front caliper location

[billypacemaker]

I have a 74 barracuda that I am restoring and have come to the brakes . I replaced the front calipers and noticed that the calipers are located towards the rear of the car . I believe disk brake cars had the caliper towards the front . Should I swap the spindles back to put the calipers in the proper spot ? Why would anyone do this ? And will it hurt anything to leave them the way they are?..any help would be great

 

[Chryco Psycho]

70 had the caliper in front with a rigid hose through the spindle towards the rear where the hard line comes in from the engine compartment , it makes no difference where the caliper is positioned as long as the hose connects correctly & the bleeder is up on the top of the caliper , you probably have the banjo type connection on the caliper , maybe the brakes were converted & they used a later year disc brake caliper & hose

 

[billypacemaker]

I converted the stock flex hose to a longer stainless one and seems to clear all movement of the front end .My hard lines are run threw the stock place back towards the firewall and connect to the flex line then into the caliper towards the front of the car . My set up does not use banjo bolts ... Its all built into the flex hose and threads directly into the caliper .. The bleeder is on top so hopefully all will work fine ...New exhaust this week ,new paint next month , first time on the road would like to have some faith in stopping the big 440 !. Thanks for the reply Chryco

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Should work fine , the other option is to simply reverse the spindles left to right so the caliper is in front & the line feeds through to the rear where the hard line is

 

[Weezel]

My 70 has 73 front spindles and the calipers are towards the back. I've had no issues with them.
Anyone upgraded the rear (8 3/4") to disc, and if so did you have to change the master cylider?

 

[dfrazz]

I'm in the middle of upgrading all 4 of my power drums to discs on my '71 challenger. I had to change the master cylinder which now includes a proportioning valve. PST has a good kit for manual and power - http://www.p-s-t.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7995/.f?sc=12

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Rear disc is good but you do have to change the master cylinder & you need an adjustable proportioning valve , the other issue is some rear disc setups have calipers that are too wide & will interfere with the rear sway bar if you have one . I would recommend the Doctor Diff rear brake set up .