240mm disc brake kit with parking brake

This will work with 13″ wheels, but NOT the original wheels. You will need a wheel with an internal diameter of at least 300mm at the inner mounting face of the wheel. New 13″ Revolution classic wheels work perfectly, as will other wheels.



Caliper



For this application we will use the Wilwood Powerlite caliper with integrated mechanical P-brake mechanism. In Europe/UK it is easiest to buy them from RallyDesign or Motorsport Tools. In the US, you can buy this from Summit Racing on special order.



This caliper has a 1/2 NPT fitting for the brake lines. You can buy small adapters that will screw into the caliper and will let you use the original 3/16 UNF brake lines.

The parking brake mechanism is also mechanical, like the original. There is a . The original rearmost P-brake cable will need to be replaced with the proprietary Wilwood handbrake cable (also available from RallyDesign). This cable is designed to clip into the mechanical P-brake levers on the calipers.



Brake discs



This kit utilises MG F or TF (1995-2009) rear brake discs. These are solid discs and have a 240mm diameter. They have the correct 95.25 PCD for a Lotus Europa. These are readily available from any autoparts store. In Europe, I have good experience with AutoDoc. In the US they are a bit more difficult to get hold of, because MG’s haven’t been sold there for a while. They can be bought here (they will ship to the US for a fair price).

MODIFICATION: The only modification needed is trimming the outside edge of the rear hub. Because the internal diameter of the brake disc is quite small, you will need to trim the outside edge of the rear hub to fit into the bell of the disc. This modification is shown in the video below.



Mounting brackets



The brackets are made out of 6mm galvanised steel with an aluminium radial mount bolted (loctited) to them. The calipers will bolt to these radial mounts using the supplied high-tensile bolts and aluminium spacers.

These are designed to mount to the rear upright, in place of the drum brake backing plate. You can use the original bolts to mount these to the rear upright.

The design of the mount takes care of any alignment issues. There is no shimming or aligning involved. The calipers bolt simply to the brackets and will fit the brake discs as designed.



Fabricating mounts & brackets

You can download the technical drawings here:

Items needed to build and assemble:

  • 20mm x 20mm x 150mm aluminium bar x2
  • 100mm x 50mm x 6mm angle iron, 80mm in length x2
  • M10 x 60mm (length under head) cap head bolts x4
  • M10 x 30mm (total length) Countersink bolts x4
  • M10 spacer 10mm in height (aluminium) x4
  • Calipers: Wilwood 120-9463 (see above) x2
  • Brake Discs: MG F / TF (1995-2009) rear disc (see above) x2
  • Wilwood parking brake cable

Tools needed:

  • Angle grinder (cutting disc & flap wheel)
  • Measuring calipers
  • Drill(press) & drill bits bits (8mm, 8.5mm, 10mm)
  • 60mm Hole saw
  • Countersink drill bit
  • M10 tap
  • Allen keys
  • Loctite to assemble

Rough guide: Cut to size, drill holes, tap holes, assemble.