BMW 320i brake conversion info please. . .

Ian_G · 07-23-1999, 05:56 AM

I'm going to do the 320i conversion in hte next month or so. Just too many women in big mothaf*&#ing SUV's cutting me off and I wanna be able to STOP! Actually with dounshifting it's now so bad but I wanna do it.

So I've found the calipers at NAPA factory rebuilt ~$50each with cores. Got cores cheap from a wrecking yard. SS lines ~$50 from PP. 19mm master cylinder ~$100 from PP.

Now I need to fabricate inflexible lines, where is a good/cheap place to obtain lines, benders, and fittings from. Also what size tube etc do I need?

Next is machineing the calipers (I've a '73 2L so I need this), the ONLY place I've been able to find in the Atlanta area is NAPA. I hesitate to use them because of high price and shoddy work in the past. Anyone know of a place in Atlanta that does good work?

Lastly I want to go with a "tee" in place of the proportioning valve. I'm gonna do the requisite lock-up testing, but I'm sure that the tee'll do. Where is a good place to procure one of these??

Thanks All
ian_griswold@hotmail.com

John Rogers · 07-23-1999, 07:01 AM

We did the upgrade a year or so ago with good results. As for the hard lines, I did a measurement of approximately how long I wanted them and took one of the calipers to the parts store to make sure the fittings were correct and the man just measured one to find the length I needed. They were hanging on the wall so it was easy to find the length needed. The tee I bought from CNC in San Diego, their number is 619-275-1663. I don't know if they mail stuff or not, but Chuck knows brakes. The machine work can be done by any competent machine shop. I found a small one person place that has done several jobs for me and has done several other caliper conversions for local people. There are two things the machinist has to worry about: make sure the milling is done 90 degrees to the bolt holes and make sure no metal gets into the piston area. I sealed ours real well with racers tape.

JP Noonan · 07-23-1999, 09:50 PM

I used the original lines at first (I was in a pinch) but then got new ones from a FLAPS. I had to rebend them so much I didn't trust it. The tee I used was from a wrecked 911. Either get the one in the back (a pain to get to) or pull the one off the front near the M/C. I know "used brake parts!!!" but the tee is a solid peice of metal and the threads were perfect so I figure it's O.K.

When you bleed the system remember to bleed the top bleeder on the rears. Seems obvious, but it didn't occur to me at the time I did it. "Gee, how come my brakes don't work?" Also if the brake hoses aren't original make sure there isn't a metric to standard adaptor on them. A PO put Earls hoses on with these adaptors. Took me a while to figure out why the hoses wouldn't screw on, duh. (maybe I shouldn't be playing around with the brakes, sometimes I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed).

Oh, and about the bleeders... The 320i uses a different size, 8mm vs. 7mm. Not a big deal, just little things like that annoy me.

BTW it was a real pain to replace the PV with the motor in the car. Also it was a MAJOR headache to make the original lines work with the tee. Buy a union and a short peice of line, you'll thank me later.