Yes my perplexed status results from seeing more wear on the rear pads than on the front pads. The parking brake is not dragging BTW. Also, I just got some info from another mechanic friend and he stated that he's observed this condition in some cars with discs all-around.

Mike

The kit from Kanter included an adapter sleeve for the inner bearing. I don't have a photo of it, unfortunately. The sleeve portion brought the spindle diameter to the required diameter for the bearing I.D. The sleeve was flanged on the inboard side. This flange butted up against the end of the seal surface diameter and was sandwiched between the bearing and this face. The flange diameter was less than the diameter of the sealing surface...and was about 0.100 thick (I didn't measure it). The flange thickness brought the whole rotor assembly outboard.

Without the thickness of the flange, the rotor would have been located inboard just enough for the seal to engage the sealing surface.

Actually I like the kit. I certainly know a lot more about what's going on with the installation as a result of having to make modifications. If these mods are incorporated on the Mark II version of the kit it should suit anyone's needs.

The basic parts chosen for the kit are robust and more than adequate for this size automobile. The instruction sheet needs to be corrected and enhanced, of course.

I know that my motto has been "Anything worth doing is worth over-doing" but I think I'll leave the rear brakes as drums...at least for the moment.

BTW: At 105,000 miles the rear disc brakes on my '06 VW Jetta TDi just wore down to a point where their replacement was necessary. I replaced the rotors and pads and then took a close look at the front...virtually no wear at all on the pads...and the rotors were not too bad, so I left them alone.

My experience with the Front Disc / Read Drum installations is that the front pads need to be replaced three times for every replacement of the rear shoes so I'm perplexed about this.


Mike

Here are photos of the inner grease seal adapter.

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I ordered this kit from Kanter (via Telephone) specifically for a'48 Custom-8. I've e-mailed them about some of the issues but have yet to hear a peep from them.

It is definitely not a bolt on and go kit.

M.

I obtained a very nice adapter from Bob Bendtsen's Speed Gems

transmissionadaptors.com/index.htm

and plan to use a GM 700 R4 auto overdrive lockup unit behind my 356 Custom-Eight engine. The 'drive-ability' of the car will be improved and I think in the long run the transmission will handle the engine just fine and the highway RPM will be greatly reduced...which will extend the life of the engine quite a bit.

I'm also using the 3.9 rear axle from a donor '48 instead of the 4.1 originally in the car.

Mike

The project is proceeding slowly...I just completed the installation of a 10 kW photovoltaic system on the roof of my workshop...with today's tax structure that's the best investments I've made in a long time. Also, the bearings on my Staber horizontal axis washing machine are making a bit of noise and are going to need to be replaced soon.

Back to the disc brake conversion:

After re-assembling the front end with new parts (from Kanter) I slid the passenger side rotor assembly in place and noted that the inner grease seal didn't quite reach the sealing surface on the spindle. (I'll attach photos later as they are on another non-networked computer).

Sure enough, measurements indicated that the seal was just not going to work. Once again I visited the Dowd Family Ancestral machinist and made aluminum adapters that relocated the seal about 0.300" inboard. I researched the available seals and selected on with a slightly smaller O.D. and now the seal rides where it is supposed to ride.

Next funny event: I adjusted the axle nuts and started to install the dust caps...oh oh...the caps are fine for the smaller nuts of the non-Custom-Eight front ends...but the large nuts used in the Custom-Eight series prevent the supplied cap from fitting properly. I have still not found a replacement for the supplied cap but I have come up with something that will do for the moment.

Yet More: Of course the installation of disc brakes will require the use of a dual chamber master cylinder and the re-plumbing of the brake lines...but the flex lines supplied in the kit do not have the same size fittings as the basic Packard brake system (1/4" tubing, I think). This isn't a big deal as I'll have to fabricate new lines anyway of the right size...but I wish this had been mentioned in the rather sparse documentation.

Still, the installation looks great, so far, and the 12" rotors do fit fine inside the standard wheels.

Mike

John,

I've been moving so slowly on this project I'd be embarrassed to have any blog devoted to it. The engine is back together and lots of minor clean-up items have been completed. Slowing down progress was a trip to Arkansas to visit cousins, a 50th high school reunion in Liberty, Missouri, and construction of a 10 kW photovoltaic system at our place here in New Mexico. That should be completed in a week or so....

See you in Salado. Merry Christmas.

Mike

Thanks for the info...the area beside the oil pan where the original master cylinder resides is tight...but in the worst case I'd modify the frame a bit...(saving the pieces so the next owner could restore it to original, if she wants to).

Don't tell anyone, but I'm using a GM 700-R4 trans behind my 356 engine...eliminating lots of linkage.

I'll look at the link you've provided and see what's what.

Mike

I saw no master cylinder kit in the Kanter catalog. I'm debating on exactly what to do. A dual-diaphragm small diameter master cylinder might fit in the general area of the original master cylinder and that's what I'll try first. I'd like to avoid converting to pendulum pedals just to preserve the original 'look'.

M

The installation was simple and straight-forward. In my previous posts I noted that some holes didn't line up and that the disc brake conversion was Lug-Centric and not Hub-Centric as on the original.

Also, the lug studs on the new kit are 1/2" while the original bolts are 9/16". I got no info from Kanter about this situation, nor have I received any info about what brake pads are used in this kit. (This info would be useful when it comes time to put new pads on the car.)

The 1/2" studs seem to locate the wheels just fine but I installed an aluminum ring on the rotor to properly locate the wheel just in case.

You might ask Kanter about these points when you are purchasing the kit.

M.