Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi All, Does anyone know which Ford model the discs are on the Morris front drum to Ford discs conversion. There are some Morris traders that do the discs but i thought it would be cheaper going to a local motor factors.
Thanks Jason

The kit that JLH sells uses vented XR3i disc's - at least that's what I was told when I bought a set off someone on this forum.

We do indeed use the full range of MK 111 Escort discs, solid,XR3i and RS Turbo, not the Sierra ones which have a different offset.

That car looks fairly standard - why on earth would it need disc brakes ! ?

Oh, not again Because they're useful for slowing/halting the car, just like your beloved bigger drums, only more efficiently. As you well know...

Err - well no -they are NOT more 'efficient' - usually requiring much higher pedal pressure for the same retardation. unless of course an expensive servo is also fitted, and the hydraulics re-plumbed to suit. For a standard car, sanely driven, the standard brakes are more than good enough- although the larger 8" front drums on the later 1098 models are of course much better and it's well worth upgrading the earlier 7" drums to these. The even larger 9" drums you mention Andrew are of course even better - but really only required where the car's performance and/or driving style has been increased beyond the original spec!
In both cases - simple bolt-on conversion taking less than an hour per side with no other modifications required!

Ere we go again.
If I had a spare velocity retardation casting (of my choice) I'd hit myself over the head with it.

[quote="bmcecosse"]That car looks fairly standard - why on earth would it need disc brakes !?/quote]

I'm sorry but did i say that they were for the vehicle pictured below!? Anyway they are not going on this vehicle. Thanks to all the USEFUL advice. Mine are vented discs so assume they are Escort XR3i as a starting point. I will try to post a picture today.
Thanks
Jason

bmcecosse wrote:Err - well no -they are NOT more 'efficient' !

Err - well YES -they ARE more mechanically 'efficient' - hence the use of the word.

Jason, the deciding factor with the Ford disc kits is have you got an alloy hub or a steel one with JLH Motorsport stamped into it. If its alloy then its the old O Burton/ESM kit which was originaly sold with Sierra discs then changed to Escort. Our kits have always been Escort.

Hi Jonathan, From the receipts the disc conversion was purchased around 2000 There is no JLH stamped on the hub.
Regards
Jason

Peetee... dont you have several spare drums kicking about?

Efficiency is usually quoted as output compared to input. With brakes - the braking force would be the desired output - the input being the pedal force applied by a human leg. It;s easy enough to provide sufficient braking force on the drum brakes to lock the wheels - but to do so with disc brakes (no servo - compare like with like !) takes much more human force! hence -disc brakes are NOT 'more efficient'.
Where discs can certainly win over drums is in their much better ability to reject the heat built up by braking - due to repeated powerful braking during competition use - or descending Alpine Passes etc ! For such use - certainly use good disc brakes - probably with a servo. For regular Minor motoring - discs are an unecessary complication. and expense!
Jason - my apologies - most folks post up pics of their car. If you have a high powered car you wish to convert to discs - by all means carry on! I was simply trying to guide you (and others who read these posts) in the economical choice of braking for a very standard (and nice) looking Morris Minor !

"no servo - compare like with like"
Of the two of us, I'd say that I'm the only one who has, just as I'm the only one of us who has fitted them, "difficult" M/C valve and all. Surely efficiency would take into account the heat build up and ability to work reliably for longer than the drums, let alone the self adjustingnature/ease of maintenance of the things?

"discs are an unecessary complication. and expense"
Had more to say on this - it wouldn't have stayed for 5 minutes, so I don't think I'll post it...
Now, what century is it again?

Ahh - but these cars are not of this century!

These cars are from the last century, but in this century. So can we not use "modern" parts?

When i started this post i was only asking for some advice. I was expecting some debate on the pros and cons of disc brakes. The vehicle in question is a Morris Traveller which i have recently acquired. It had disc brakes and a servo already fitted so im not going to remove it and revert back to drum brakes am I.
Jason

Following the discs v drums argument with interest, as one who has just driven his (standard) 1098 home from Dolgellau and who had to stand on the brake at the bottom of a very steep hill in Aberystwyth and pray that it would stop before the t-junction.... thankfully, there was nothing coming either way on the other road and I could turn right without having to stop completely. It didn't feel like it would have stopped if I had needed it to, though, to be honest. If discs and servos can make that feeling go away, then they are money well spent in my view, and I drive sanely!

How much would it cost to get a disc/servo conversion done, anyway?

Ondergard wrote:If discs and servos can make that feeling go away, then they are money well spent in my view, and I drive sanely!

They will, but then so will bigger drums. Even standard brakes are OK if you learn to drive within their limitations (which at times means crawling down a steep hill in first gear).

Onder - your brakes just need a good overhaul! In good condition - they will easily lock the wheels which is as good as it gets. The thin miserable standard tyres are then the limiting factor. Certainly - if you do that over and over again with the standard drums - they will heat up and 'fade' - but as long as the driving is reasonable (not racing or rallying!) they will be fine for normal use - once you have overhauled them of course. This is remarkably inexpensive and easy to do !! Discs can of course be fitted - at some considerable cost. They too will lock the wheels - and will do so a few more times before they too will eventually overheat and fade if treated harshly. It's your choice - but for normal Minor motoring - standard 8" (ie later cars) front drums are fine - when in good working condition! For more spirited braking at low expense - some of us have fitted the even larger 9" front drums from Wolseley 1500 cars - these bolt straight on - and so far - despite best efforts in 'spirited driving' - I have not managed to get mine to fade!
Only fair to say - that since the 'word' about these 9" brakes got around - they are quite hard to find now!