1952 M38a1 Build: Not For The Purists

My M38a1 got the 11" conversion by me but before I owned it, during the nineties. Four corner 11" conversion, no proportioning valve and the stock master cylinder. Never heard the rear tires skidding. Stand on the whoa pedal too hard and you're a flying Superman thru the windshield.

 

Looking at the Trackick discs again. Prices are all over the place for calipers. They run from $30-50 per caliper (some come with the bracket). Brackets are around $15-20. Rotors are around $30-50 each. In all, I'm looking at $230 for one end. Very tempting since everything is readily available.

1995 Suzuki Tracker 2 Door
Caliper 55102-60AB0
Positions: Left
Description: Sidekick. 2 door. Left. 2wd, 2 door. 4wd, 2 door.

Caliper 55101-60AB0
Positions: Right
Description: Sidekick. 2 door. Right. 2wd, 2 door. 4wd, 2 door.

Disc Brake Caliper Bracket 55171-60A01
Positions: Left
Description: 4wd, 2 door. 2wd.

Disc Brake Caliper Bracket 55161-56B00
Positions: Right
Description: 4wd, 4 door. 2wd, 4 door.

Rotor 55211-60A01
Positions: Left, Right
Description: Sidekick. 2 door. 4wd. X-90. 2wd.

Dorman 610-260
1/2-20 Serrated Wheel Stud - .618 In. Knurl, 1-13/16 In. Length
Application Summary: Ford 2012, 2003-75, Lincoln 1992-76, Mercury 1991-76

Application cross for the ‘S10’ brake line

CHEVROLET BLAZER 1995-1997
CHEVROLET LLV 1991-1995
CHEVROLET S10 BLAZER 1991-1994
CHEVROLET S10 PICKUP 1991-1999
GMC JIMMY 1992-1997
GMC S15 JIMMY 1991
GMC SONOMA 1991-1999
ISUZU HOMBRE 1996-2000​

Part numbers include:

Napa 381065
SUNSONG 2201074
CENTRIC 15066055
RAYBESTOS BH380280
WAGNER BH132325
ACDELCO 18J1111 (#18032822, 19174039)​

 

Would the application be for the front or the rear? Asking because I ended up having to get different soft lines, since the s10 application is too short - perfect for the rear axle though. I used the 1978 Honda accord lines that Brennan mentions and they were perfect.

 

That was one of the confusing parts as he mentioned both. He used Honda lines but recommends the S10. Seems the main issue was if the rubber line was coming from the axle or the frame. I'm keeping the axle lines with the T fitting. https://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/disc-brake-install-dana-25_topic50849.html

 

I didn’t like the idea of using an adapter to go sae to metric so I had a pair made. 30-40$ ish if I recall correctly.

 

Yeah, I didn't like that either. Just another place to potentially leak from. I'm sure that's why people are using the S10 brakelines.

 

On my Willys wagon, I bought soft lines for a Volvo (I think), and a short piece of 3/16” hard line with metric fittings. Cut the hard line, throw away, and use the fittings on the tube on the wagon to fit the metric lines.

A bit of a ‘Bubba’ fix but it worked well.

Jon B.

 

I used a line from a Chevy of some sort had to enlarge the banjo fitting a little but the line has the right sae threads.

 

New question. I was adjusting the brakes and contemplating my options. What is the prefered tool for the screws that hold the drums on? I can't tell if they are Phillips or coin. I've tried removing some with a Phillips and got 2 out of one and couldn't budge the others. What's better manual impact screwdriver or a 1/2' drive on an air impact wrench? I'm worried that with an impact screwdriver the drive being too small for the slot. It's pretty big.

Also, because it uses screws does that mean it's not swedged?

 

Not swaged in my experience.
I loosen with a BIG bit in an impact driver and finish off with electric impact driver.

 

That's good to know. I wasn't looking forward to having to deal with that.

 

Finally getting some sun so I can start working on the Jeep again. I've had a complete set of hard and soft brake lines since last year. So as I'm going to dive into brakes this year, I started by removing the Bendix HydroVac for good. It requires vacuum and was tied into the intake and dual diaphragm fuel pump. Well, I'm not running a dual-diaphragm pump anymore. Brakes are two pumps at best and I'm thinking the HydroVac needs a rebuild. I'm wanting to keep it all simple so out it comes.



Here's a blury pic of what it looked like at the master. The HydroVac has one of the lines blocked off so all the fluid goes into the booster then back down to a T-fitting. What a PITA it was to get it all disconnected in that littel space.



Once I took the plate off I had a little better access but it was still a pain. The fittings probably haven't been touched in 50-60 years.



What's the deal with this bracket? It seems to have a piece of leather sandwiched between the plate and the brackets. I guess it's there to soak up any brake fluid?



It's gone for good! Relays are part of the Painless Performance kit for relays that I made into the headlight harness. I'm also going to have to figure out what to do with the master cover since it has a breather holes that goes to a secondary reservoir for the HydroVac. It does make topping it off a lot easier.



Took my time and spend two days taking the brake lines off. So many clips and transitions between hardline and rubber hoses.



Oh and I found out one of the line for the HydroVac had a conversion fitting took a metric wrench... Been taking my time with the brakes since they can get very frustrating and I don't want to break anything. So far so good though. The brakelines are probably 73 years old. We'll see how well the installation of the US made hardlines is. I went with the US Made ones after dealing with the Chinese made fuel lines. I hope they are better.



Also decided on what I was going to do with the blackouts. They didn't work and the Jeep has no turn signals. They also seem to be holding moisture inside.



Went with Baja Designs S1s with a wide cornering. They are 2320 lumens so they should be bright but not blinding so I can use them on the road. They aren't SAE though. Still legal but they don't have the hard cutoff line like SAEs do. I like that they're small and hide in the grill instead of being a light pod on the bumper. I drive at night so the extra light will be a good thing. With the headlights so close together, there's always dark spots in the near field.

 

Nay Nay! "Danger Will Robinson!!! Danger!"

That is a heat shield needed to protect the master cylinder from exhaust heat. And that that ain't leather, it is asbestos.

 

You don't want the fender-mount blackout lamp and guard, I'll take it.

 

@jeepljeff , are you by chance @jeffy over on Advrider? I notice a bit of similarity in these threads!

 

So go to your Flaps and buy some big bits... Or get some large bits in a 3/8 or 1/2" square drive for your driver.

You'll be glad you did.

 

Funny, I did the exact same thing with my MD last weekend. My blackout lights were long gone and the brackets were hacked up to fit some kind of trailer lights, so I needed to fab new ones. Seems like the perfect spot for an amber pod light.

 

Man it's nice to see some more M38A1 love on the forum (all the cool kids drive A1s). It looks like a great project.

 

Yup, I cross post there.