Toyota Brake Calipers Fitted To A
Mk2
By Simon Perry
This is how I did a brake upgrade on
my Mk 2.
The reason I did this was because
one wheel cylinder was leaking in the drum brake and I figured if I was going to
spend money on it I may as well improve the stopping power at the same time.
I had a spare Macpherson strut that
I was able to perform a mock up before anything was pulled apart. I made a
caliper bracket (see website or attached photo) out of plywood and used this to
check potential caliper donors. This bracket on the website has caliper bolt
spacings of 89mm from memory.
This bolt spacing matches the HQ holden
Leyland P76
Toyota Hilux calipers
and probably many others as
well that I did not check. You will note that the HQ and P76 calipers are quite
bulky but the largest dimension is difficult to pick up in the photos. The HQ
and P76 calipers are single pot (piston) and are not as good as the Toyota
caliper which is 4 pot.
I could have used the HQ or P76
option but they are getting old (thanks for advice Karl) and they are very
bulky providing minimal clearance between wheel rim and caliper. Plus
they suit vented discs from memory, which are thicker - around 20mm. As I
had already sourced Mk 3 non vented discs and hubs it suited me better to
use a caliper that accepted the half inch / 13mm wide disc. (See photo of
skimmed Mk3 disc in primer and compare with Toyota caliper.
Some may not like adding Japanese
parts to their cars, so each to his own in that regard. However they are a lot
newer - more readily available and cheap to re kit. I used the Mk3 discs and hubs
as all the Mk2 bearings fit straight in, meaning less hassle finding another
possible donor.
After sourcing the calipers off a
1985 Toyota Hilux, re kitting and painting them, I tucked them away for later
use. I had the discs skimmed, primed and tucked away for later use.
I sourced a new set of bearings and
seals and set them aside also. I then took the Mk 3 dust guard and assembled on
the spare strut and slotted the hole as in the photo. I then shaped a washer to
suit and welded it to the slotted hole. A quick paint job as in photo (note
welded washer) (additional note: my welding is getting better).
I sourced a set of brake
caliper brackets (thanks Steve) to suit the Mk2 strut and the Hilux caliper as
per the website. Note: don't make the same mistake as I did here. The Mk2 strut
holes are not 10mm, they are imperial so 3/8th I think. I drilled mine out to
suit 10mm. And match the caliper bolt properly, I didn't and had to drill out
the caliper to suit, anyway you live and learn.
When I was ready to install I took
off the drum brake and set it aside whilst I did all the other work (leave hose
connected as in the photo
Bolt together as shown in the
photos, and when fitting the hub and disc, check to see it spins without
interference from the dust guard - bend it away if it does. Remove primer from
the disc before fitting. Connect brake hoses and bleed as required.
I have also boosted my brakes with a
VH40 (XT Falcon I think) brake booster, and thus far I have seen no reason to
fit a proportioning valve of any sort.
Previously I had to start braking
100m before an intersection whereas now I can drive it harder and brake with
confidence going into an intersection or roundabout.
At the same time that I swapped the
brakes, I removed the internals of the macpherson struts and replaced them with
commodore gas inserts. I will do a separate article on this soon.
Disclaimer:
The advice and guidelines given in these articles are given in good faith.
The owners and managers of the Galeforce Zephyr site will take no
responsibility for any injuries or loss sustained while carrying out the
described tasks and procedures or any consequences arising. Please read
the Safety First Article