50's Standard 8 & 10, all models with 7” Diameter Brakes.
Finned Aluminium Brake Drums.
 | It was a number of years ago that our Vice Chairman Phil Homer alerted me to an enquiry on Facebook about Disc Brakes for the Standard 8/10. Having competed in a ModSports MkIV Spitfire and subsequently in Historic Single Seaters, I do know a bit about late 60's to early 70's Triumph Small Chassis (Herald/Spitfire) brakes and more importantly who to contact in the trade for advice and parts supply. The rest is, as is said, history and for several years we have been able to offer a fairly comprehensive kit to allow the fitting of Lockhead Girling Type 12/14 Discs and Calipers to our Standards. However there is a caveat to the kit, it was originally produced by Standard-Triumph to allow owners of the then current Herald 948 and 1200 models to replace their car's original front Drum Brakes with Disc Brakes as introduced for later 1200 cars and on these it was a straight forward modification. The story with our Standards is slightly different, whilst the Vertical Links are identical to those used on early Heralds and Mk1 and 2 Spitfires the suspension and steering geometry and associated parts is very different. The end result is that fitting Discs to 8s and 10s is not a simple job and will require specialised tools and precision machining so neither a quick nor inexpensive operation, |
Mindful of the costs and also liking to stick with period modifications where possible I had considered reproductions of the historic “Alfin” Brake Drums much loved by 1950's Formula Junior racers and bought to public knowledge with the famous “Mini-Fins” made for tuned Minis still running 10” Wheels without the cost of Cooper Disc Brakes. At the time there was a company producing Alfin replicas but not in a suitable size for our cars, nor did they have any intention of making them.
Time marches on and more recently there has been a change in demand which means that Alfin Drums are now available for 7” Diameter by 1.25” wide Brakes and as Centre Boss, Wheel Stud and Retaining Screw holes can all be machined to order suddenly these can be fitted to our beloved Standards.
I am sure you will of guessed by now that I had to fit a pair to the front brakes of Eve my 1955 8 Deluxe particularly as she runs a 960cc motor with a few internal modifications.
It is important to stress here that these are not cheap mass produced items, they are entirely UK made from Aerospace Grade Aluminium Alloy and Steel these are serious Kit. So although they retail at just over £300 including UK delivery and VAT they are still about half the price of a Disc Brake Kit and they can be fitted in less than a morning by an amateur mechanic with only a Trolley Jack, Wheel Brace, Medium Flat Head Screwdriver and a 7/16” Ring Spanner. Interested? Then Read On:
I fitted these one side at a time, more because I wanted to video doing one side and weather wasn't on my side on the first day. I chose to do the offside first simply because there's more room on that side of the garage but even working in slightly cramped conditions it took me less than 30 minutes to have everything fitted and the wheel back on the ground and the next day the nearside only took slightly longer due to my efforts at video and comentary, if you want a laugh I am sure Phil will put it on the website once I have edited out all the long pauses, strange views and bad words. I do want to stress here that Eve is regularly maintained and inspected so I encountered no unexpected problems with fitting and also I had replaced the Brake Shoes about 1500 miles ago, had it been 3000 plus I would probably have replaced them at the same time. One final thing, the eagle eyed amogst you might have noticed that Eve has longer than normal Wheel Studs, these have nothing to do with fitting these Drums and were because I occasionally fitted a set of Dunlop Wire Wheels Looking at the outer image the Radial Fins are very obvious as is the fact that the outer diameter is larger that on standard cast iron Drums. This increases the surface area of the Drum which along with the ability of Aluminium to absorb and disipate heat is one of the main features of Alfin Drums. The reduced weight of aluminium over iron means that the diameter increase is achieved whilst still reducing the gyroscopic effect of the rotating drum. As the drum rotates the fins also generate a flow of cooling air around the surface. |  Photo of fitted Drum |
 | Photo of inside of drum Looking at the inner view you can see the precision machined steel insert which is shrunk in place and then machined to ensure a perfect centralised round braking surface. You can also see that at the inner edge of the drum there is a large cavity this acts as a channel drawing in cooling air but also expelling brake dust and gas caused by heavy or extended braking. I have already used a picture of the finished fitting which I think looks rather good, so much so I am looking for a set of period 5J x 13 Minilites, yes the real ones, to show them off. |
Let's talk about performance
In general I wasn't expecting a great increase in braking torque if any. What I was look for was a reduction in fade that drum brakes are prone to during heavy or protracted braking especially at speed. Whilst I wouldn't have though Eve's brakes were lacking in normal use I have noticed that I did experience fade after extended or repeated braking so have these made a difference?
I started out by doing about 20 miles on 30 and 40 mph roads with frequent light applications of the brakes. This gave the shoes to “bed in” to the new friction surface and allowed me to be sure that everything was working as it should before setting off on a route that took me down three very steep hills, through a busy town centre and finally on national speed limit roads with multiple junctions and roundabouts.
As I had expected, brake fade on long descents was greatly reduced and almost totally eliminated in repeated fast applications. What I hadn't expected was the increase in braking force under all circumstances which actually surprised me. These won't out perform Discs on a modified Standard but they are definitely a major upgrade for cars in frequent use.
You can read more about this conversion and purchase them here:
Steve George
8 & 10 Spares Coordinator