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I do not like the Dunlop brakes. Has anyone here upgraded the calipers to a better design ? Any other vehicles caliper fit that would make it easier for future parts. Any help at all on this matter would be great. Cheers Paul
This company supply a kit to convert the front brakes to a modern vented design. This should fit a '58 Mark 1 but you need to check. Late Mark 1s had the same brakes as the Mark 2. You are probably OK just leaving the rear calipers alone but up-to-spec, i.e fully rebuilt. An XJ rear caliper probably fits OK.
Be careful when exploring the Mark 1s performance envelope ! Mike Hawthorn, a Le Mans winner for Jaguar was killed in a Mark 1 3.4 chasing a Mercedes near Guildford. The suspension geometry was changed on the Mark 2, and the rear track widened to improve handling.
Give Terry a call at Jag Outlet as he sells the parts. If the MK1 is the same as the MK2 I know there is the Wilwood brake upgrade with vented rotors and I think that is a better brake than the Zeus for the front. For the rears I would check with Terry as he helped me upgrade my rear brakes for my S-type to a later model larger brake off of a XK.
Sorry for the interrupt.
As was saying in the previous paragraph. My car's axle carrier is different than the mk2. What I think could work for me is having a bracket to attach to the bolts where backplate is fixed (I've seen them on kits on the Net for the large saloons and some XK's but will not include the fit to a mk1. Could it possibly be wheel size, as in 16's?) to attach the calipers to and of course hub for discs to steel wheel studs.
Anybody out there got any ideas, adaptations or configurations that would work? Any sources recommended? Thanks for the kind attention.
Don't know if my solution would work for your car, but I've fitted Volvo 240 front calipers to my MK2 (together with reduced diameter 420 Jag discs). The bolt spacing is the same but metric rather than imperial, so need reaming out very slightly to accept the bolts. They're Girling calipers with four pots. On the rear I've fitted XJ calipers, which fitted easily, including the handbrake.
I already tried this, but it will not work in my case, bold spacing on this late subframe is 3 1/2 inch.
While early subframe and volvo have a bold spacing of 3 Inch.
I have modified Volvo Calipers on my S-type, that has 3 Inch bold spacing.
Give Terry a call at Jag Outlet as he sells the parts. If the MK1 is the same as the MK2 I know there is the Wilwood brake upgrade with vented rotors and I think that is a better brake than the Zeus for the front. For the rears I would check with Terry as he helped me upgrade my rear brakes for my S-type to a later model larger brake off of a XK.
Subject: 58 Jaguar MK1 3.4 from drums to disc.
Hi everyone! A couple questions for Primaz. I noticed in the pic of your Wilwood front disc set up you show a hub that seems to be what I'm looking for. My question is, did you fit it to the original Jag axle shaft and if so, do you know where it's available. Brand, numbers etc. would be very helpful since I'm trying to go from dums/steel wheels to Discs/Steel wheels and what I need is a Hub with bolts to mount rotors from the back and also acommodate 4 1/2" (5) bolt wheel pattern. Also, the upright that my 58 MK1 3.4 car has, holds the backplate of the drum assembly with (4) bolts which are equidistant at 3" apart all around with 2- 9/16" hex x 1" L on top and 2-5/8" hex x 2" L at the bottom. Anyway, it's a 3" square pattern to bolt to the upright I have, which I need in a bracket with the proper length and spread on the "ears" to mount the calipers and rotors for a 15" wheel. By what I see in the MK2 kit from SNG, their adaptor plate for mounting the calipers has the typical 3" spread on the "Ears" for the caliper mount and also the 3" distance from center of spindle to the back where the caliper bolts on. But NOT the Bolt pattern to bolt to my upright. Your help and advice will be much appreciated from a Cat that won't stop!
Subject: 58 Jaguar MK1 3.4 from drums to disc.
Hi everyone! A couple questions for Primaz. I noticed in the pic of your Wilwood front disc set up you show a hub that seems to be what I'm looking for. My question is, did you fit it to the original Jag axle shaft and if so, do you know where it's available. Brand, numbers etc. would be very helpful since I'm trying to go from dums/steel wheels to Discs/Steel wheels and what I need is a Hub with bolts to mount rotors from the back and also acommodate 4 1/2" (5) bolt wheel pattern. Also, the upright that my 58 MK1 3.4 car has, holds the backplate of the drum assembly with (4) bolts which are equidistant at 3" apart all around with 2- 9/16" hex x 1" L on top and 2-5/8" hex x 2" L at the bottom. Anyway, it's a 3" square pattern to bolt to the upright I have, which I need in a bracket with the proper length and spread on the "ears" to mount the calipers and rotors for a 15" wheel. By what I see in the MK2 kit from SNG, their adaptor plate for mounting the calipers has the typical 3" spread on the "Ears" for the caliper mount and also the 3" distance from center of spindle to the back where the caliper bolts on. But NOT the Bolt pattern to bolt to my upright. Your help and advice will be much appreciated from a Cat that won't stop!
