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1967 Plymouth Barracuda Aerospace Components Disc Brake ReplacementYou Won't Just Stop Better. Your Mopar Will Be Quicker With These Aerospace Components Disc Brakes From the September, 2010 issue of Mopar Muscle By Dave Young Photography by Dave Young, Steve Baur
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Want to make your Mopar faster?... Want to make your Mopar faster? We'll show you how we reduced our Plymouth Barracuda's weight.... There are a lot of ways to make your street or strip car run quicker at the track, but the first ones most people think of nearly always have to do with making more engine power. And while a more powerful engine should get your car moving quicker and running faster in the quarter-mile, there are also other components that can greatly affect the acceleration rate. By lightening the transmission and its internal parts, the driveshaft, the differential, and even the axles, wheels, and brakes, it takes less power to turn these components, equaling more power left to propel your car in a straight line. And while maximum acceleration will ultimately be determined by a combination of factors, one way we've found to improve acceleration, enhance safety, and save weight in critical places is by converting your Mopar to aftermarket disc brakes. Remember that the brakes on our Mopars were mass-produced many years ago and are very heavy by today's performance car standards. Since our '67 Barracuda (Project B3) is pretty much a dedicated drag car, we didn't need the extra weight of factory vented rotors and cast iron calipers up front, so we decided to replace our car's heavy 11-inch drum brakes out back with aftermarket units as well. Having had great luck with Aerospace Components products in the past, when we began looking for the brake parts we went directly to the Aerospace Components website to see what they had for our car. What we found was a great website with lots of information and multiple kits available for most Mopar body styles. The employees of Aerospace Components are gearheads and racers themselves, understanding the importance of quality and using the best lightweight materials in their brake systems. ....and ran quicker elapsed... ....and ran quicker elapsed times with these lightweight disc brakes from Aerospace Components. Aerospace Components manufactures caliper brackets to mount to nearly any Mopar spindle, so converting from drum to disc or disc to disc isn't a problem up front. In the rear, Aerospace kits fit all the popular axles, including the 83/4 and Dana 60. To be sure you get the correct brakes for your car the first time, Aerospace Components asks that you fill out a worksheet, giving them information about the car's weight, use, lug pattern, and spindle dimensions. While this process takes a little time up front, it ensures that all of the components will fit properly when you get them, potentially saving time and headaches in the long run. Once we faxed in the worksheets for our car, the staff at Aerospace Components quickly assembled our kits and had them ready to pick up in a couple of days. With our new brakes in hand and the car loaded in the trailer, we headed to Inline Performance Specialists in nearby Bushnell, Florida, to perform the installation on one of their lifts. This is an easy project for the average mechanic and can be accomplished with jackstands and a floor jack, but having a lift makes the work go a little quicker. Out of the box, we were initially impressed with the quality of the brake components. The four-piston calipers are machined from billet aluminum as are many of the other components. The rotors are drilled and slotted for maximum cooling, and brake pads and hardware are all included. We ordered flexible steel braided lines for all four corners as well, ensuring we had all the pieces we'd need for the installation. Starting on a Saturday morning, we removed the stock brakes from our Barracuda and had the Aerospace Components brakes on the car and bled by four o'clock that afternoon working at a leisurely pace. Weighing the brakes showed us that the Aerospace disc brakes were a full 50 pounds lighter up front, and over 36 pounds lighter in the rear, for an impressive 86.56 pounds total weight savings. Even better, most of this is unsprung weight, where the benefits can be greater. Also, the lighter rotors will be easier to accelerate, and easier to stop, for better all-around performance and safety. Additionally, the aluminum calipers are designed with pistons that actually retract after the brakes are applied, greatly reducing parasitic drag caused by friction. All these advantages should add up to improved braking, and more importantly, better acceleration for our A-Body project car. Back at Gainesville Raceway, our time slips certainly backed our expected performance gains, and the B3 ran an all-time best elapsed time. The Barracuda was launching harder, and transferring more weight to the rear wheels thanks to the lighter front brake assemblies, equating to better sixty foot times, better elapsed time, and higher speed in the eighth mile. At this level, tenths of a second are hard to come by, so for the price we feel that the Aerospace Component disc brake conversion is definitely money well spent. Read on and see how easy this installation was to perform, and find out how quick we ran at the track!  It's no doubt our B3 project...  It's no doubt our B3 project car is running better than ever, clicking off 6.2-second eighth-mile elapsed times at over 115 mph with consistent 1.40 60-foot times. We're hoping to improve those numbers and make the car safer by installing front and rear disc brakes from Aerospace Components.  