76-79 Disc Brakes- Moving Parts Around

[u10072]

Hello All,
Has anyone by chance on the 76-79 Disc setups done this?? From Ford it went from inside out: knuckle - caliper bracket - spindle - rotor - hub -- what I want to do it go: knuckle - spindle - caliper bracket - hub - rotor. Safety isn't a concern because the surface areas on the mounting are all the same and also Chevy does this on their brake systems as well.

Why?? because every single lug nut out there that is bolting on a set of aluminum wheels is only about half engaging the stud being the the stud is about a 1/2" too short. If that configuration works the studs are everywhere that are longer and are a 1/2". Going to 5/8" studs is a whole different set of issues that while easy means you now have 3 custom parts- barely custom but custom just the same. it would also be nice to be able to service the rotors without dealing with the bearings as well.

If this can be done or you have done it please let me know.

thanks,
Matt

 

[shamu]

I see one main problem. What are you going to do with the axles that will be 3/4 inches too short.

 

[bmc69]

I'm a bit mystified here...having done so many late-model Ford knuckles-out disk brake conversions to EBs. I never ran in to the first problem with any of them....

For that matter..I own and have owned more 76-79 pickups and Broncos than I care to admit...and all of those were fitted with alloy wheels on the factory wheel studs.

Are you overestimating what you think the thread engagement of the lug nuts should be??

And..how would playing around with the location of the caliper bracket make any difference on how a wheel bolts up to the completely independent hub/rotor assy?

 

[Apogee]

How much thread engagement do you have between your stud and lug nut? How many turns? At 8-full turns of engagement, your threads are stronger than the tensile strength of the stud. So with .05" per turn (20 threads per inch), you would only need .40" thread engagement have full strength...so 10-turns would be .50" and take any thread defects or deformation into consideration since the first thread sometimes isn't a full thread-form.

Tobin

 

[shamu]

I have a set of 9/16 lug nut studs on one of my broncos.
Can't wait to see holy crap batman on this one.

 

[patkelley]

This makes no sense. The wheel studs are pressed into the hub, and the rotor is pressed on the hub. If the rotor flange was machined thinner, the studs would extend further into the wheel. Also, it's easy to find/buy longer wheel studs if that is really an issue, but the spindle/caliper bracket/knuckle relationship has nothing to do with wheel stud length.

Also, the bearings in the hub MUST sit on machined spindle surfaces that are designed based on the knuckle/bracket/spindle/hub orientation. If you move the bracket to be on the outside of the spindle, the hub bearings will not seat on the correct part of the spindle - I doubt that you could do this as the hub would probably wobble on the spindle.

If you tried a spindle that was designed to have the caliper bracket mounted on top of it rather than behind it, the hub bearings might seat correctly, but even that has no impact on wheel stud length....