would be fine!? I’m taking their word for it and running it as it is little bit confused to be honest as to whether it’s right or wrong any advise would be cool cheers I also have a rubbing noise from the front wheel which I’m going to look at again any advise would be great thank you!

Cheers
Darren

Click to expand...

The two valves are non return valve, with disks we need to allow the fluid to ease back into the master cylinder (I think each stroke of pedal causes more fluid to be shifter around), so the lack of return valve could be causing the pads to stay too far out and hence you get noise (brake rub). If you take the existing valves off you can dismantle them (remove string and ball bearing) then reassemble......

One problem I did encounter was with brake light activation. Havingbthe servo meant I didn't have to press the brake pedal as hard, so the brake lights didn't come on under very light braking. Next time I would change the MC. I fitted an additional mechanical brake switch to the brake pedal as a cure, so lights come on as soon as the pedal moves, and before any brake pressure is applied

Hope this helps

Hi
Thanks for your reply and help I’ve actually now changed the existing master cylinder to a fte 71-79 mc as cool air recommends this unit for the csp brake disc conversion but believe it or not I’m still getting the chafing/rubbing noise! A chap at the garage seems to think it could be the rear drums that are causing the noise and that they need skimming but I’m not convinced as it only started after I fitted the discs! I’m now tempted to refit the front left disc where I think the noise is comin from what do ya think chaps!?

Cheers darren

could be a sticky piston - ive just spent the week totally overhauling my braking system!
New EBC Green stuff pads on the CSP's and new handbrake cables/brake cylinders/shoes/springs on the rear
Taken a few evenings work but necessary to stay safe - just got to bleed them now and im ready to get the engine running



From this



Now to this

Bluesnailman said:

Darren2030 said:

didn’t change the master cylinder but I did buy two valve nuts from csp which your supposed to fit on the master cylinder but these didn’t fit mine so I emailed csp and they said as long as there is no other valves on the cylinder it would be fine!? I’m taking their word for it and running it as it is little bit confused to be honest as to whether it’s right or wrong any advise would be cool cheers I also have a rubbing noise from the front wheel which I’m going to look at again any advise would be great thank you!

Cheers
Darren

Click to expand...

The two valves are non return valve, with disks we need to allow the fluid to ease back into the master cylinder (I think each stroke of pedal causes more fluid to be shifter around), so the lack of return valve could be causing the pads to stay too far out and hence you get noise (brake rub). If you take the existing valves off you can dismantle them (remove string and ball bearing) then reassemble......

One problem I did encounter was with brake light activation. Havingbthe servo meant I didn't have to press the brake pedal as hard, so the brake lights didn't come on under very light braking. Next time I would change the MC. I fitted an additional mechanical brake switch to the brake pedal as a cure, so lights come on as soon as the pedal moves, and before any brake pressure is applied

Hope this helps

Click to expand...

Just to clarify- they're not one-way valves, that would be a bad idea. They're residual pressure valves- they serve to keep a bit of pressure inside the brake line (just a little bit! 10PSI on drums because of the springs, 2psi on discs- or thereabouts). This stops the brake fluid falling back into the master cylinder (especially on systems where the caliper is higher up than the master cylinder reservoir) and sucking the cylinder or piston away from the disc/drum surface- which would create excessive pedal travel. You've said all of this, of course Just embellishing a bit.
Please don't install one-way valves in your brake lines ;-)

What a good little bit of info..... When I think about it, of course they couldn't be one way......

StuF said:

could be a sticky piston - ive just spent the week totally overhauling my braking system!
New EBC Green stuff pads on the CSP's and new handbrake cables/brake cylinders/shoes/springs on the rear
Taken a few evenings work but necessary to stay safe - just got to bleed them now and im ready to get the engine running

From this

Now to this

Click to expand...

Hi Stu, how goes? where were the EBC pads from my man?
L

Hi
Just an update on the brakes ive now changed the master cylinder on the bus to an fte 71-79 checked and re fitted front disc/hub asemmbly and I’m still getting this chaffing noise from the front left I can’t seem to fathen out what it is! When the wheel is off the hub seems to move ok when I turn it I’m now wondering if I have maybe a warped disc or something any ideas fellas or advise would be awesome thanks
Darren

I have CSP kit in my splitbus. I had noise problem and the cause was outer pad contacted the hub at bottom. Had to grind little material (steel) of pad. I think different pad manufacturers have bigger tolerances in pad dimensions? Check this, You maybe see contact marks in hub.

Hi all, which bit on the master cylinder to you have to remove before installing the front disc brakes from drums, I'm assuming it's the residual pressure valves but I don't know which bit that is? A picture would be amazing. Thanks

I went this route. Porsche 944 turbo, 4 pot brembo cailpers, EBC drilled & vented discs and green stuff pads. Was considerably cheaper than Fellows and a bit less than CSP which i pieces together myself

Fully refurbed calipers: £400
Cailper mounts: £40
Porsche hubs: £100
Bearing spacers: £25
EBC disc’s: £165
EBC pads: £55
Bearings and seals: £100

So just under a grand, can’t grumble at that