series 3 - conversion from drum to disc brakes

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OldGinger

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Location
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my right hip is starting to complain because of the pressure required to stop my series 3. I am wondering if changing my front drum brakes for a 90's disc brakes would help my right hip? is this achievable?
any words of wisdom out there????????
 
ok to start, a series 3 is not a 90 or ninety, they came later.
i might be out of date but last i heard (long time ago) you needed to replace the axles to get disc brakes.
i would also say, if you have a functioning servo with well maintained/serviced brakes, the effort shouldnt be excessive.
i dont know how it would affect your insurance, worth checking before you start anything
 
I fitted front disks to my Series 2 last year using the kit from Design and Development.
I have a remote servo which I will fit over the winter as disk brakes don't have any self servo effect and the pedal now needs more of a shove. The other disk kits on the market were more expensive and most of them require a full strip down of the swivel housings which I wanted to avoid. Apart from some machining work to the rear face of the hubs it's a bolt on kit, using factory Defender disks and calipers.
The biggest problem is that this kit won't allow the use of OE Series or Defender standard wheels as they don't have the internal space to fit the calipers. I will be fitting Wolf wheels soon, but for the moment I have fitted 30mm wheel spacers which work fine.
With hindsight I should have spent time researching alternative calipers to clear the wheels. The 110 long pad calipers used are overkill in my opinion.
I made some small brake line extensions from the hub to caliper so that I could keep OE flexi lines.
 

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I drive both a Ninety and a Series 3 and have to say little difference in brake pedal pressure.
OP does not say what wheelbase he has but if SWB a switch to LWB front brake units would help. Also it is just a nut and bolt job.
 
I have answered in your other thread asking exactly the same question.
With regards to pressure exerted on the pedal to stop it I have no idea of it would be less or not.
 
Anaconda said:
I have answered in your other thread asking exactly the same question.
With regards to pressure exerted on the pedal to stop it I have no idea of it would be less or not.
Click to expand...
I think the pedal effort would be about the same but calipers are more efficient and consistent in their ability
 
I think the big advantage of discs is going to be fade resistance when stopping from high speeds or repeatedly braking hard with a heavy load.
Might not actually be worthwhile for a lot of series owners considering the lowly level of performance.
The late series three set up with a good servo and TLS front drums should be good enough for most
 
kermit_rr said:
if you have a functioning servo with well maintained/serviced brakes, the effort shouldnt be excessive.
Click to expand...

boguing said:
Does @OldGinger have a servo?
Click to expand...
These are the two key statements on this thread rather than the debate about discs vs drums. it is the servo that changes the amount of pedal pressure required. My series 3 does not have a functioning servo anymore (it is fitted with one) and the amount of pressure required is huge, however even when it was functioning properly it was still more than my 110 as the defender (done deliberately to upset @kermit_rr :p ) servo is much larger than the series one.
 
The Defender servo is way more effective than the original 6 inch Series type. They also have a smaller diameter bore than a single circuit LWB Series master cylinder so in effect, you can have a far higher brake line pressure and more control on light braking in a Defender. All this with a lighter effort on the brake pedal.
 
I've done this with the Heystee kit front and rear. You'd want the Servo off a Deb*nd*r, and a Wilwood prop.valve. Discs will not pull-up with the stock S3 servo. Brakes will be worse. That is why the servo gets bigger on LRs fitted with discs.

It's not about fade etc, unless you live in the Alps or run down Porlock Hill daily? The big advantage is progressive consistent modern-feel brakes, such that - do the miles - and they don't pull or need constant adjustment. They stay 'right'. Don't go'squirrelly' And because they're light, rather than stamp-ON and get ON or OFF, you can feather, have real control. Like modern cars.

The cheaper kits won't allow stock rims, which forces rim-choices which some might say, have your leafer look like it been parked on a sink-estate since the 90s. Done right, gets pricey quickly.

Pointless for showground miles, if you 'drive' and don't just August fake it , hence are found on a wet road in February.... discs are worth every penny.
 
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Wildefalcon said:
Zeus needs non standard rims; wolf rims.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that. I've got 99% of a set for my 101. Just missing one wheel stud and spacers for it. Apparantly the standard 101 wheels will clear the calipers with a narrow spacer.

Has anybody tried a set of Disco 1 steel wheels? If they clear the calipers they'd be cheap. Same pcd as Series.
 
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