brake upgrade questions

[Guest Anonymous]

was combing searching the old archives and i read a post by colin that the reason why you have to use volvo 240 front calipers is because the '77 320i vented calipers are single brake line two piston calipers? anyway i have a 77 1502 and they are single brake line two piston calipers too, so in other words i don't have to use a volvo 240 caliper? i need a 80-82 320i hub. is the hub the one that holds the brake rotor or the one that goes on the shock strut?

and for the rear a complete 320 rear drum brake set-up. i was thinking of getting this in a bone yard any tips on how to pull the read drums and backing plates?

tia,

dave

[Guest Anonymous]

The primary issue with the big brake upgrade is using calipers that will (i) bolt to the strut, and (ii) accomodate a vented, larger rotor. See the FAQ http://www.bmw2002faq.com/brakes/big_brakes.html for more info.

The hub is the piece that fits over the spindle, whether you are referring to an 02 or E21 hub.

Chris B.

'73 ex-Malaga

[Guest Anonymous]

from a '77 320i (did this conversion on my early, 2 piston caliper '69 using a complete 320i brake system, including rear drums and master cylinder - major improvement in braking power).

Installing 320 calipers requires 3 minor modifications for clearance:

1. The rotor "hat" needs to be turned down slightly (about .040" if I remember correctly)

2. The outer perimeter of the rotor needs to be turned down about 1/8"

3. The caliper body needs to have a small amount removed in the area between the caliper and rotor (I used a bench sander)

The only other "modification" required was to re-route the hard line that comes off the 320 caliper so it wraps around the '02 strut and fabricate a mount that clamps around the strut to mount the 320 caliper's hard line where the flex hose connects to it. I bought a pair of rotors from Ireland with the machine work already done on them, which avoided having to find a local machine shop to turn the rotors down.