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Bugeye Disc Conversion

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erstearns

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Getting ready to send the body off for blasting and making last minute mods. Plan on converting to disc brakes and wondering if anyone has any words of wisdon regarding mods needed to fit a later model pedal box. Noticed that the later model box is wider and will interfere with the washer motor mount holes When installed. Considering moving box over and bending the pedals if necessary to get correct location. Other than that any other advice on brake conversion in general. Thanks
 
I wound up having my original maser cylinder sleeved and re-bored for the proper diameter for disc brakes (front and rears from a '74 to go on my Bugeye). I realized this doesn't give a dual circuit setup, but doesn't require any cutting of the body. Personal choice, really.
 
Donn had some pictures on how he cut his car for the later style box. But I can not remember the name of the thread where it was discussed.
 
Nope, I walk by my computer frequently, and glance to see if anything is new. Currently, I'm waiting on some filler to dry before sanding.
 
thanks for the link to the pics. I see in that mod that the cutout was made deep enough to move the box away from the wiper motor mounting holes. I originally cut just enough to fit the box in from both sides, then realizing that it partially covered up on of the holes, knew something else was necessary.

I have acquired wire disc setup for the front and eventually will have to tackle what to do in the rear, wires and drum or disc in the rear.

I am sure that items of interest will pop up in the installation phase, comments from those who have tackled a similar conversion would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Post up anything you come up against as well. I've got to tackle this conversion this winter -- I've got the parts, but haven't started yet. I know it's supposed to be pretty straight forward, but y'all know how that usually goes. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
I am sure that you are aware that you will need an early i/4 eliptical wire wheel rear that are not easy to come by.
 
Bugeyes didn't come from the factory with wires, therefore you would need a rear from a mk1 midget or a mk2 sprite, and I don't think the mk2 sprite came with wires, but I may be wrong there. Certainly the midgets did, but spares are rare nowadays.

As for the disk conversion, giving yourself the whole winter may be a bit much. A week at a slow pace without a garage and no snow.

For the m-cyl hole, I made a plate that fits under the mounting frame to close up the hole.
https://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x288/frogeye61/RebuildPics/P1060434.jpg
 
Yes, am well aware of the necessity of different setup in the rear for wires. Talked to several folks who have braved the LBC gods by using wire axles in steel rear even though they are a bit shorter. Comments usually followed by "carry some spares". I am not too excited by that route. I notice that Moss sells adapters in sets of four that should work for the rear. Have not seen comments anywhere from anyone who has tried that setup in the rear. I do understand that 1/4 elliptical wire rears are most uncommon. For simplicity I amy "try" the adaptor while searching for a different rear. Nothing is easy. But as has been mentioned what route to go is a personal choice. I saw awhile back old english white with wires and that stuck with me. As far as the winter goes I am not sure about that, given that this is a ground up resto I am sure several winters will be in order, many other projects in proress as well, plus searching for more.
 
Donn, saw your pic of the plate. Thanks, obviously need to do somehting to fill in the hole. Maybe simple sheet metal will do the trick as it appears you have done. Will ponder more complicated alternatives but should go the easy route in the end. Need to find the backing plate and cover plate. All I got initially was the box frame and pedal assembly but the others can be fabricated if I cannot find (the box was $5 so I got more than I paid for).
 
Donn, it's mostly a matter of funding and finding that week -- still have a few bits to acquire, then I need to put aside some time to dive in to it.
 
Donn, think the adaptors for the rear seem like the easist way to go. Not from the original gene pool but neither is the Datsun tranny. They only sell them as a set of 4, kinda pricy but what isn't. If they won't break up a set I will let someone else have them down the road who is doing the same thing.
 
Couple more things. First, I think it was Trevor that cought me on this one a while back. I'm using a single master cylinder. Others are using a double. Mine doesn't interfere with the wiper box. Others have had interference problems. Specifically with the brake pipes coming out of the m-cyl. They had to move the Wiper motor over a bit.
 
Make sure you keep the front knuckles off of your old set-up. The tie rods are tapered and the new ones are not. The newer knuckles/links will not work with your steering rack.
 
First, the disc brakes are a good thing if you enhance your performance. The later pedal box can be modified in either direction from the center of the origional. If you don't want to cut, you can space the pedals to the center and avoid this. I mounted the box of the battery side support and added a support on the fender side and then cut the area needed for the pedels to come through. The brake pedal is close to the dimmer switch and if you have big feet, you will not get to the switch. I run my brights and no one ever blinks me. I used an aluminum plate under the existing hole and it turned out to look pretty nice. All this said, the wiper motor is an issue that I havenn't resolved this last yr. However, that is one of my projects for this winter. Having an ol BE is just fun.
 
Well, I would suppose that you want to keep the Bugeye close to stock, at least in appearance, but thought I'd throw this out there in the event someone else is moving toward the dark side, resto-mod.

In planning my '62 Sprite project one of the early decisions was to solve the brake problem and hopefully preclude future problems where possible. While attending the Mitty this year at Road Atlanta I finally settled on an aftermarket solution primarly aimed at the racer crowd. My car will be street legal (more or less /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif ) but for brakes will include the combination of a Tilton pedal box and Tilton MCs, 3/4" clutch, 3/4" front (disc) brake, and 7/8" rear brake.

Certainly not for everyone, but in keeping with the theme of my car, which you can read more about and see lots of photos at https://www.raysmg.com ... follow the "Spridget Project" link.

Ray

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