13/60 brake calipers

[Dave N]

Hi All

I was preparing the Herald for moving to my garage yesterday. In fact it is on a low loader on the M20 as I type!!  :)

The brakes were seized solid so I removed the front calipers. I noticed on the back a number that was something like 12 SPD or similar. Does this mean it has Type 12 calipers? I was under the impression it would have type 14's. The car is a 1970 13/60.

Also, can you tell me how easy/difficult it is to fit Vitesse Type 16 calipers and would it be worth the agro?

Thanks for your help.

Dave

[Mark Hammond]

Not worth bothering with IMHO.

Mark

[Clive]

Mark is correct. It would entail changing just about the entire front upright/stub axle/hubs/bearings etc etc etc.

If you need new callipers, probably worth getting 14s as they should be a direct swap and pads are easier to source. Probably worth fitting new discs at the same time.

[Pete Lewis]

14 do bolt on as direct replacement but the back of the hub is machined to reduce the hub fouling the caliper, if its a cast finish it may foul if its a smooth machine turned face then its OK
you can fit typw 16 quite easily the hardest job is to find the larger  vitee/gt6 caliper mount , they can take some searching, this fits direct onto your existing upright , the 16 fixings are only a few mm out of line to the 12/14 carrier  looks as though they fit they wont

if you use type 16 then g for the vitesse disc , about 1/2" bigger diameter.

pete

[Pete Lewis]

14 do bolt on as direct replacement but the back of the hub is machined to reduce the hub fouling the caliper, if its a cast finish it may foul if its a smooth machine turned face then its OK
you can fit type 16 quite easily the hardest job is to find the larger  vitesse/gt6 caliper mount , they can take some searching, this fits direct onto your existing upright , the 16 fixings are only a few mm out of line to the 12/14 carrier  looks as though they fit they wont

if you use type 16 then g for the vitesse disc , about 1/2" bigger diameter.

pete

[Clive]

Pete (and Dave) the very early uprights do have removable/swappable calioer mounts. However, most herald/spit uprights have the mounts integral and therefore you are stuck with the std calipers.
Of course, the herald may have the early uprights. And those early calliper mounts have real value as they are used to fit 4 pot callipers to gt6/vitesses.
In fact the cheapest way to get bigger disc/calliper combo is to by afterrtmarket 4 pots and vitesse discs or vented discs.
However, you need to believe us that std herald brakes are more than adequate when in good condition.

[Dave N]

Thanks for your replies. The Type 14's sound good. The car is here now so have a very long week ahead before I can get stuck in at the weekend.

Is there any way of knowing if I have the early uprights? The car is a real 'bitsa' having been run when Heralds were 2 a penny in the scrapyard. It has difference colour bonnet, bootlid, valance, odd brakes, Triumph 1300 TC engine.... That is what I know so far.

[heraldcoupe]

3371 wrote:

Is there any way of knowing if I have the early uprights?  

On the early type (or Vitesse/GT6 type), the carrier for the caliper is a seperate component fixed to the upright over the stub axle and fixed with four bolts around it's perimeter. Additionally, the steering arm passes through a slot in the upright and is bolted either side.

On the late type (post 1963 on all disc braked Heralds and Spitfires) the carrier for the caliper is an integral part of the upright casting. On this type, there is no slot, the steering arm is located by the end nut for the stub axle.

Cheers,
Bill.

[Dave N]

Thanks Bill. I will be doing a though survey this weekend so should know then.

Dave