Knowing that its common for...  Knowing that its common for old cars to have non-original parts, Aerospace Components asks you to fill out these worksheets so they can customize their brake kit for your car, accounting for the car's weight, intended use, and lug-pattern as well as the spindle and rear end dimensions.  Up front, the Aerospace kit...  Up front, the Aerospace kit includes two-piece rotors, billet calipers, and all new bearings, seals, hardware, brackets, and racing brake pads. The pieces were all professionally packaged, clearly marked, and ready to install.  The Aerospace four-piston...  The Aerospace four-piston calipers are made in the U.S. and designed so that the pistons retract when the brake releases. Unlike factory brakes and other aftermarket systems, the Aerospace rotor pulls the pad away from the rotor, greatly reducing friction.  The disc brake kit for our...  The disc brake kit for our Dana 60 rear was also complete, including the necessary brackets and shims to ensure proper caliper position. Again, we found all of the parts to be top quality, and everything needed for the installation was included in the kit.  Our parts were ready in a...  Our parts were ready in a couple of days, so we took the Barracuda to Inline Performance Specialists in Bushnell, Florida, to borrow one of their lifts. Technically, this job is of average difficulty and can be performed with basic hand tools.  We began removing the heavy...  We began removing the heavy factory brakes from our car, weighing everything as we took it off. Up front, one of the '73 up factory rotors weighed nearly as much as the entire Aerospace front kit.  By weighing the items we took...  By weighing the items we took off the car, and weighing the Aerospace kits, we calculated a savings of 50.46 pounds from the front of the car and 36.10 at the rear. At a total weight savings of 86.56 pounds, mostly unsprung weight, this conversion will definitely equate to quicker elapsed times and better front to rear weight transfer at launch.  Prior to installation, the...  Prior to installation, the front and rear rotors can be assembled. Be sure that all the parts are clean and use red Locktite on the fasteners.  With the rotors and calipers...  With the rotors and calipers installed, the wheels can be bolted in place to check for any clearance issues. We actually had more clearance than the factory brakes gave us, so the wheels came back off so we could connect the lines and bleed the brakes.  In the rear, the axles must...  In the rear, the axles must be removed so that the drum brake backing plates can be detached from the rear-end housing.....  ....The rear caliper brackets...  ....The rear caliper brackets can now be pre-assembled and installed with the axles.  To center the caliper over...  To center the caliper over the rotor in the rear, shims are used between the axle retaining bracket and the caliper bracket. We were able to achieve perfect caliper spacing with our kit.  With the rotors and calipers...  With the rotors and calipers installed, the wheels can be bolted in place to check for any clearance issues. We actually had more clearance....  ....than the factory brakes...  ....than the factory brakes gave us, so the wheels came back off so we could connect the lines and bleed the brakes.  To connect their calipers...  To connect their calipers to your car's brake system, Aerospace Components offers flexible lines in various lengths....  .....as well as an assortment...  .....as well as an assortment of fittings. We had no trouble finding the correct parts on their website to finish our installation.  With the lines all connected,...  With the lines all connected, we turned the steering from lock to lock checking for clearance, then bled the brakes using this cool vacuum bleeder. This is a simple tool, allowing one person to bleed the brakes from the calipers or wheel cylinders.  There's no doubt that in addition...  There's no doubt that in addition to saving weight and offering great performance, the Aerospace Components just look trick......  ....With our installation...  ....With our installation complete, we loaded the car up and headed back to the track to see the results of our labor.  Following the Aerospace instructions,...  Following the Aerospace instructions, we made a couple of easy passes, accelerating to about 100 mph then braking rapidly to seat the brake pads. After re-checking all the fasteners and looking for fluid leaks, we found no problems and decided to drop the hammer.  After experimenting a little...  After experimenting a little with tire pressure and burnout technique, we decided our Hoosiers needed just over ten psi and liked a moderate burnout. We knew we were likely to run quicker elapsed times than ever, but we were surprised by how much quicker.  Leaving the line conservatively...  Leaving the line conservatively with the trans-brake, our Barracuda launched hard and ran a 1.36 60-foot time, nearly a tenth better than our previous best 60-foot. Additionally, the car stopped noticeably better, giving us more confidence to race at tracks with short shutdown areas.  In far warmer weather conditions...  In far warmer weather conditions than we'd seen during our baseline passes, we made a best pass of 6.01 seconds at 117 mph in the eighth mile, with a best 60-foot time of 1.34 seconds. At more than two tenths improvement, there's no doubt these brakes not only made our Plymouth stop better, but made it faster as well. Not bad for a modification you can perform yourself in a day.
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