One could say that the rear brakes on the bugeye or a journey. We began with the original drum brakes that were on the 948 bugeye, and then upgraded to later MG Midget rear drum brakes with the dual piston brake cylinders. That upgrade involved, new back plates, new cylinders, new adjusters, in new springs. If you read our earlier post regarding the upgrade to the later drum brakes, you know that it wasn’t an easy job as we ended up, having to modify the back plate and the drums to avoid rubbing.
Late in the game, after expense and considerable effort, we made the decision to upgrade yet again to rear disc brakes. In researching the topic, we discovered there were several vendors selling conversion kits. Frontline in England, https://shop.frontline-cars.co.uk/parts-and-upgrades/product/17 the Bugeyeguy in Connecticut, https://bugeyeguyparts.com/products/rear-disc-brake-kit and Ol Phartz Parts in California, https://www.olphartz.com/rear-disc-brake-conversion-kits.html
After some head scratching and deliberation we decided on the kit from Steve Christensen at Ol Fartz Parts. Steve’s kit is nicely put together and uses modern brake calipers sourced from a Nissan Sentra. Considerable documentation with photographs is supplied in the kit and was very helpful in assembly.
Bugeye Restoration Video Episode Ninety-nine shows the contents of the kit and our installation.
https://vimeo.com/1087193582/c834792afd?ts=0&share=copy
0:00 – Disc brake kit selection
1:20 – Ol Phartz’s parts kit contents
6:20 – Painting components
7:18 – Removal of brake drums, hubs and backplates
12:05 – Caliper brackets installed
12:50 – Reinstall hubs, bearings, tab washers and axle nuts
14:18 – New axle gasket, “O” rings, and half shafts installed
14:30 – Brake rotors installed
14:57 – Caliper torque bracket installed
15:55 – Disk pads installed
16:05 – Spring clips and pad retainers installed
17:40 – Caliper body installed
18:40 – Brake hoses and axle brackets installed
20:15 – Handbrake rods and linkage installed
20:58 – Brake hard pipes installed to 3-way connector