1956 VW Karmann Ghia Brake Parts

VW Disc Brake Conversion

A brake drum system applies friction from the brake shoes to the brake drums which rotate with the wheel of the car. This friction is the stopping force of the car. Disc brakes rely on the same principles but instead of housing the major components in a metal drum, they use a rotor with more surface area and a caliper that clamps the rotor to stop the wheel movement. The superior design of disc brakes makes them a far safer and more reliable option.

Many automotive manufacturers switched, on a widespread scale, from drum brakes to disc brakes. Even though Classic Volkswagens were originally made with drum brakes VW realized the superior stopping power of disc brakes and eventually offered the Type 3, Karmann Ghia, and Bus with disc brakes on the front wheels.

Volkswagen Drum Brakes provide adequate stopping power in most circumstances. We offer the VW Drum Brake parts to restore your Volkswagen brakes to stock. We highly recommend converting to Disc Brakes if you have made changes to your VW to add more horsepower or increased the size of the wheels, or if the original brakes have a tendency to fade or lose effectiveness in high braking conditions.

We offer a front and rear VW Disc Brake Conversion Kit with easy install instructions. Converting to VW Disc Brakes will provide more reliable, consistent, straight line stopping power, and perform better in wet weather. If you are converting to front and rear disc brakes a large bore master cylinder is required to provide adequate volume to operate the front and rear calipers.

The video below is provided by JBugs and walks through the installation process for a disk brake conversion kit