Wilwood brakes

[TVRVixenV8]

Is there any wilwood brake kit available for Wedges and especially for the 400SE? The 4-pot princess calipers are used to upgrade some escorts as a straight bolt on conversion so i think there are a lot of brake kits available for Ford front suspensions.
Where do the brakes and uprights in the 400SE come from? Cortina? Granada?
Thanks for any help and information
Axel

[Russell Mc]

There is a Princess direct replacement Wilwood caliper available from Rally Design. Should go straight on.

[rev-erend]

Useful article..

http://www.tvrwedgepages.co.uk/maint_brakes_upgrad...

HiSpec 4 pot conversion..
http://www.larkspeed.com/index.pl?a=i&k=s&...

http://www.hispecbrake.co.uk/Wedge%20295mm%20Bille...

[TVRVixenV8]

thanks for these information, decision what to do isn't easy because there are no clear information what will fit the 400SE. To my complete confusion i can't find out the origin of my existing and nearly new break discs on front which are 270 (or 269 / 10.6") x 27mm.
These ones should be perfect

http://www.hispecbrake.co.uk/Billet%204%20Princess...

but they are for use with 260mm discs

[rev-erend]

Also found :

http://www.wms-brakes.com/

the 262 mm kit was £350 a few years ago .. but I'm sure the price will have changed.

Keri has fitted these to wedges before .. cannot remember who. Think Roger from up Leeds way may have had something to do with it.. his 350i ?

I think Gerald had Tuscan 4 pots fitted to his SEAC but it was not a good one .. with the wheel eating part of the caliper. Luckily he spotted it before anything serious happened.

Edited by rev-erend on Wednesday 8th February 21:10

[350zwelgje]

Have hi-spec 300mm & 4-pot callipers (billet something) in the original 15 inch wheels on my 350i without any problems.
Don't know if they would fit for example other wheels like 15 inch OZ... Perhaps you are lucky like me

Rob

[TVRVixenV8]

I've refurbished my Princess calipers, new seals and new stainless pistons. Easy job but the new stainless brake fixing pins are to short! The brake disc is thicker (27mm) then they are on all the Ford Escort modifications (max. 24mm).

Who knows where they come from? Ford? Jaguar?

[Mr Tank]

TVRVixenV8 said:

Who knows where they come from? Ford? Jaguar?

If my memory is correct they are Ford Granada estate disc.

Andy

[rev-erend]

I think he is after the 'Princess' 4 pot caliper pad pins which have to be
longer than standard thanks to the Granada vented discs.

At the end of the day - it's only a pin and the supplier of the brake parts will be the best person to source these from.

Edited by rev-erend on Monday 13th February 16:45

[TVRVixenV8]

It's not a problem to get longer pins.. or re-use the old ones that i still have.
I just like to know where this wide discs came from. It's not Granada Estate , they are 262x24. It seems to be a very uncommon brake setup in my 400SE. What about the other 400SEs? Does anybody have the same discs/calipers (AP Princess with two spacers in line , in total 15mm widening)?

[Keri]

Because the Princess calipers pads overhang the edge of the 262x24 Granada disc, AP Racing/TVR did a 270x28 rotor+bell (on the 400SE?) as an upgrade to match the pads properly - more like a "fix" in my book!

I've got a set for R&D as I was looking to do replacement rotors for them for a while.

[Jack Valiant]

Rev is correct you will need over long pins to allow for the spacer on the Princess 4 pots. You will also need the bigger anti squeal clips do a search for the Wedge pages and you will find all the detail you need for this mod. I have just done mine complete with Granada Estate vented disks ..... jobs a good un!

[pasogrande]

Do any of the new 4-pot calipers fit inside the 14" wheels of a 280i? Here is a picture (stolen) of the wheel I am talking about. I would prefer new and light weight rather than off a Princess.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76619182@N07/71648969...

Wilf.

[400SE Dave]

There must be a kit somewhere as I have seen Wilwood brakes on the Yellow 400SE that is for sale now when it was up for sale before at a guys in Preston.

No idea what kit it is though.

[Keri]

If it's any help, this is the (400SE etc?) AP 270x28 rotor+bell, totally different to the Granada 262x24 one:

[pasogrande]

Thanks, Keri. How much weight would I be adding compared with the original 2-pot Girling setup? Do the WMS brakes use standard sized pads, or are they specific to WMS?

Have you shipped any across the pond - or is there a dealer here?

My 280i is not running at the moment, and we have time to decide.

Wilf.

[GV]

I have just fitted Hi Spec M16 Billet 4 Calipers on 15 inch OZ's They fit a disc of 285 to 300mm and are spaced to 24mm with EBC fast road pads. These are a direct replacement for Wedge calipers and are a superb upgrade. I also have a complete s/s brake line setup where I now have complete confidence in the car's braking ability. I looked at Wilwoods but they were not a direct replacement to suit the Wedge and require some tinkering to fit.

I would recommend Hi Spec calipers you don't need their monster upgrade and forget the extra cost for their painted efforts Princess 4 pots are a cheaper upgrade if you cannot stretch the funds for Hi Spec.

[pasogrande]

Thanks, Andrew.

My problem is the 14" rims. I am not sure what clearance I would get (caliper to rim)

The alternative is bigger rims, but now clearance from tyre to wheel arch is the problem. I have looked into the rims, and they are so much heavier than the originals; and weight is what I was trying to avoid.

Wilf.

[GV]

pasogrande said:

Thanks, Andrew.

My problem is the 14" rims. I am not sure what clearance I would get (caliper to rim)

The alternative is bigger rims, but now clearance from tyre to wheel arch is the problem. I have looked into the rims, and they are so much heavier than the originals; and weight is what I was trying to avoid.

Wilf.

You should be ok if you have M16 calipers as the Hi Spec type are a straight forward replacement for the Ford setup. If you go for Hi Spec don't specify TVR specify the M16 replacement.

The calipers are much lighter too.

[grahamw48]

pasogrande said:

Thanks, Andrew.

My problem is the 14" rims. I am not sure what clearance I would get (caliper to rim)

The alternative is bigger rims, but now clearance from tyre to wheel arch is the problem. I have looked into the rims, and they are so much heavier than the originals; and weight is what I was trying to avoid.

Wilf.

If you still have the original Granada non-vented discs on your 280i, then you can certainly upgrade to Granada Vented ones with matching calipers (2 pot)....as fitted to 390SEs.

That's what I had on my 280, with the cross spoke 14" wheels...plus stainless brake pipes. Braking was then very good.

Best thing to do regards fitting 14 " wheels over the 400SE style brakes is to try one on a 400SE owner's car to check for clearance.

It's often the 'offset' (?) of the wheel rather than its diameter that can interfere with correct fitment over the brake caliper.

Edited by grahamw48 on Friday 12th October 15:18

Edited by grahamw48 on Friday 12th October 15:19