Caliper brackets
 

Time to start another problem. Here is what I've got. The axle is a custom width and custom camber 4" drop Super Bell axle. The holes in the axle are for shock perches. The spindles are custom made early Ford with Heidts spindle pins in them. The brakes are Wilwood 12.88" disk with 6 piston Nickle plated calipers. They only fit the Heidts pin. Wilwood only made the Nickle plated calipers for a short period of time. None of these parts ever wanted to play together. I got the bracket today that fit the spindle they are flat. The caliper bracket that's in it can go in 2 ways. One way if the flat sides are lined up it is centered. The other way it would be centered if placed inside with about 1/8" spacer. I tried mind melding it into one working bracket but it didn't work. Any ideas? Would it be stronger overlapped or can a butt joint work? Thank you for your time.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

One question before you throw more money at it. Will that converted Ford cross leaf axle pass tech when you are done?

Most likely you are going to have to make some patterns and have someone waterjet you a new pair of caliper brackets that fit.

You might do a search for Wildwood caliper brackets for 40 Ford round back spindles but you may not find anything that will work.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

Super Bell assures me that it will pass tech, we'll see. They made it from a higher strength tubing. The tech guys have a gizmo that tells them tube thickness. I told them it would probably leave the ground. In the end I just want to have fun. I plan on driving the wheels off it. Wilwood is not real big on telling you what to buy to alter or make brackets. I was able to take one of the Wilwood guys aside at the PRI show and get some off the record info. It's the world we live in. Safety is on the top of my list. What I have should get me mocked up and I'll go from there. My build seems to be two steps forward one step back.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

Is it possible to make spacers to fit behind the brackets? Imagine a second set of brackets trimmed to match the OD of the spindle. The spacer could be welded to the bracket in a few spots to make servicing easier.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

That's kinda the way I'm leaning. Maybe put some shoulder bolts in them for extra safety. My custom damper should be here tomorrow so I have been trying to figure out how to stack up all the pulleys on it. A friend of mine told me about a guy that just opened a new fab shop about 20 miles from me. He said he would do small jobs while I wait if I call ahead. Everyone else around here wants 2 weeks to make a spacer. He also races. Does machining sheet metal, tube bending and welding. I have a tube bender but I don't trust my welding on anything important like brakes.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

holy cow, so much chrome I gotta wear sunglasses, lol. good looking bunch of parts.

Re: Caliper brackets
 

Shouldered bolts for extra safety = great idea. Grade 10 hardware. Loctite on bracket bolts. Racer + "does everything" guy = someone likely to do good work in reasonable time.
Be sure to provide plenty of surface area to support the caliper bracket. Try to ensure caliper centerline is parallel to rotor centerline. Twisting and flexing is the enemy here. Six piston calipers will provide enough force to make the bracket conform to any mismatch.