Rear Disc Brake kits for TC, who makes them?

[Certified Lotus]

I’m on the hunt for who makes rear disc brake kits for the TC Europa that will fit inside the OEM 13 inch wheel.  Milo’s looked promising but he won’t commit to a date he will have them available. It looks like the Banks sells a kit for the TC.   I’ve done a fairly exhaustive search on this site and see that a few people have made their own ( EuropaTC did a nice write up).

I’m surprised no-one has made a bracket to fit the OEM front calipers. What about AP Racing calipers         (CP3696-6E0) has anyone done a conversation with these?

Thought it would be good to have one area for all the knowledge on this. Who has info?

[BDA]

I have Richard's kit from almost twenty years ago so my comments might be out of date. It uses Ford floating calipers and an unknown disc. It works well but the e-brake is useless. It's possible that I might be able to adjust them tighter so that they work a little bit, but Richard told me not to expect much and I'm not in the habit of using e-brakes anyway so I never spent any time on it.

If you are interested in his kit, make sure you tell him you have a Special as I think the bolt pattern on the upright changed between the TC and the TCS.

Without knowing much of the details of the Elan rear calipers, I've wondered why nobody adapted them to the Europa.

I assume your research included the Europa Central Documentation page but in case not, here's the link: http://www.lotus-europa.com/manuals/index.htm

[GavinT]

I think the Elan rear callipers came from a Fiat of some sort and are as rare as hens teeth.
That may account for them falling out of favour.
Can't remember who on this forum has an Elan?

[BDA]

Well that explains that!

Certified Lotus has an Elan and I bet he's not the only one.

[Certified Lotus]

Yes, I have an early Elan and a pair of used front calipers  as well as a pair of used front calipers from a 72 Europa. Just wondering if anyone has tried to use them for rear Europa TC brakes?

[EuropaTC]

Assuming you're talking of the 60's Elan and not the later FWD version then I really, really wouldn't use the Elan rear calipers regardless of cost. The piston diameter is about right for balance but the handbrake is troublesome,  using separate handbrake pads hanging down which are difficult to keep in working order.   Mine is ok but I don't do many miles these days and it's also modified with what's effectively a rose jointed, fully adjustable linkage with an extra centralising spring to slow down pad wear.   If you do a search on an Elan site then you'll find plenty of owners complaining about handbrakes !

On the subject of rear disc kits, the options I use now won't work with a 13" wheel (I have a 14" space saver spare). The original setup using 240mm rear discs might scrape through depending on the rear contour of the Lotus alloy but it fouled the Cosmic alloys I had and would have required a wheel spacer to get clearance. 

Was it Andy who's using Miata calipers for his conversion ? I think that's been used a few times now.  Making brackets isn't as difficult as it sounds but you do need attention to detail and think about distortion because even a few thou' at the weld is going to ruin your day.

But if you want a kit of parts to bolt on, then my money would go with Richard's kit as it has easily serviceable calipers and discs. IIRC he re-drills the rear discs to suit the PCD. 

Brian

edit to add for the last question - you could fit the front calipers at the rear but the balance would probably be well out. The front pistons are 48mm (?) and most normal rear setups end up with 34-36mm pistons. I haven't done the sums but I bet the rear braking would be verging on "interesting" 

[4129R]

But if you want a kit of parts to bolt on, then my money would go with Richard's kit as it has easily serviceable calipers and discs. IIRC he re-drills the rear discs to suit the PCD. 

Does anyone know where Banks' rear discs and pads come from for replacements at a later date from ordinary parts suppliers?

Mine came in a box marked Volvo, but that may or may not be relevant.

[EuropaTC]

But if you want a kit of parts to bolt on, then my money would go with Richard's kit as it has easily serviceable calipers and discs. IIRC he re-drills the rear discs to suit the PCD. 

Does anyone know where Banks' rear discs and pads come from for replacements at a later date from ordinary parts suppliers?
Mine came in a box marked Volvo, but that may or may not be relevant.

I thought he used Ford Sierra discs Alex, but that was a few years ago when I first heard about the conversion so I suppose it might have changed.  Sierra rear discs are 253mm dia, a great match but I rejected because I didn't trust myself to drill the holes accurately on the gear I had back then.

If it's not Ford then if you have any dimensions available I'll run them past my catalogues and see where they match up.

[BDA]

A call to Richard should answer a lot of questions but if not, you can get custom pads from a place like this: (https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/categories/shop/Custom+Brake+Pads.html). There are probably similar places on your side of the pond.

[Lotuswins]

Hi all,

I have made duplicate brackets of the Banks setup for my TCS.....article on the GGLC website....and the calipers from Banks are indeed Ford Sierra or in the US, Merkur Scorpio rear calipers.  I used an Integra disk to match it up, having filed the holes inward a bit, I think, since the centering is done by the hole in the disk.  Anyways, I do track the car, using Mintex 1144 pads which I found front and rear from a Seven's vendor in the UK.  I can get part numbers if you want, and I think I still have the correspondence with them.   Can't use front calipers.....unless you don't want a parking brake.   My ebrake does work, but it takes a strong arm to get it to hold on the hill, and it is somewhat reluctant to return to the off position, so I too don't use it much either. 

The brake balance with these calipers is really good, surprisingly.  I put an adjustable pressure valve in the rear circuit just in case, but after measuring temperatures of the disks during a track day, I have adjusted it out of the way with near equal temps front and rear.

Jerry Rude
4005R

[andy harwood]

"Was it Andy who's using Miata calipers for his conversion ? I think that's been used a few times now.  Making brackets isn't as difficult as it sounds but you do need attention to detail and think about distortion because even a few thou' at the weld is going to ruin your day."

Yes, that was me. And you are correct about weld distortion. I had a set of caliper brackets made, and they are distorted. I made another set out of 1/4" X 4" angle and some 1/4 flat steel. The rotors are Intregra, turned down to 9.5" and drilled for the lotus hub. Miata calipers. There is a write up of this conversion in the yahoo group, or the GGLC. There is also a write up using wildwood calipers.

[Certified Lotus]

Andy, do you have detailed shop drawings of the bracket? A CNC machine could easily make these out of a block of aluminum.

[EuropaTC]

Andy, do you have detailed shop drawings of the bracket? A CNC machine could easily make these out of a block of aluminum.

The outline drawing/write up Andy referred to is on the web;   

http://gglotus.org/ggtech/europa-discbrks/europa-discbrks.htm

And there are a few others kicking around of varying detail. It all comes down to what diameter/offset you have on the discs/rotors that you end up going with, so there's lots to choose from. 

[surfguitar58]

Throwing in my 2 cents worth: You could fabricate this bracket out of 2 pieces of aluminum L extrusion 4" x 2" x .25".

Does anyone have a clean version of the bracket drawing? Some of the dimensions are a little fuzzy and I'm not sure I got them right.

[andy harwood]

there is a pdf file on the yahoo group, under tcs Miata conversion.
No, don't have any drawings of my own. Since I'm changing out the stub axles and hubs, I've purchased a large hunk of steel, and will be making another set on a manual mill and lathe. I foresee a bit of time in front of the mill...
The write-up for the Miata conversion that I am following is by Doug Alexander, but I cannot seem to find it to link to.