x2 - you will like the feel of the front discs. You will like them even better if you start DDing w/ the drums!
Hog Hunting
- Thread starter ahenderson
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
x2 - you will like the feel of the front discs. You will like them even better if you start DDing w/ the drums!
x2 - Kurt, aka @cruiseroutfit will be a great source of help!
I’ll 3rd/4th? the recommendation to go to disc brakes unless you’re absolutely going for a stock restoration.
I’ve been working on this “tech guide” on the disc brake conversion parts you need to source. There are some fantastic conversion step by step guides here on Mud, this guide is aimed solely at helping you find the donor parts for a disc brake conversion:
forum.ih8mud.com
I’ve been working on this “tech guide” on the disc brake conversion parts you need to source. There are some fantastic conversion step by step guides here on Mud, this guide is aimed solely at helping you find the donor parts for a disc brake conversion:
Tech Talk: Ultimate 40/55 Series Disc Brake Conversion Parts Thread (Work in Progress)
Skip anything that has you reusing course spline birfield outer axle and uses adapters to fit GM calipers and rotors. Like hard pass skip. These require you to re-use your course spline (low strength) outer birf joint and free-wheel hubs, both of which have no options for upgrades. If you have a...
forum.ih8mud.com
This is the one I’ve been thinking that I haven’t seen mentioned yet. If you’re keeping it stock - stockish height, and stock everything else, and running 3 and under rated trails, there’s no reason that this wouldn’t be the simplest and most straightforward way to get front discs.
- Thread starter
- #25
I’ll 3rd/4th? the recommendation to go to disc brakes unless you’re absolutely going for a stock restoration.
I’ve been working on this “tech guide” on the disc brake conversion parts you need to source. There are some fantastic conversion step by step guides here on Mud, this guide is aimed solely at helping you find the donor parts for a disc brake conversion:
Tech Talk: Ultimate 40/55 Series Disc Brake Conversion Parts Thread (Work in Progress)
Skip anything that has you reusing course spline birfield outer axle and uses adapters to fit GM calipers and rotors. Like hard pass skip. These require you to re-use your course spline (low strength) outer birf joint and free-wheel hubs, both of which have no options for upgrades. If you have a...
That's great!
I will check it out. Seems like a project I can tackle. Seems like the hardest part is selecting the right parts and getting them all in hand. I have seen a lot of conflicting info about master cylinders. If I do 4 wheel conversion, do I need to replace existing master cylinder with a mini truck version?
Thanks for all the input!
Abe
- Thread starter
- #26
Kurt - curious do you have a preference on rear disk set ups?I’ll 3rd/4th? the recommendation to go to disc brakes unless you’re absolutely going for a stock restoration.
I’ve been working on this “tech guide” on the disc brake conversion parts you need to source. There are some fantastic conversion step by step guides here on Mud, this guide is aimed solely at helping you find the donor parts for a disc brake conversion:
Tech Talk: Ultimate 40/55 Series Disc Brake Conversion Parts Thread (Work in Progress)
Skip anything that has you reusing course spline birfield outer axle and uses adapters to fit GM calipers and rotors. Like hard pass skip. These require you to re-use your course spline (low strength) outer birf joint and free-wheel hubs, both of which have no options for upgrades. If you have a...
TSM Manufacturing but I'd spend 10% of your time/money on rear brakes and focus on fronts primarily.
- Thread starter
- #29
Seems like a good way to prioritize. From what I can tell, it also seems like if you end up needing to fully rebuild the rear drums, then you might as well convert to disc. Correct?
Just read your front disc conversion thread. Thanks for writing that up. That info about the years and compatibility seems to be the most mirky, and it is nice to have it all in one place.
Still seems like the most challenging part is finding a good donor axel.
Yes and no, drums are not that hard nor expensive to fully overhaul. $300 buys everything including 4 new wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware and an axle overhaul kit too.
We may be able to help with the core axle parts. I'm putting some kits together.
I can’t recall any 55 owners specifically in Portland. Last year there was something like 8 - 10 really solid rigs that emerged from various parts of Oregon. Some were posted here on Mud (“owners post here” thread mostly), some on Instagram.
- Thread starter
- #32
Interesting. I have seen about 5 or so on craigslist over the past year, but i know at least 3 of those, the owner stoped trying to sell. Not because they don't want to sell, but because they are not really motivated to get rid of it. Like the guy I bought from, he has been wanting to sell for 6 years, but just never got around to it. Then he tried a few years ago and his title was still in the ex-wife's name, so by the time he sorted that out, he lost steam. Most people know what they have if it s 40, but the 55s seem to be owned by people who don't know their significance. They are almost never runners. Very little cancer up here, but the moisture sure doesn't help things. There is another 55 in Portland that is in slightly rougher shape than mine and keeps going up on craigslist. I assume the person is either too firm on price, or the rig is worse than it looks in pictures. I will post it if I see it again.
I put front discs from a '76 Pig on mine, kept the rear drums, removed the proportioning valve and this works. I have more pedal effort than my '78 40 which came w/ front discs. If you go with a smaller bore MC you can lower that pedal effort I believe by building higher pressure/lower volume. the non-ABS 80 series MC is a popular choice as well, but I have not compared the bore size.
You could just start by doing a full system bleed and adjust all the cylinders.
- Thread starter
- #36
Exactly. I haven't even cracked into it yet.
I think I will start by getting it running (changing all the fluids first), then just make sure the brakes work enough to drive around the block.
Once I get to that point I will start getting into the list from my first post. I will keep my eyes peeled for a disc/knuckle swap while I work on getting the other things cleaned up.
I need to find a good carb for the F, as the PO told me he had been having issues with the aftermarket one that is on there...
Probably the reason he stoped driving it. Oh, and gas prices too.
Gotta love the gas prices now!
No experience, but @Trollhole has a line of repro carbs.
Did you get the original carb from the PO? You could send it out for a rebuild.
No experience, but @Trollhole has a line of repro carbs.
Did you get the original carb from the PO? You could send it out for a rebuild.
- Thread starter
- #38
I do have a box of random stuff I need to look though, but I don't think so. The carb was swapped like 20 years ago by a shop that no longer exists, so there is no one who knows what actually happened to it and why.
- Thread starter
- #39
I finally closed on this pig and brought it home!
here is the new thread dedicated to the work I will be doing to this pig:
forum.ih8mud.com
here is the new thread dedicated to the work I will be doing to this pig:
Daily drives me crazy
So I finally brought my piggy home two weeks ago! I have been working a lot on it to get it running and driving, so I will post updates on that here. This will be my thread for this particular vehicle.
forum.ih8mud.com