Disc brake/JGE Torker combo query

[butterskotch]

Hey all,

I’m in the middle of doing a resto on my 63/64 bug, as some will know it’ll end up as a butternut replica , but I’ve hit a bit of a problem .

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them) and I want to run disc brakes on the front with them.  Due to the spoke design of the wheel, space behind it is sparse and I’m struggling to find a brake set that will fit with only minor modification.  I don’t think there is a brake set that will fit without any mods, but I could be wrong. 

Does anyone have any experience of running the Torker wheels with discs or ideas on how to make a set work??
Does anyone know if Keith Seume is running discs on his blue 65, if so what type??


Here’s what I know about the various brake sets available:

CSP – These will not fit behind the wheel as the caliper is too big. They have told me that they will fit the 14” bus kit but unless I could have a custom kit made by them to fit a link pin bug it’s a no go.

CB wide 5 – Again these will not fit due to the caliper being too big.  I would have to machine a lot off the caliper and run large spacers to make them fit, or possibly run a smaller Wilwood/AP racing caliper on a custom made bracket.

AC discs – These can fit as I have spoken to John Rayburn about his set up.  However the caliper need machining and he runs 13mm or 16mm (can't remember) spacer with them.  Plus I’m unsure of this kit as I’ve not heard or seen anything about them.

Neal – Unsure about this kit, however I believe Bernard Newbury was running these on his old blue oval with an OG set of American Racing 5 spokes.  Also the current owner of the car has fit some JGE Torkers on but I’m unsure if he’s still running the Neal disks.

BAD brakes – Not sure if these will fit or not, nice kit tho, and a bit pricey too.

Feller discs – Not sure about this kit, I don’t know a lot about them.

Jamar discs – Does it matter that these are built for sand rails, can they be used on a street car??

CNC discs – Same as the Jamar kit, plus I don’t know a lot about them?



Any help/advice/guidance on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys

Brad
 

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Hi Brad Talk to John Rayburn he has them on his car with only Minor Mods. I know you have to use a thin Wheel Spacer and trim the Caliper a bit.
http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,6583.0.html

[Fastbrit]

No, I run stock drums... Discs only slow you down.

[fredy66]

No, I run stock drums... Discs only slow you down.

ha ha 

[empicolector]

got same problem with my empi 5 spokes original
they didn't fit on CSP front disc kit

[johnl]

Hey all,

I’m in the middle of doing a resto on my 63/64 bug, as some will know it’ll end up as a butternut replica , but I’ve hit a bit of a problem .

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them) and I want to run disc brakes on the front with them.  Due to the spoke design of the wheel, space behind it is sparse and I’m struggling to find a brake set that will fit with only minor modification.  I don’t think there is a brake set that will fit without any mods, but I could be wrong. 

Does anyone have any experience of running the Torker wheels with discs or ideas on how to make a set work??
Does anyone know if Keith Seume is running discs on his blue 65, if so what type??


Here’s what I know about the various brake sets available:

CSP – These will not fit behind the wheel as the caliper is too big. They have told me that they will fit the 14” bus kit but unless I could have a custom kit made by them to fit a link pin bug it’s a no go.

CB wide 5 – Again these will not fit due to the caliper being too big.  I would have to machine a lot off the caliper and run large spacers to make them fit, or possibly run a smaller Wilwood/AP racing caliper on a custom made bracket.

AC discs – These can fit as I have spoken to John Rayburn about his set up.  However the caliper need machining and he runs 13mm or 16mm (can't remember) spacer with them.  Plus I’m unsure of this kit as I’ve not heard or seen anything about them.

Neal – Unsure about this kit, however I believe Bernard Newbury was running these on his old blue oval with an OG set of American Racing 5 spokes.  Also the current owner of the car has fit some JGE Torkers on but I’m unsure if he’s still running the Neal disks.

BAD brakes – Not sure if these will fit or not, nice kit tho, and a bit pricey too.