While the Wilwood was better, it still was not really good enough for my car. I found what I think is the best brake upgrade for the MKII, 3.8s, and early sedans, that is the brake kit from Fosseyway Performance. I bought the 6 piston kit for the front and I wished I found this kit earlier! These brakes work so nice and are a perfect street setup and even when I am hammering the throttle and driving hard these brakes can take it. I have driven with them for a while and put a lot of miles on them and very little wear; so much better than any of the many brake options others have used. These bolt right in and work with the stock setup. On my car I used an early E-type larger disc brakes to replace the stock disc brakes that came with the 3.8s; but really most braking is from the front so that is the key. Don't get the Wilwood, nor waste your time with the 420's and other swaps; what is really needed is truly vented larger rotors and 6 piston calipers.
Here is what they replied when I first inquired, The S type and MK2 have a virtually identical front suspension set up but, like the E-Type aeries 1 and Series 2 they have subtle differences and the early S Types also carried over some additional features from the MK2. None of these present a problem but we just need to confirm which front uprights your car is fitted with. If you can tell me the distance between the caliper mounting bolts we can do this for you. If it is 3" the you have the earlier uprights for Dunlop brakes. If the bolt center distance is 3 1/2" then you have the later front uprights for Girling brakes.
For the earlier cars we can supply a 294 mm diameter two part rotor and a six pot caliper with a huge brake pad (130 mm x 48 mm). For the later cars we can increase the size of the rotor to 302 mm and supply the same caliper. Both these options will fit comfortably inside 17" wheels. The price for either kit is £1,395.00. If you are based outside the EU then no UK VAT will be added.
You can specify the alloy components in silver or black and the rotors can be supplied plain, slotted, slotted and dimpled, cross drilled or combi cross drilled and slotted.
The kits are essentially the same as our E-Type kits and will fit cars with steel, alloy or spoked wheels. Further details and some images can be found on our website by following the link below.
Very interesting information. I just purchased a 3.4 and maybe interested in upgrading the brakes. I noticed you said the rotors can be plain, slotted, slotted and dimpled , etc. ,etc., a big selection. Which would be best for normal street use?
The best for normal street use if you are not a boy racer. Adhere to the speed limit etc. Is a plain steel disc/rotor to maximise area, Jag has decent size rotors. Maybe 4 pot calipers (front) & improved ratio brake booster/servo. Ventilated discs/rotors are an option for more enthusiastic driving but not crucial unless you are on the Autobahn or Autostrada every day or wheels limit the diameter of the rotor. Some modern daily run-abouts just fit small diameter rotors where ventilation is crucial. I find the standard completely rebuilt Dunlop brakes on my S Type fine. My car has the 8" booster/servo. The Zeus kit Fraser shows above is as far as I would go. Don't unbalance the back to front braking ratio drastically. It is dangerous without modern electronic nannies & ABS. Even then unbalancing the system is looking for trouble. It should be correctly matched. If you fit Zeus front I would fit Zeus rear as well.
If you are going racing matters change & brakes don't have to last very long (apart from Le Mans etc.). Drilling, slotting etc. has as many positives as negatives & is mainly done for cosmetics.
There are benefits in dust & faster water removal on first bite. They all weaken the integrity of the disc/rotor.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Oct 6, 2021 at 07:47 AM.
Thank you. That clarified a lot for me. Very valuable information. I am waiting for delivery of my 63, restored 3.4. I will drive it weekly but not hard. It sounds like the stock discs may be sufficient. If not I will take your advice for upgrading.
The '63 etc. all benefit from fitment of the later 8" booster/servo fitted to both the Mk2 & S types from approx October 1964. Approx 4 to 1 ratio. Less pedal pressure required.
Barratts provide a very cost effective Lockheed replacement that fits just fine. Requires some very minor mods like drilling mounting holes in RHS inner wheelarch cover end plate, fitting grommets to holes & slight move of pipework. Discard remote breather ~ no longer necessary & later cars did not have. If you don't want to do this just get a Mk2 or S Type 1965 onward cover. I had them rebuild my original 8" they did a beautiful job. Looks as new but is an expensive exercise. Return useable core charge costs more than the entire Lockheed booster. Click suitable for.
There has been a lot of information regarding upgrading brakes on the Mk2 and S type on this forum. Primaz has upgraded his brakes to things that will stop the earth from rotating but then he has a modified S Type that will cause the Earth to rotate faster if he pulls away whilst facing west. I have found that on a standard unmodified Mk2 or S type the brakes are more than sufficient when driving at modern speeds on modern roads. I have upgraded my brake Servo / booster to one with a higher ratio 4:25:1 which gives a stronger pedal but I have not changed the stock discs or pistons as when I stomp on the brake the car stops as it should. (Not that I have ever had to in anger but I did once to see what would happen).
Thank you. I have only driven this car once during the purchase process. I am waiting for delivery. I think, following your comments, that I will experience the kind of driving that I do before considering any changes. I already have sports cars so I am only interested in cruising in this so as you stated the current brakes may be sufficient. The car has been restored with only minor updates like an additional fan and new steering rack. The only additional things I may consider is a high torque starter, dynator, distributor, and Petronix ignition.
58 mk1 Brake Caliper upgrade,
