Who does disk conversions for Volvo C303 portal axles?
I know I have seen them somewhere on the Web.
I just made a down payment on a pair of shot blasted, etch primed and painted Volvo axles with new bearings and rebuilt brakes, and I am a happy man. But if I'm going to put them under my Defender 110 I do think I will want disk brakes in the end.
On the other hand, this may be the time to start planning for a lightweight tube buggy where the drums will be OK...
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Disk brakes for Volvo portals?
Moderator: Tiny
Disk brakes for Volvo portals?
Rangerover 4.6 HSE '96
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Disks are indeed nice, although the drums were designed to stop a 3,5 ton military vehicle on 36" rubber. Incidentally, they use the same wide brake shoes as Series III with 6 cyl engines. C303's don't drive very fast, though.
Let's see what N.A.M has to say...
Let's see what N.A.M has to say...
Rangerover 4.6 HSE '96
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
hehe cool 
www.xtremeaxle.com make disk brake conversions but you'd better be sitting down when they email you the prices! imho, it is not entirely necessary. the brakes on the volvos, if serviced, are actually very good. they have been put on a 110 here in melbourne and it was engineered for full time street use with standard drums (standard engine though). the brake components are very similar to series brakes (as i believe they were all made by salisbury). but these come with a centrifugal seal that vents at high tyre speed to cool the drums and seal at slow speed to stop mud ingress. if you put a bigger engine in and have a heavy truck and do high speeds (or lots of on road), then i would look at putting discs on. otherwise, just run the drums to start with. set them up correctly and i'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.
www.xtremeaxle.com make disk brake conversions but you'd better be sitting down when they email you the prices! imho, it is not entirely necessary. the brakes on the volvos, if serviced, are actually very good. they have been put on a 110 here in melbourne and it was engineered for full time street use with standard drums (standard engine though). the brake components are very similar to series brakes (as i believe they were all made by salisbury). but these come with a centrifugal seal that vents at high tyre speed to cool the drums and seal at slow speed to stop mud ingress. if you put a bigger engine in and have a heavy truck and do high speeds (or lots of on road), then i would look at putting discs on. otherwise, just run the drums to start with. set them up correctly and i'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised.
it can vary and it's hard to say for all the different portals out there.
the volvo portals appear to be able to handle 100kph stints well enough. they have sufficient cooling to dissipate the heat. the two ratios available are 5.99:1 and 7.16:1. Obviously the 6:1s would cope better than the 7:1s at high speeds. I plan to run these with a ZF auto box so I think it will be fine. Also a 5 speed manual or something with overdrive should be fine. I can calculate your engine revs at different speeds if you supply me with the following information: tyre size in inches, gear box ratios (1 to 5 and reverse) and transfer case ratios (high and low range).
the volvo portals appear to be able to handle 100kph stints well enough. they have sufficient cooling to dissipate the heat. the two ratios available are 5.99:1 and 7.16:1. Obviously the 6:1s would cope better than the 7:1s at high speeds. I plan to run these with a ZF auto box so I think it will be fine. Also a 5 speed manual or something with overdrive should be fine. I can calculate your engine revs at different speeds if you supply me with the following information: tyre size in inches, gear box ratios (1 to 5 and reverse) and transfer case ratios (high and low range).
If you want the Volvo's to be driveable on the road, bigger rubber is a must.
Assuming you drive a Defender on 32"s with 3.54 diffs, you would need to go to 54" tyres to get the same revs at a given speed.
With a Rangie on 29"s and 4.7 diffs, 37" tyres would do it.
Realistically, somewhat smaller tyres and a lower overall gearing would be fine for a trail rig.
Maxi-Drive drop boxes have a 1.3:1 gearing, and will work with smaller tyres. (3.54 x 1.3 = 4.6, to be compared to 5.99)
Assuming you drive a Defender on 32"s with 3.54 diffs, you would need to go to 54" tyres to get the same revs at a given speed.
With a Rangie on 29"s and 4.7 diffs, 37" tyres would do it.
Realistically, somewhat smaller tyres and a lower overall gearing would be fine for a trail rig.
Maxi-Drive drop boxes have a 1.3:1 gearing, and will work with smaller tyres. (3.54 x 1.3 = 4.6, to be compared to 5.99)
Rangerover 4.6 HSE '96
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
i'll have to do some digging, not sure of ratios atm.
