A questions about the Rear Brake Swap.

[Guest shuyun]

I have a 1973 240Z with drums in the rear.

I have a 1981 280ZX with disk in the rear.

 

What is involved in the swap of the disk?

 

Is this swap which requires the fabed mounting bracket to the maxima calipers and causes e-brake problems?

 

Yes I have searched and search but I have not found the porper info yet so I thought i would ask.

 

Thanks

[JMortensen]

My understanding is that the same calipers are used from 79-81. They are pretty easily recognizable. They have deep hats, like 3 inches deep. The caliper is huge also.

 

The 82-83 calipers are much smaller, and the rotors have a much shallower hat. This is the one that uses the Maxima bracket. If you have the deep hats and the big caliper, then you cannot use the Maxima bracket.

 

A company called ZQuip used to make a bracket. I have a set on my car right now. I used these because I was told that the smaller calipers are more prone to failure, specifically relating to the e brake mechanism. In my experience, this is true. I have seen at least 10 later style calipers frozen. Never have I seen the early style frozen.

 

The downside to the early setup is that it has a smaller pad, and the calipers are very heavy. When I did mine some 5 years ago I was able to mount a 87 240SX e brake cable fairly easily, I took out the second bell crank in the ebrake system and it all works pretty well.

 

Were I to do it over again (and I will) I am going to go with something that can handle a little more heat. I have cooked the pads to the point where they start breaking apart in chunks. I am thinking vented rotor, possibly like Terry Oxendale has done (no ebrake then). If you are street driving and autoxing the early setup like I have should work fine. Mine only has problems after a long day at the track.

 

Jon Mortensen