Interchangeable Calipers?

C

chrisyork

Active Member
Browsing in e bay the other day for new brake pads I came across an item listing all the cars for which P6B front pads are suitable:

ALFA ROMEO 2600 2.6 64-77 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 409 66-67 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 410 68-69 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 411 6.3 70-76 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 411 6.5 70-76 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 412 5.9 75-82 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL 603 5.9 78-83 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL Beaufighter 5.9 80-83 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
BRISTOL Blenheim 5.9 98- Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
FIAT 1500/2300 64-67 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
FIAT 1600S/1800S 61-64 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
FIAT Dino 2.0 65-71 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER 420 66-71 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER E-Type 4.2 69-75 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER E-Type 5.3 69-75 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER Mk11 3.8 65-70 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER XJ12/Double Six 5.3 68-73 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER XJ6/Sovereign 2.8 68-73 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
JAGUAR/DAIMLER XJ6/Sovereign 4.2 68-73 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
LOTUS Eclat 2.0 (Alloy wheels) 75-80 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
LOTUS Eclat 2.2 (Alloy wheels) 80-85 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
LOTUS Elite 2.0 (Alloy wheels) 74-80 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
LOTUS Elite 2.2 (Alloy wheels) 80-82 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
RELIANT Scimitar 3.0 GT 67-76 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
RELIANT Scimitar 3.0 GTE 72-76 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Austin Morris 1800 S 69-75 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Austin Morris 2200 69-75 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Austin Morris 3 Litre 68-71 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Rover 3500 V8 (P6) 68-69 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Rover 3500S V8 (P6) 69-76 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Wolseley 18/85S 69-72 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
ROVER INC (Austin Morris M.G Rover Riley Triumph Vanden Plas Wolseley) Wolseley Six 72-80 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
TAXI FX4 (Disc Conv.) 88-92 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
VOLVO 120 1.8 61-69 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
VOLVO 1800 1.8 64-68 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC
VOLVO Amazon 1.8 61-69 Front Brake Pads Upgrade EBC

GOSH!!!

Does that mean that they all have interchangeable calipers with the P6?

At the least early E Type and XJ6 appear to have 3 pot calipers so that makes them a good prospect?

I'm thinking to all the threads we've had on here where people have had worn calipers letting their pads rattle around and give strange clunks etc. Perhaps we stand a better chance of sourcing *#NEW#* calipers if we look for non Rover items as well?

Anybody (Harvey?) out there know or got the Girling book?

Chris

PS do these look familiar? ebay link
 
Hi Chris, I have actually got a Girling book but it doesn't list cars as old as we would be interested in. I've dealt with the same brake specialist for over 30 years so when I'm in there next time I'll ask if they can find a REALLY old book I can have.
 
Had a quick look at those jag calipers, what's the theory behind the 3 pot design ? surely one side of the caliper acts slightly differently to the other ?

I assume they are designed so that the 2 smaller pistons will apply the same pressure as the one big one, but what about heat disipation, and why not just have 2 big ones, or 4 smaller ones ?

I always find it hard to understand "unbalanced" designs.
 
If you mean wedge princess calipers, I doubt it as they are a sought after caliper to fit to mk1 & 2 escorts so I'd be surprised if they fitted the Rover.
 
harveyp6 said:
If you mean wedge princess calipers, I doubt it as they are a sought after caliper to fit to mk1 & 2 escorts so I'd be surprised if they fitted the Rover.
Click to expand...
A lot of the classic Rally lads use these calipers, and not just on RWD escorts.
I never had any trouble getting rid of them on eBay...

You can get a "split kit & spacer" to get them around wider discs as well.
 
Ok, next question, what's the difference between 2000/2200 calipers and V8 ones, I know the V8's are 3 pot, but are the mounting centres different ? If so, does anybody have some measurements ?
 
Calipers are interchangable between all P6's with girling brakes, if you think about it there is only one type of swivel pillar so they must be.
 
Sorry its the Dunlops that are a different mounting, I knew I had read it somewhere, which unfortunately scuppers my idea for some fancy callipers !
 
So your train of thought would be fitting bigger calipers (say xj6/12 jag) ? So you could do it if the jag calipers would fit the dunlop p6 swivel pillars. But the simplest upgrade for a 4 cyl is to fit V8 calipers.
 
Well I was actually looking at these, they also do 6 pot calipers too. and handbrake calipers for rear brakes which might also be interesting.

I wouldn't say the V8 caliper was much of an upgrade over the standard 2.2 caliper, especially if the discs are the same size ?, what we really need are bigger vented disks and 4 / 6 pot calipers, but thats going to cost the thick end of £1000, not really in Rover-owner price range !

Other than in highly tuned V8's has anybody actually ever had problems with the standard brakes (assuming they are working properly), I certainly never had cause for concern with mine, no fade or anything, and I was running 185's front and 195's rear.
 
V8 calipers may be working on the same size disc, but have a far greater pad surface area, and the caliper piston area is also greater, giving a better hydraulic advantage,and as for the standard system,(v8 in particular) if well maintained and set up correctly, I can't fault them, and if you up the power I would think the diff will break before the brakes give out.
Also power output doesn't really come into it unless you are increasing the top speed, braking from 100 mph takes as much effort with 150 bhp as 1500 bhp, better brakes just allow you to do it quicker and for longer without suffering from fade.
Having said all that, those six pot calipers with vented discs would look great. :D
 
best P6 brakes I have ever had, even comparing with a newly disc'd & padded V8 are the ones one my 2000sc auto. Even the MOT guy commented on them last week when the MOT was passed, they stand it on its nose no problem :D, of course, before anyone else says it, as its a 2000sc auto by the time it gets to the scence of a crash that you would have had in a v8 it will be all over :D
 
I remember the tester commenting on my 2.2TC brakes, he said they were as powerfull as on some of the big trucks they tested.

Can't say I've ever heard anybody complaining about P6 brakes being inadequate. OK you hear plenty that don't work properly, but thats a different story !
 
Hi, ian, I'd always assumed all girling discs were the same size, (dunlop fronts are larger and rears smaller) and my 1972 data book shows this to be the case for 2000 and 3500 and S, but then I find in the 2000/2200 factory manual they list the 2000 the same size as the V8,(according to my data book) but the 2200 front discs as 1.3 mm greater diameter, so now I don't know what to think!
Then looking in the factory V8 workshop manual shows, as you say, the V8 front discs to be larger, by about half an inch (diameter)
Confused? I soon will be! It just goes to show, if your going to fit parts always fit the right ones, and you won't go far wrong, you would think the V8 deserved bigger discs, and so it is.
There's always something more to learn!

PS the data book is now consigned to the bin!
 
Having suffered a crisis of confidence after finding out about all those different size front discs, I made the effort and checked in the relevant factory manuals, and found that all rear (girling) discs are listed as the same size.
 
Hi ian, I just wondered if you had realised 2200 front discs were a different size to 2000? Or is it just a typo in the workshop manual?
 
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