Caliper Options
The ABS calipers are getting very hard to find, at this time. The dual circuit calipers are getting harder to find, too. If you order a brake kit and do not already have your calipers, please let us know. We can hold a kit for your for a few days while you locate your calipers. Several owners have reported that they found theirs at a local parts store. If you cannot find any ABS calipers, the dual circuit version is still a viable option. If you choose to cross drill your calipers, we have a couple of drill jigs on hand that we can loan out. We can also do the cross drilling. Contact us for pricing. We're working on a new design with a Wilwood caliper that will still use the hub spacer and Altima rotor. There is no projected completion time for it due to time constraints.
NOTE
This is another caliper option that should not require either drilling the piston bores or a manifold.
This information was provided on the Ratsun forum and copied straight from there. You will still
need to drill the mounting holes to fit the bolts. Please verify for yourself and use at your own risk.
"I'd like to add one piece of information that will save some work for people doing this conversion. (please don't shoot me if this has already been mentioned in a post and I missed it) The volvo calipers that you really want to use are those found on a 1992 240 with abs. These calipers only have a single brake line and do not need the adapter manifold or the drill mod."
ABS SINGLE CIRCUIT CALIPER - NO MANIFOLD OR CROSS DRILLING
Driver's side: Autozone, Duralast UnBracketed Brake Caliper C9415
Passenger's side: Autozone, Duralast UnBracketed Brake Caliper C9514
Sample from Rockauto's site
INFO CHANGE!!
The straight hose, previously recommended, has trouble clearing the coil spring when the steering is turned fully. The previous banjo bolt was not the best length and the tall head might interfere with the steering arm.
New info/pics are posted below.
This is another caliper option that should not require either drilling the piston bores or a manifold.
This information was provided on the Ratsun forum and copied straight from there. You will still
need to drill the mounting holes to fit the bolts. Please verify for yourself and use at your own risk.
"I'd like to add one piece of information that will save some work for people doing this conversion. (please don't shoot me if this has already been mentioned in a post and I missed it) The volvo calipers that you really want to use are those found on a 1992 240 with abs. These calipers only have a single brake line and do not need the adapter manifold or the drill mod."
ABS SINGLE CIRCUIT CALIPER - NO MANIFOLD OR CROSS DRILLING
Driver's side: Autozone, Duralast UnBracketed Brake Caliper C9415
Passenger's side: Autozone, Duralast UnBracketed Brake Caliper C9514
Sample from Rockauto's site
INFO CHANGE!!
The straight hose, previously recommended, has trouble clearing the coil spring when the steering is turned fully. The previous banjo bolt was not the best length and the tall head might interfere with the steering arm.
New info/pics are posted below.
NEW HOSE RECOMMENDATION!!!!
Below are the items recommended by Eric Miller(Thank you!!). He also mentioned that a 14" or 15" hose should work fine. The one shown here is a 16". He chose to use a Kevlar covered hose, but you can find similar hoses in stainless steel.
Links are attached to each picture.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT HE IS USING THE ABS VERSION OF THE CALIPERS. THESE PARTS MAY NOT WORK WITH THE MANIFOLD.
Below are the items recommended by Eric Miller(Thank you!!). He also mentioned that a 14" or 15" hose should work fine. The one shown here is a 16". He chose to use a Kevlar covered hose, but you can find similar hoses in stainless steel.
Links are attached to each picture.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT HE IS USING THE ABS VERSION OF THE CALIPERS. THESE PARTS MAY NOT WORK WITH THE MANIFOLD.
DUAL CIRCUIT CALIPER - REQUIRES MANIFOLD OR CROSS DRILLING
Here is an example of the caliper used with this upgrade. Be sure to order left and right, not just two of the same part number. This caliper will have two brake line inputs and will require a manifold, cross drilling the bores(plugging one
input), or some fancy plumbing.
These calipers are popular upgrades for a variety of vehicles out there besides the Datsun Roadster, so you should be able to find even more info by searching the web. Just keep in mind that a lot of the other mods out there are using a non-vented rotor, so even though the calipers look the same, they are too narrow to fit the vented rotor.
These calipers have two separate brake circuits in them. In their stock usage, they have two brake lines running to them. There are two common options used for connecting them to a single brake line. One is a caliper manifold and the other is to disassemble the caliper and drill a connecting passage between the pistons.
The caliper manifold is no longer available from Breck Myers. I personally checked with him 9/20/2020. He did give his blessing to post up the blueprint for the manifold for anyone that would like to make their own. If the supply of ABS calipers dries up, I may start to make these. I'm actually working on a Wilwood caliper option to fix both of these issues.
The blueprint for the manifold is here.
Here's more info about the manifold option:
http://www.mildevco.net/chevypowereddatsuns/volvo_brakes.htm
https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/datsun-roadster-brake-upgrade-volvo-calipers.html
For information about the drilling option, visit this link:
http://www.jcna.com/library/tech/tech0031b.pdf (Sorry. This link requires that you become a member of the site)
I can't seem to find the site again, but here's the file:
| tech0031dl.pdf |
I did a couple of longer videos about the drilling option. They are basically, part 1 and part 2. Part 1 shows how I drilled the caliper without the jig. Part 2 shows how I made the jig and then drilled the caliper with it. I have one of the jigs available to loan out with the purchase of the brake kit.
Volvo Caliper Mod - Drilling
Volvo Caliper Drill Jig
NOTE:
It has been noted by previous users of the Volvo calipers that the surface around the brake line mounting holes is not always machined. There seems to be no way to insure getting ones with the machined surface. Some have clamped the manifold on with the copper crush washers and it's been okay. You may want to get your calipers first if you think this will sway your decision about how to connect your brake lines.
Steering Arm Clearance
This has recently been brought to my attention. After doing a bit of research, it seems it has been mentioned before.
With either, the manifold or the Russel hose/banjo bolt, there's a chance that you'll need to clearance or grind a bit off the steering arm. An 1/8" would be more than enough, but I think less than that will be enough more most cases. Since I don't recall hearing about this from anyone else, I'm assuming that most installations cleared enough. It could also be that the owner noticed the posts in the 311s' thread that mentioned/showed it being a potential issue. It's really long, hard thread to read, so I'd tend to think most just cleared enough. The Nico club link above shows this issue, as well.
Ray A. sent me a couple of nice photos to show me his clearance issue. I'll share them here, along with a couple of others that found on the 311 thread. The second two are with the Breck Myers' manifold. I'm sure it's made to be the same thickness as the banjo fitting, so it makes sense that it would have the same lack of clearance.
The new hose and banjo bolt recommended above should help with this clearance issue.
With either, the manifold or the Russel hose/banjo bolt, there's a chance that you'll need to clearance or grind a bit off the steering arm. An 1/8" would be more than enough, but I think less than that will be enough more most cases. Since I don't recall hearing about this from anyone else, I'm assuming that most installations cleared enough. It could also be that the owner noticed the posts in the 311s' thread that mentioned/showed it being a potential issue. It's really long, hard thread to read, so I'd tend to think most just cleared enough. The Nico club link above shows this issue, as well.
Ray A. sent me a couple of nice photos to show me his clearance issue. I'll share them here, along with a couple of others that found on the 311 thread. The second two are with the Breck Myers' manifold. I'm sure it's made to be the same thickness as the banjo fitting, so it makes sense that it would have the same lack of clearance.
The new hose and banjo bolt recommended above should help with this clearance issue.
