Does anyone have any links as to how to do this? I know it has been done before, but if anyone has any guide with which items to use, it would save me
alot of experimenting.
Thanks.
Have a look here
There are links to photos and weights etc..
think carefully why you want to do this.
the drums were adequate for a car weighing 2x what yours does and I believe drums are lighter than discs andthree is the palaver for getting the
handbrake to work.... but if you must then you must.......
well see I have the fronts locking up way before the rears, (yeah I know its a good thing) but I get lots of understeer. Is there a way to increase the rear drum efficiency?
you could try larger drums - I thnk standrd mk2 escort are 8 inch but 9 inch do exist.
... but I would have thought fitting larger(?) diameter wheel cylinders to apply more force on the drums would go some way for what you are looking
for?
they were available in 2 or 3 sizes for mk2 escort.
but you don't want to overcook it and have the rear lock up - as for understeer, turn the steering wheel a bit more!! 
Uprated drum/friction mterial components are available out there. They are lighter too.
9" stuff is rs2000 oem.
How about a bias set up with a balance bar?
Rally design/Peter Lloyd or similiar.
quote:
Originally posted by thepest
well see I have the fronts locking up way before the rears, (yeah I know its a good thing) but I get lots of understeer. Is there a way to increase the rear drum efficiency?
No I haven't tried different shoes I didnt know that there were any. I have MK1 diff at the moment will the MK 2 stuff as you guys mentioned
fit?
As for the bias bar would that work to increase rear drum pressure?
How does that work?
quote:
Originally posted by thepest
well see I have the fronts locking up way before the rears, (yeah I know its a good thing) but I get lots of understeer. Is there a way to increase the rear drum efficiency?
quite hard... looking at 275 lb/inch.... think that is the problem?
The highly polished Maltese rod surfaces will show up the front locking problems more than uk roads.
With an 8 inch mk1 brake set up it is possible to fit larger wheel cylinders, the 0.75" from a Hillman Imp fit straight in but these are
becoming very difficult to find many suppliers selling 0.7" as substitutes.
It is also possible with some DIY reworking of the cylinder to use the 7/8" wheel cylinders from the Mk2 1600 Cortina.
However both of these tricks tend to hit a brick wall because the drum brakes efficiency is always limited by the mechanical stiffness of the drum
and brake shoes.
You need either to fit 9" drums from another live axle Ford -- a Capri 2 litre is the best donor or convert to rear discs -- ( Escort Mk3
front discs, Sierrar rear calipers and carriers + home made brackets).
The Sierra caliper is much more suited to the weight distribution of a Locost than a caliper from a small hatchback.
If you can't find a Sierra donor look at the rear calipers from a larger front drive car for example a Rover 600 or Honda Accord.
[Edited on 10/7/08 by britishtrident]
there are a few capris lying around here in scrapyards, I guess I could try them out first as it is probably the least work to replace the drums... but a drum setup would be easier and lighter than a disc and caliper right?
Not really much in it when you consider how much the axle weighs.
All 2litre Capris had 9" brakes, in the UK at least roughly 50% of 1600 Capris had 9" brakes.
As Malta is the place for old cars if you find a Mk2 1600 Cortina or Corsair with 9" brakes these will also fit.
MK3 -5 Cortina brakes run into handbrake cable issues
[Edited on 10/7/08 by britishtrident]