Volvo 240 caliper conversion?

[ToonRboy]

That's an interesting bit of info (from the copper industry). Copper is a lot softer than steel and also oxidizes faster. However, once the top surface is oxidized, it lasts forever. If used with DOT5 (silicon) fluid, which keeps more air, they might oxidize more internally and contaminate the brake fluid more. I was surprised to read the bursting strength of the 90-10 copper-nickel tube (UNS C70600). 'Course, you don't see rifle barrels made out of copper, now do ya'?

But that's not what bothered me. Take a look at Pic #6 & #7 (brake face/w caliper) of the German link provided by hfintegrale. It appears that the caliper doesn't fit quite right. Caliper sits a tad too high so that the pad doesn't engage the whole disc face. Note amount of disc visible between bottom of caliper and axle. 1/8" of pad sits beyond the disc at the top (pic#6). This will get "stepped" as it wears. I suppose they could bore the bolt holes on the calipers a little so that the caliper sits down lower. Hell, they're made of iron, you could probably do it with a rat-tail file and a couple hours of elbow grease! I imagine they're a lot heavier than stock. Necessitating some serious rebound adjustment of the Koni yellows (to keep 'em on the road, once you've hit a bump).

[giuliettaevo]

I used the Volvo calipers on my Giulietta with the TS conversion, worked brilliantly!

I used;
- 75 TS Hubs and vented discs ( original 75TS size, same as GTV6 size)
- original Giulietta 1.6 uprights/spindles. ( the ones from the original car.the Giulietta has smaller,non-vented discs up front.) the "ears" for the calliper mounting are closer to the centre off the disc on these spindles, this way you can just bolt on the Volvo calliper, no special disc or adapters needed.
- 2 t-pieces and a few small pieces of brakeline to fix the double brakehose problem.
- a 25,4mm mastercilinder from some kind off Citroen Van. this because my original MC was in not to good a shape.

Result was a very good feel in the pedal, hard braking and also less heat. on my favourit industrialzone around here i would have the discs glowing red before with the brakepads almost on fire, this was solved with the Volvo brakes.

[Grant]

So, I'm guessing the Giulietta spindle is the same as an Alfetta spindle?

Will an alfetta spindle bolt right up to a 75?

Does this mean you have 5 lugs in the front, and 4 lugs in the rear?

[giuliettaevo]

spindles will interchange between different models. can't really say of an alfetta spindle is the same as a giulietta one, someone should measure it up to be sure.

only difference in spindles is the distance from the ears to the hub-carrieing-axle. and offcourse the longer SZ/RZ spindles...

The Giulietta was original externally but all of the mechanics were 75 TS stuff, engine, gearbox and suspension included. if you ripped out the interior and placed a rollbar you could take it to the track. it had yellow koni's all around, 28mm stabilizer, very low, max caster was set (6 degrees), caster ball bearings, camber set to 1,5 degrees ( roadcar...) and 16" wheels with 195-45 and 215-40 tyres. great car on flat surfaces, terrible on bumpy roads. ground clearance was terrible, probably less then 3 inches under the sump...

[alfaspence]

if you want better brakes, what wrong with using these?

[Duk]

$$$$...........

[Fletch]

Often where supply is limited and it's expensive to import, mechanics have no choice but to find viable alternatives....If you are looking for an inexpensive upgrade, 80/90s Mercedes 280 ATE alloy calipers will bolt straight on the front of a 1750/2000 GTV. Piston size is much bigger than stock, all you need to do is remove the spacer and grind about 1mm off the body for disc clearance, half an hours work. I found new ones here for around 200 euro a pair. A scrap yard would be even cheaper.

[alfaspence]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duk $$$$...........

[giuliettaevo]

fitting my Volvo brakes took me less then an afternoon.... fitting the GTA discs and callipers would have taken a lot longer, starting with the making of the adapters to fit the callipers to the spindle...

new GTA discs are also quite expensive.

[Grant]

I agree, if it was that simple to bolt on GTA discs and those Brembos, we'd all have them. I believe you have to make a spacer to mount the FWD GTA disc as well, right?

[alfaspence]

hey, it was only an idea

[Duk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfaspence Are you kidding I bought those calipers and 156 GTA 305mm Brembo sport discs for a total of £131 GBP If you can buy that cheap, why mess with rustic Volvo and Merc stuff

[alfaspence]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duk Let me know if you spot another set for that price . Wrecking yards that I visit occasionally wouldn't even know what an Alfa Romero is

[fast-alfa75]

Messing around with braking systems on any car is not the smartest idea. A lot of engineering goes into a proper braking system. There are safety factors in design that are often overlooked with mixing bits together.

Maintain your stock brakes, and they will work well for street and light track use. Any more severe use, look to a professionally constructed brake system. Check out the G2 brake package as an example of a system developed by an engineer of high performance and racing brakes.

[giuliettaevo]

The Giulietta originally has a non-ventd disc which is also not very large... even with a 1.6 litre engine they are too small. with th TS engine and the upgraded suspension i needed better brakes.

You need to know what you're doing, it is a safety issue after all... but stock Alfa brakes are worthless for me, they just glow red, burn the pads and fade after a few times.
The engineer-designed stuff is nice but also very expensive, i just use stuff from cars that are way heavier than mine and make it fit on my car. all the pads, callipers and discs are designd for a heavier car so i don't push them to the limit. all of the needed adapters for the discs and callipers are made with a serious amount of overkill in strength, not from a recyled coca-cola tin...

The real thing to watch out for is the balance in the brakes between front and rear but this can be easilt sorted with a brakebias adjuster.