Feller discs – Not sure about this kit, I don’t know a lot about them.

Jamar discs – Does it matter that these are built for sand rails, can they be used on a street car??

CNC discs – Same as the Jamar kit, plus I don’t know a lot about them?



Any help/advice/guidance on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys

Brad
 

Hi Brad,

I would also suggest you contact John Rayburn as he has done what you are attemping.  Also, I'm exicted to see the car.  Down the road I may do a recreation of my original Butternut as well.

[butterskotch]

Thanks for the replies guys, it all helps me get to a solution.

At the moment I'm swinging towards using either the Neal kit (but I'm unsure of the amount of track theis will add to the car) or to making a custom kit based on the CB set up.  I'd be using the CB rotor which would have to have the disc diameter machined down about 5/6mm and the running a set ot 2/4 pot Wilwood/AP calipers on custom made brackets.  I think I'd still have to run a spacer of some sort, but as far as I'm concerend, the smaller the spacer the better.

John, the car is STILL at my friends paint shop, he's deffo taking his time with it, but if it's done right I dont mind.  I've already had the pan back from him in a nice shiny gloss black which I'm currently in the process of building up.  We now have the correct colour codes (none of the manufacturers over here in the UK would recognise the Warbonnet paint codes) and have a test panel painted up.  I'm just waiting for my friend to find the time to paint the prepped and ready shell.  I'll send you some pics when it's in colour 

[Joe_G]

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them)  

I don't remember us ever having a whole set of prototypes 

[Fastbrit]

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them)  

I don't remember us ever having a whole set of prototypes 

Does rather smell of MWS…

[bodgit]

At the moment I'm swinging towards using either the Neal kit (but I'm unsure of the amount of track theis will add to the car) or to making a custom kit based on the CB set up.  I'd be using the CB rotor which would have to have the disc diameter machined down about 5/6mm and the running a set ot 2/4 pot Wilwood/AP calipers on custom made brackets.  I think I'd still have to run a spacer of some sort, but as far as I'm concerend, the smaller the spacer the better.

I'm running Neal discs on my Oval, along with some CB dropped spindles and both of those add some offset although I forget the individual amounts. I think the magic number was around 1.5" in total so I've got a 2" narrowed beam to tuck it all back in again.

Matt

[Neil Davies]

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them)  

I don't remember us ever having a whole set of prototypes 

Does rather smell of MWS…

Definately not MWS Keith, Brad bought these from Jon (Brad was in Half A Brain with me, so we know Jon pretty well) when they were first produced. Joe, I don't know how he got a whole set if you didn't have a full set, but I know that the one I saw on Tuesday definately didn't have any markings on it and I presume the others are the same... Maybe Jon knows more.
Anyway, we tried putting my CB disc into the wheel and there was no way that the caliper was going to fit. I think running a spacer beween the disc and the aluminium rotor would give some clearance too, but I think it'll end up being a combination of spacers and machining.

[nlvtinman]

Although I too am still in the building stage also, I found that the AC Industries disc setup does work with American 5 spokes/JGE torkers. Mine are fitted to a ball joint front end.
I also queried John Rayburn, and his help was friendly and honest.
You do need to add a 1/2 inch wheel spacer to help the caliper clear the inner spokes. It also can require a very small bit of work with the caliper.  With this brake set up, you cannot run dropped spindles, a slight negative in my opinion. But other than that, I'm pleased with the wheel/brake combination.

[butterskotch]

The wheels I’m using are the prototype set of JGE Torker wheels (just like the production set but with no stamps or markings on them)  

I don't remember us ever having a whole set of prototypes 

Does rather smell of MWS…

I can asure you guys, my wheels are definately NOT MSW as I wouldn't touch their wheels with somebody elses money, let alone my own!!

