Jag big front brake conversion

[Aussie Mike]

Hi All,

Since I finished my rear suspension and big rear brakes I thought I'd turn my attention to the front brakes.

I'd done a HSV rotor conversion some time back and used some generic Commodore calipers. The rotors were 330mm x 28mm and while they performed OK I wanted better.



I picked up some nice billet 4piston and 6 piston calipers on a trip to the UK last year. I also bought some 343mm x 32mm rotors off Phil M when he switched to his monster 360mm AP setup.

When I did the first brake conversion I machined up billet aluminium hubs to take the hat style Holden rotor. This style of mounting has some advantages over the Jag setup in that they are easier to service and they allow more airflow into the back of the rotor. The hubs turned out pretty good but there were some things in the initial design I wasn't happy with. The seal in the back could have been better and the bearing shell clearances weren't tight enough and required some loctite bearing retaining compound to hold them in place. I also wanted to work out a better dust cap for the front.



With the new rims for the rear I had some spare Ford patern centers from the old rear rims. Since they are a 3 piece wheel I can unbolt those centers from the 11" rear rims and bolt them into the 8" front rims. This seemed like an ideal oportunity to change to ford stud patern all round (4 1/2" PCD). The Jag fronts are 4 3/4" PCD and as you can see the studs are pretty close to the outside of the hub.

First step to building the new front brakes is some new hubs...