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Big Brakes on a Non-ABS Car (700/900)

15A

World's Oldest Brewery
Joined
May 7, 2004
Location
OH-MI....just like it sounds
I know guys have done it....swapping in the 91+ big brakes into their older non-ABS 700's.

I ask because the later big brakes are ABS and have one less brake line going to them. Just wunnerin' what you plugged, swapped in or modded to make a non-ABS big brake system work.

ALSO.....were you able to keep any semblance of a dual-diagonal system intact. (doubtful)

:cool:
 
No abs cars are always dual diagonal up to 1991 with he two line and piston calipers.

Honestly, the two piston calipers work better anyway. Smaller pads is all.

The single piston rotors that pull air from the inside can probably be used wih them with some ducts. Best of both. What's not to like? I think I've done that before and really liked it. Good pedal feel in a 7 series, no bs.

Do you just insist on using those crummy feeling flexy single piston calipers?

There are many non abs calipers for 7s. The girling are much better than the Bendix late ones common to stripper 91 cars for example.. Changing it all around for the single piston calipers sounds like work with little payout and really having scramble the whole thing up.
 
Here's the lowdown: I'm not a fan of ABS, and am not a huge fan of the big brakes simply because it seems in this part of the world, the slides seem to gunk up and stick. BTDT.

HOWEVER.....my 93 945 has them so I may have to live with them. Would at least like to ditch the ABS setup along with that mess under the hood (ABS unit + 28 miles of bent lines running everywhere).

My Plan B was simply to strip an older 700 at the yard and transplant it in. Dunno.
 
Good god.

Don't know what to tell you. Never tried to go no abs. Volvo abs is dated but works pretty well and is pretty reliable for its time.

But the pedal feel of a good no abs is better. I don't know...easier to find a no abs earlier car. It would be a deal breaker for me if I were contemplating changing the whole brake system like that...wrong car. Way too much monkeying around.

I went the other way and installed abs. Would never do it again in a million years. Harness is separate. worked pretty ok. 1990 donor car, 1991 no abs car. Complete swap.

Sliding calipers are suck on 7 series volvos in crust land. Grease religiously every oil change. No magic cures abs or not really.

Very possible to backdate it basically...opposite of what I did. Probably easier. No fun. Tons of time. Like I said, deal breaker for me. These cars aren't that rare.
 
I'm tired of fixing/flipping cars every 3-5 yrs so will build this one to suit me til the nukes fly. Its getting alot more than a brake makeover I assure you - removing the original lines may have happened anyways, and I want the room under the hood that ABS controller, et al takes up.

I just know guys have put the ABS jumbos on earlier cars and was wondering what orifices they plugged on their 2-lines per caliper setups (did they swap out the master cylinder too?), to make it work. If no one can or will let me in on this secret, its easier to just pull the entire system from an older 700 and replace this one. IIRC, the fronts are all thats different.
 
I put the 850 brake upgrade on my non-ABS 88 GLE. It had **** brakes on it when I bought it - totally rusted out cross-drilled rotor and one pad lost its brake material. My 87 745T brakes fine, but feels crappy and needs lots of force. The upgrade is totally fine, but killed the diagonal system.


Any ways I followed this thread: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=175584&page=2

As far as capping the extra ports I followed this: http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/Brakes.html#UpgradingOlder7XXBrakestoLater9XXJumboBrakes .
 
When I went to the wilwood brakes I just blocks off one of the lines to the front on each side. The system is still split.... pretty simple to do. Now removing the entire abs systems....good luck on that. My 91 744 turbo came from the factory non abs.
 
The car I was going to do this on may very well become my winter DD.....if so, it will go turbo and the ABS will probably stay. Not crazy about it but, meh. If it ever does fail (and they do), then I'll swap in an older non-ABS system and either use the smaller brakes or do a different sort of upgrade. Looks like a PITA to do, but not rocket science.

My real "project" car will be gutted to a shell for various reasons and at that point I can replace the brake system with whatever I want. :oogle:
 
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