Mk1 Brake conversion to Stag brakes (Or Mk2)

[richard w]

I mostly used to use LD Parts for Stag bits before I sold it. Their quality is generally reckoned to be good among SOC members and he is showing callipers in stock at the moment, albeit as an exchange item. I don't know if Peter will sell callipers without an exchange, but it could be worth asking. The other possibility might be to try to source secondhand callipers from a scrap Stag for exchange.

[CRAJ]

Quoted from Matt George

Cheers guys, will bear that in mind. So to utilise the Stag calipers then I do need to fit a Stag master cyl and servo? Is this simple enough on the MkII? Likewise, will I suffer imbalance if I stick with the MkII drums rather than Stag ones?

Matt

I wouldn't say so Matt, I have had Stag front brakes on the estate for a good 5 years with the original m/c, servo and rear brakes, never had any probs with this set up.

Colin

[thebrookster]

Quoted from willows40

For everybody thinking of putting stag brakes on the saloon, I recently did this for someone and put it on the brake rollers at mot station. No difference on thr fronts to the mk 2 setup on my mk1 estate. The rears were worse than standard mk1 on the rollers by quite a bit which did surprise me.
Stag calipers are hard to get hold of now, especially l/h ones for some reason

Cheers Andy

So I take it that was a complete conversion (is front/rear & Master cyl) was it Andy? If so, it certainly goes quite a way in convincing me that keeping the rest of the setup the same may well be the better route for me!

I shall try and find the post that refers to modifying the master cylinder to reduce pedal travel, think I found it on the register forum. That may well be the best option and means I don't have to disrupt too much.

Cheers,

Phil

[Nick Jones]

I ran Stag front brakes (M1144 pads) on my PIe with original M/C and rear brakes.  Pedal travel was marginally longer* but brakes were excellent.  I did not notice any strange balance effects and they were used quite hard on a few occasions.  

*All the pedal travel problems I had with that car were the rear self-adjusters not doing what they were supposed to.  They did sort of work but were always about 3 clicks behind where they should have been.  Mk1 has the advantage there I reckon.

Nick

[thebrookster]

Well, that is good to know Nick, maybe tweaking the travel will not be needed after all.

I have just re-found the post I saw about tweaking the pedal travel, it appears it was made by Andy on the register forum and relates to changing the pushrod lengths on the servo? So I can keep that in mind as well if need be.

Cheers,

Phil

[andy thompson]

Be very careful tweaking the pushrod length - brakes can end up locking on (easily solved on a test run by slightly loosening the master cyl nuts to get home.
My brothers 2.5 has Stag brakes and a Mk1 master cylinder (3/4") - brake travel is not an issue

[Matt George]

Quoted from Nick Jones

I ran Stag front brakes (M1144 pads) on my PIe with original M/C and rear brakes.  Pedal travel was marginally longer* but brakes were excellent.  I did not notice any strange balance effects and they were used quite hard on a few occasions.  

*All the pedal travel problems I had with that car were the rear self-adjusters not doing what they were supposed to.  They did sort of work but were always about 3 clicks behind where they should have been.  Mk1 has the advantage there I reckon.

Nick

What are the differences in Stag versus 2000 MkII calipers. I know (believe) the Stag discs are 270mm plays the 2000 ones at 247mm, but is anything else in the caliper changed? Bigger pistons?

Matt

[CRAJ]

I have the full Stag setup on the PI Matt, except the pwda valve (or whatever it's called), I have noticed that after hard use (track days) the brakes and handbrake on the car are very good, pedal travel lessens too, so the rear brake adjusters need to be 'assisted' to auto adjust.
Pads make a huge difference to the braking between the two cars, NOS pads seem much more fade resistant and brake better than new pads. I have never tried the Mintex pads, but I have heard good things about them and probably will try them one day. The larger rear brakes of the Stag setup also help imho, but because of the drum shape fitting some wheels requires a thin spacer. Both our MOMOS AND WOLFRACE slots are effected in this way. This can be an issue with rear arch clearance on the wider mk2 rear suspension.

Colin

[Matt George]

Quoted from CRAJ

I have the full Stag setup on the PI Matt, except the pwda valve (or whatever it's called), I have noticed that after hard use (track days) the brakes and handbrake on the car are very good, pedal travel lessens too, so the rear brake adjusters need to be 'assisted' to auto adjust.
Pads make a huge difference to the braking between the two cars, NOS pads seem much more fade resistant and brake better than new pads. I have never tried the Mintex pads, but I have heard good things about them and probably will try them one day. The larger rear brakes of the Stag setup also help imho, but because of the drum shape fitting some wheels requires a thin spacer. Both our MOMOS AND WOLFRACE slots are effected in this way. This can be an issue with rear arch clearance on the wider mk2 rear suspension.

Colin

Colin – I've got 1144s and otherwise standard MkII brakes, and the pads have made a big difference. So much more stopping power. In fact if the caliper swap turns out to be redundant then I may well just stay with the uprated pads. Fitting them over standard has definitely made a difference.

Matt

[andy thompson]

Stags have much bigger pistons - so greater clamping force (and marginally greater travel) but this doesn't seem to be an issue unlike equivalent 4 pot conversions with more total piston area than a 2000 caliper. I had Chris's Willwood (4*1.75" piston) conversion with a Mk1 MC and had almost no pedal .