Convert front brakes

[SMUDGE]

Hi All
1960 Austin Seven ( mini). I would like to convert front brakes to disc brakes. But would like to keep standard road wheels.

Any advise would be welcome

[LarryLebel]

I had standard 10" wheels on my 61 Traveller fitted with disk brakes ... no problem. I once measured the inside diameter of a Cooper S wheel and a standard wheel. The Cooper S wheel was fractionally smaller.

[woodypup59]

S wheels have a different offset, to make space inside for the disc assy.

I guess Larrys wheels stuck out of the body more than a standard.

[Minigman]

If you fit 7” Cooper disc brakes rather than 7.5” S discs then you’ll retain the same tack width and obviously standard wheels fit properly.

[timmy201]

I test fitted my standard 850 steel wheels over my 7.5” discs and they fitted ok. You might need to pay particular attention to the type and location of wheel balance weights as it might get a bit tight

[gs.davies]

I’ve used 7 inch cooper discs on my car.

Some incompatibilities to beware of; a front hub of the last Rover design will foul the inside of the disc. I had around 20 thou milled put the inside of the disc to accommodate.

Drive flanges can be tricky to find too but everything else stays as per drum, including the CV joint.

Apparently they’re awful though , I will find out soon enough

[Peter Laidler]

Apparently they’re awful though , I will find out soon enough.....

Cooper discs are not as effective as S discs. But that i because the S discs are a slightly larger diameter and have bigger pads to suit the higher capable speed. The cars weigh the same (? pretty much...)

That Cooper brakes are dire has gone into folk-lore for what it is..... twaddle. Drive with them knowing that they aren't as efficient as S discs but also knowing that they are an improvement on the brakes that you've got.

[AndyPen]

We have the Cooper discs on our SDL and the only issue we have is fade if driven very, very hard - usually on a track as it now has a race 970 in it. No servo also means good leg leverage helps

[Daz1968]

I have never had a problem with my 7 inch cooper discs, only advice I can add is use the correct bore master cylinder, they are not as good without the 0.625 cylinder, I also fitted new hubs but I machined the nose of the hub rather than machine the disc, I also used timken taper bearings.

[SMUDGE]

Hi Guys

Did anyone see the Wheeler Dealers. He did a Mk 1.

Which supplier do you recommend.

Thanks guys

[1071 S]

I guess if you’ve got a set of 7” discs then they’re probably better than drums.

However, S stuff is readily available but the Cooper version would seem not so common... so if you’re buying you may as well go for the S types.

While Timmy found standard rims fit over S brakes, my experience is different. I found I could bolt them on but they wouldn’t turn

It would seem all standard wheels are not created equal ... although all the ones I’ve seen/had seem identical. Maybe its an age thing?

I think I would have a Plan B just in case, having fitted the S brakes, you particular standard wheels don’t work.

Cheers, Ian

[Peter Laidler]

Good to hear from those Cooper (and others) owners who are happy and satisfied with the standard 7" discs on their magnificent tough-as-old-boots 998 Coopers.

Smudge asks '...which supplier do you recommend....?' (page 1) Recommend for what Smudger? Panels, mechanical, electrical?

[mk1]

Best all round supplier is Minispares by a LONG way. Other good ones are Somerford Mini & Bull Motif, there are other suppliers for niche items, but MS will be able to supply 99% of what you need.

One of the really big suppliers is missing from my list above. Although I have heard of people being happy with the way they work, I have been consistently disappointed with the quality of items & the service received by them.

http://www.minispares.com/shop/classic. ... gKiGPD_BwE

https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/

https://www.bullmotifminispares.co.uk/

[Andrew1967]

Agree completely with Mark on suppliers ... my go to are Minispares (York branch and the great bearded one, to be precise), Bullmotif and Somerford in that order.

The other one .. well 'once bitten, twice shy' springs to mind

[Peter Laidler]

Somerfords absence at Beaulieu was noticed - again this year. With a few uncomplimentary comments thrown in for good measure by a few South Western furumers. Good for spares but their total lack of enthusiasm is palpable. You've got to start sparking Somerfords and don't get too complacent with your customer base - or the competition will get your trade.

Take the don't-give-a-shitometer off the wall for a start. Sorry, but your customers are starting to notice already

[Tim]

I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but you will probably find that you need to fit smaller bore slave cylinders to the rear wheels as well. My experience is only with Mokes, but the rear wheels tend to lock up before the fronts if you don't fit smaller slave cylinders. From 3/4" down to 5/8" from memory. You may have to drill a new hole for the locating pin as they are 'coded' to prevent inadvertently fitting the wrong sized cylinder.

Tim