Re: disc brake conversions

Posted by Mike Dowd On 2012/4/6 11:14:57

Has anyone made any progress on disc brake conversions (especially for '48's)? Has anyone used the '48 drum-to-disc conversion kit from Kanter?

I ordered a kit from Kanter and there are a couple of problems. The lug studs are on the right bolt circle but are 1/2-20 instead of 9/16-18. (Of course, the drum brakes use a lug bolt, not studs, but that's not a big deal.) The rotor does not have a proper pilot diameter for the Packard 'hub-centric' wheel. I've written an e-mail to Kanter but have so far received no reply. The catalog indicates that the original wheels can be used with this kit.

Also, while the caliper mount bracket picks up the top two brake backing-plate holes o.k., the hole spacing on the little link piece to connect to one of the lower bolts is off by about 3/16". (There is plenty of room on the bracket to drill another hole in the right position.)

I'm checking today to see if the front track is a bit wider with the furnished rotors...looks like the wheels will be an inch or so farther outboard with the new parts.

I sure I'll hear from them sooner or later but it looks like the rotor is the wrong one for this particular kit. It can be modified by removing the 1/2" studs and replacing them with 9/16" studs...and by sleeving the pilot diameter to bring it up to the right diameter...but we'll wait for a reply.

M.