Will the Eldo calipers retain the factory E-Brake cables ?

 

Unfortunately no sir. The El Dorado uses a different end and method of retaining the cable itself.
What has to be done, is either have a set of cables made. Most hose shops can make cables too, or buy the cables for the Caddy and adapt them the attach to the factory ford equilizer bar. Thats pretty simple to do. Some modifications or provisions for length will have to be considered, but cable stuff is not as hard as it may seem.

 

Do you know which hub / rotor combo someone could use if they were wanting to go to a 5x5.5 bolt pattern on a dana 60 while swapping to disc brakes?

 

Not too many companies are gonna offer this, though I have seen some for sale.

IN order to accomplish this, the hub itself has to be machined down to fit through the hole in the smaller wheels. Then new holes for new lug nuts will have to be made, and at least one (should be all) of the existing holes will have to be welded up. In this case the rotor will require some work to accomodate the studs that will have to be pressed in from the back sideof the hub. This does not leave much material for the axle to attach to and I would be concerned about compromising some strength.

Not too sure that I see any advantages to this. A full floater with 5 lugs just does not seem strong enough for many applications.

Is there a method to the madness on this one?

 

Yes, If you don't mind a little fab work. Just cut the end off of the drum brake arm & weld it to the Caddy piece then make the bracket to hold the cable.

 

Thats pretty good there Mark. Does the cable end stay in the small slot or does that have to be modiified as well?
I also though that the exposed cable portion was too long to be able to do this.
Rep for you. Nice pic.....

 

I have just seen 5 lug dana 60 rears for sale on the internet. I think most of them were weaker 16 spline axles and out of old Jeeps (so they were 5x5.5) .

Can a 15" wheel be used after a dana 60 rear has been converted to disc, or is a 16" wheel the smallest that can be used because of clearance issues? My problem is that only 3-4 different 16" slicks are made, and if i was able to use a 15" slick it would keep me from having to do a ring and pinon swap to get the final ratio that would work best for me.

 

The axles that we are discussing is the full float axle. The 5 x 5.5" pattern that you see in the for sale adds, are actually semi float axles. These were used in the 60's and are far less than desirable than the full floater.
If the semi floater was gong to be used the better choice would be the 9 inch axle. It is stronger and aftermarket parts are everywhere.

Yes 15 inch wheels can be used on a full floater axle, and even if the 12.8" rotor is used with the chebby caliper. It is tight and some special attention to the offset has to be made, but steel wheels can fit without grinding the caliper.

 

check my gallery "class of 78" 2wd i have the conversion and used my stock e brake cables/prop valve every thing works very well stops straight and on a dime

 

The cable snaps in and stays put, no mods to it. There is enough cable too. It all worked good.

 

Miottimouse, 73f350, and Mark a.
Thanks for the info I am ordering parts as I type. If I can figure out how to load pics I will keep you updated.

Thanks again for all the info.
Bubba

 

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/DANBAS%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]I swapped a set onto my D70 in my shortbox. I used the shivy D44 caliper brakets, they were the same diameter as the axle tube, welded em on with about 6 passes of the mig (insurance to make sure they would stick)

 

your dog seems to aprove also

 

Ol' Blue is my shop dog. He stays by my side no matter what. Good boy he is. He is my quality inspector........

 

Hey 75f350
Can you tell me the pin to pin spec on those calipers?
I am findin 5 1/2 and 7 inch.

Thanks
Bubba