Park Brake With Rear Disc Brakes Options

I have a FF D 44 rear axle and thinking about rear disc brakes. For a park brake I have a couple ways to go,
1. Use the original Dana 18 mechanical parking brake.
2. Install a hydraulic disc brake on the D18 using a between the seat hand brake lever operating a master cylinder
3. Use Cadillac or other rear disc brakes with incorporated park brake.
1. Is probably the easiest, just rebuild what I have. Marginally effective.
2. Means a little fabrication work,(I ain't scared) probably use go kart or motorcycle MC/caliper/disc,
and hand brake from another vehicle, more effective than drum brake.
3. Most expensive, more complicated hand or foot brake assembly, cables, brackets, rotors and calipers.
Probably most effective?
Rotors, calipers and brackets will be required for any system, although Chevy vs. Cadillac parts/brackets may have a price difference. I would probably buy loaded calipers and new rotors for the rear axle, all else would be JY sourced. I have a complete rear disc brake set from a '95 ZJ, anyone used this for a conversion with FF? I know the rotors would have to be redrilled or replaced with 5 on 5-1/2" rotors.
I will be using a Hydroboost PB unit, if it matters.
What supplier has good bolt on brackets for the rear axle?
Any thoughts, suggestions, alternatives???

 

My Jeep only goes 60mph, with a tail wind, down hill. I have 67 axels with 10"X 2" brakes, it is safe at that speed. I rebuilt the T-18 transfer case with a Novak kit and new shoes on the parking brake, and it works good for now, holds on hills and will stop the Jeep if needed, I believe. I did buy a set of 11" X 2" front brakes for an upgrade later. Point being it's a lot easier and cheaper to use stock parts, unless you are building a Super Mod rock crawler. Just a suggestion, Good Luck.

 

Eldorado calipers from 76 or 77. These calipers are problematic as they need to be cycled often to self adjust. People don't seem to like them. I was going to go that route but didnt. I guess you need Geo disks of some year and the center opened up a bit to work. I can't remember the year or model.

If i were to do this the easy route, i would just source some 11" rear drum backer plates and go that route. The disks are nice because its cool and the Chevy caliper mount plates and calipers bolt right up on the FF setup. Its super easy to do, but no great parking brake easily done with that. A line lock is not really legal in most places I gather.

I just went with the stock transfer case mounted one. Its semi effective for keeping it in one place on flat ground.

 

The dana 18 parking brake works ok for me. It's not that great on steep hills, but on slight inclines it works. I like simple and that is what it is.

 

This is a common perception. But most stock original jeeps have poor parking brakes from lack of maintanance and oil leaks from the transfer output seals.

A clean, dry, well adjusted stock brake with new linings, etc, can work very well.

 

With most owners of older jeeps want larger or more modern brakes at the wheels, has anyone looked into a larger drum parking brake? Most if not all package vans( UPS, FedX etc.) use a driveline type of brake quite successfully. I see where others have fabricated disc type parking brake with a lot of fabrication. Pretty slick but for those of us that don't have the skills or equipment to weld or machine it could be overwhelming.

 

This is my impression too. The main problem is the persistently leaky Dana 18 putting oil on the parking brake linings. I know that the factory drum brake is plenty of parking brake for a full-sized Jeep - not a matter of insufficient braking capacity. No reason the drum parking brake should not work well, except for oil on the linings, or something wrong with the linkage. Or a broken axle ...

Check old posts about leak-proofing the Dana 18. It takes some effort, but seems it can be done.

I have also heard that the El Dorado calipers are a lot of trouble. Maybe not, but that's what I've read. Certainly seems a worthwhile effort to spiff up the drum brake and give it a try.

 

All good points, thank you. My reason for wanting a disc parking brake is exactly what many have mentioned, the leak prone D18, when I modify something I try to do it with an eye toward future maintenance including durability and parts availability. I can use motorcycle or go kart disc brake components (mechanical or electrical) cheap and easy to replace if oiled. Don't have to drop the rear driveline or disassemble the whole brake. I am aware of the legal issues surrounding hydraulic park brakes.
Already have a disc brake front axle using Chevy components and would like to use the same for the rear, if possible. I have the parts to do the rear disc brake conversion in hand, if I can use the GM caliper brackets with a FF D44.
I had 4 sets of 11" brakes, I traded them for another complete Dauntless after I did the disc brake front axle.
I suppose the simplest would be to install a Mico Lok and call it good.
Here in Alaska disc brakes are desirable for several reasons, lots of steep terrain, they dry out faster, easier to maintain and replace, and heat dissipation. Sorry I didn't include all this in my OP.

 

We had a fire truck with one, blew an overheated brake line and almost ran over the pump operator. I wouldn't call that good.