Brakes – Round 1

When I bought the Land Rover, during the test ride, the previous owner indicated that it would pull to the right a bit when the brakes were applied. He figured it needed a brake rebuild and was he ever correct!

I wasn’t too concerned with how it drove when I was buying the truck. I was focused on confirming that it was complete and that the body and frame were in good condition. All mechanical systems were assumed to need repair or restoration. As the previous owner explained, it does pull to the right when the brakes are applied. But that is less important than the fact that the truck doesn’t stop well and in its current condition would not pass a basic safety inspection. This post is the first of a series of posts where I take on rebuilding the brake system to get me one step closer to being able to use the Rover for something other than a tool stand in my shop.

Before starting this project, I did a lot of looking at disk brakes. There are several conversions out there. The ones I’ve found are listed below.

I found reference to a few others that may still be available or were available in the past, but the 4 listed above had active websites that appeared to be current. Note that the Heystee and Forbyn kits are limited to replacement swivels and still require the purchase of discs, calipers, and the other components required to make them fully functional. Rovers North sells a full kit which I believe is based on swivels manufactured by someone in the UK or Europe. The Torrel and Zeus kits appear to be complete and include the required calipers and brake rotors. The cost of the parts alone is at least $1200 depending on which kit is selected and more depending on what other supporting upgrades/purchases are required.

With the above in mind, I’ve decided that before I invest in disc brakes, I need to assess the condition of the drum brakes on the truck. The factory drums might do a fine job if they are restored to original working condition. Of course, that may be expensive as well. If everything needs to be replaced, a disc brake conversion might not be much more expensive. The only way to know is to take apart what I have and evaluate each component to determine what needs to be replaced and what can be repaired.

The next post will document the disassembly of the brakes. I am assuming that I’m in for a lot more than the wearing components. The goal here is to determine what parts I need to buy to complete the job so that I can determine which direction I should go.