[insert dream sequence music in background] i would like to have something like portals under my cruiser as seems to be realistic upgrade when you compare prices of lockers, longs etc. also the fact you gain so much clearance under the diffs. would think something like 35" - 36" (i currently have 33" standard gearing bj73) be excellent upgrade
[dream sequence music fades]
maybe i should keep saving for portals and not worry about locker(s)
Lance
[insert dream sequence music in background] i would like to have something like portals under my cruiser as seems to be realistic upgrade when you compare prices of lockers, longs etc. also the fact you gain so much clearance under the diffs. would think something like 35" - 36" (i currently have 33" standard gearing bj73) be excellent upgrade
[dream sequence music fades]
maybe i should keep saving for portals and not worry about locker(s)
Lance
N*A*M wrote:volvo portals appear to be able to handle 100kph stints well enough. they have sufficient cooling to dissipate the heat.
so the gearing in the portal housing gets hot? too much for regular road driving
well they are fantastic but definitely not the be-all and end-all, not ideal for every body, and not very cheap in the end!
guess it all depends on how much modifying you would do on standard axles (locker, locker plus better half axles, locker plus ...) and how much modifying it would take to put portals under car (total width, disc coversion, suspension setup, etc ...)
have thought about portals for some time, the amount of clearance that you can achieve is equivalent to what 5"/6" larger tyres? that alone means portals will save you money if after a certain amount lift/clearance. i guess it just seems stoopid to me to spend heaps of money and time buying huge tyres when the bloody diff hangs down below centre line of wheels anyway
please no flamage about big tyred rigs, i'm just jealous
i have heard of heat build up being a problem. bill larman who built his own custom portals has a very large oil gallery in his to cope. i plan to ony drive on road to get to trails. i will not go too fast and will keep tabs on the heat.
it's true that by buying volvos, you get dual lockers, reduced ratios, increased clearance and maybe increased strength. but it's a big investment in one hit. the cost of rebuilding an old set of axles, plus modifying for suspension etc... does build up very quickly. i'm up to well over $6k now and they're still not under anything.
clearance can still be gained in other ways. you can shave the pumpkin, flip the u-bolts, run bigger tyres, reduce your track width (hey nobody thinks of that one!)... but clearance is not everything. if you make it smooth and slideable, you still won't get snagged. can you get 5.89:1 ring and pinion for cruisers? i'm sure you can get some fairly low ratios anyway although you may sacrifice some strength.
i would weld the rear and arb the front. spoa with flipped u bolts and just drive it, rather than dreaming about other things.
it's true that by buying volvos, you get dual lockers, reduced ratios, increased clearance and maybe increased strength. but it's a big investment in one hit. the cost of rebuilding an old set of axles, plus modifying for suspension etc... does build up very quickly. i'm up to well over $6k now and they're still not under anything.
clearance can still be gained in other ways. you can shave the pumpkin, flip the u-bolts, run bigger tyres, reduce your track width (hey nobody thinks of that one!)... but clearance is not everything. if you make it smooth and slideable, you still won't get snagged. can you get 5.89:1 ring and pinion for cruisers? i'm sure you can get some fairly low ratios anyway although you may sacrifice some strength.
i would weld the rear and arb the front. spoa with flipped u bolts and just drive it, rather than dreaming about other things.
N*A*M wrote:i would weld the rear and arb the front. spoa with flipped u bolts and just drive it, rather than dreaming about other things.
weld diff: thought about this, my car is used fairly often on tarmac and could be a problem. have read threads about welded diffs, seems to be just as many love it as hate it
spoa: haven't got any to rub yet with standard springs with 33". (tyre) was rubbing on exhaust but fixed that by putting exhaust on rearmost bracket properly, last guy had it sticking into wheel arch area more than necessary.
dreaming: yeah i know, just get bored at work and dream of crazy things to do my car
i'd love to know to..
I think they did work it out, except there are heaps of guidelines wich are mega tricky....
I dont think the mudbash car at my old group was doing to well lately...Just a pile of ford bits
i think dj Daniel is pulling your leg...and his surfs a pos
I think they did work it out, except there are heaps of guidelines wich are mega tricky....
I dont think the mudbash car at my old group was doing to well lately...Just a pile of ford bits
i think dj Daniel is pulling your leg...and his surfs a pos
Land Rover Discovery - GQ conversion underway
I no longer believe heat build up in the portals to be an issue Nam. All the bearings and gears on the twelve drop boxes that I pulled down were a bright shiny color. Had they been exposed to excessive heat they would have been discolored to a blue tinge. Peter Farrer who runs a Pinsgauer says that although his portals dont hold much oil either, they don't get very hot, even on Simpson desert runs. Rotational speeds are not that high. probably around 600rpm at 100k for the bottom gear and around 1300 for the upper. Bill.
That is consistent with what I have heard from a Swedish Paris-Dakar team, which has run several comps with Volvo portals, both i custom built vehicles and in Volvo C303's. All sorts of issues with the trucks, but never with the portals. If heat buildup was a problem, they would have known, I think.
Rangerover 4.6 HSE '96
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Still stockish, but with plans
Defender 110 CSW Td5 '01
Full exo cage, all MDE axles, on 9.00x16 Michelins
Roger: http://au.geocities.com/billwatersrover ... Roger1.htm
Mudbash this year..... no buggies.
Hey Dave.... pity i dont have a surf hey
Mudbash this year..... no buggies.
Hey Dave.... pity i dont have a surf hey
Cheers,
Dan.
[i]1996 HDJ80R[/i]
Dan.
[i]1996 HDJ80R[/i]
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