I'm not sure if you can remember Joe, when you brought these wheels out you took them to the Volksworld show and you only had 2 or 3 sets with you, a silver set, another set (cant rememeber the colour) and a black set that hadn't gone through the final machining stage.  I prefered the black colour and Jon told me they were the prototype set as they didn't have any markings/stamps on them, hadn't gone throught the full machining process and are the only set like it, so I brought them.  I think (can't be sure) I was the 1st person to buy a set of these wheels off you guys and walked away with just the one wheel at the show, I picked the other 3 up from Jons house later that week.  Since I've had these wheels they have been sent off to have the final part of the rim diamond cut, then blasted, then polished at Rainbow Polishers, blacked with boot polish, ankor waxed and a custom set of CNC machined centre caps made to look like the originals ones (a big thanks to Shubee2 for them).



Anyways, back to the problem at hand...
I've already email Bernard Newbury about the set up he had on his old oval and I'm due to call him later today so he can tell me about the set up he had, as it was quiet extensive from what he's mentioned in his email.

I supose worst case senario is that I could always use the Empi kit with minor monifications and then custom make some brackets to hold some AP/Wilwood calipers at a later date.

[johnl]

John, the car is STILL at my friends paint shop, he's deffo taking his time with it, but if it's done right I dont mind.  I've already had the pan back from him in a nice shiny gloss black which I'm currently in the process of building up.  We now have the correct colour codes (none of the manufacturers over here in the UK would recognise the Warbonnet paint codes) and have a test panel painted up.  I'm just waiting for my friend to find the time to paint the prepped and ready shell.  I'll send you some pics when it's

Recently I saw an original '71 Warbonnet Yellow Corvette up close and personal.  With the paint on this vehicle being about 39 years old and also applied to fiberglass it just didn't look as I remember my Butternut '63.  Leonard Becker, Becker's Bug House, painted the car and I now suspect the color formula might have been different.  Remember back then nothing was done via "computers".  Something else I should state is that prior to the car going to Becker's it was painted by another shop that I had used previously when the car went from the original Ruby Red to the '65 Caddy Firemist Green.  There were issues and I wasn't happy, so I paid the bill and transported the car to Becker's.  When Leonard did the repaint the car came out considerably different and I was much more pleased with the final product in quality and also the color.

I still have the color vivid in my mind even after all of these years.  So I guess what I'm saying here is look at the color and make sure you are happy with it.  Should I do another car that color I'll make sure the color is to my satisfaction and would only use the formula as a beginning.

[Jesse/DVK]

No experience myself, but aren't the bad brakes an option? With the wilwood caliper they are zero offset so my guess they have the most room for your wheels.

[Fastbrit]

Recently I saw an original '71 Warbonnet Yellow Corvette up close and personal.  With the paint on this vehicle being about 39 years old and also applied to fiberglass it just didn't look as I remember my Butternut '63.  Leonard Becker, Becker's Bug House, painted the car and I now suspect the color formula might have been different.  Remember back then nothing was done via "computers".  Something else I should state is that prior to the car going to Becker's it was painted by another shop that I had used previously when the car went from the original Ruby Red to the '65 Caddy Firemist Green.  There were issues and I wasn't happy, so I paid the bill and transported the car to Becker's.  When Leonard did the repaint the car came out considerably different and I was much more pleased with the final product in quality and also the color.

I still have the color vivid in my mind even after all of these years.  So I guess what I'm saying here is look at the color and make sure you are happy with it.  Should I do another car that color I'll make sure the color is to my satisfaction and would only use the formula as a beginning.

Here you go!

[johnl]

Keith, thanks for the photo as I don't think I've seen that one before, but still have the sign displayed with the car which was done by Jim Edmiston.  That is Jim on the far side of the car and I believe Sharon further back in the booth.  Don't know who the other two are.  Geeze, the interior of the car must have been full of water.  Look at those BLUE windows..

[Fastbrit]

Hi John

It's part of this photo:

[johnl]

Hi John

It's part of this photo:

Okay, now I remember this one.  THANKS.