CSP Brakes

[hobie16]

Just installed them as an early Christmas present. First reaction? Wowsers!!

They engage sooner and really pull the Thing down fast.

Installation was pretty straight forward. Could use a clearer picture of springs on the pads.

Two cons. The dust caps are a challenge to get on straight. It takes a few whacks to get them seated properly. The kit does not come with lug nuts. For the price you'd think CSP could supply the standard nuts. You'll need to buy M14x1.5 pitch in whatever style needed.
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[mondshine]

In May 2014 I wrote:
The CSP disc brake kit for Things, overall, is a nice piece of work. The hubs are nicely machined aluminum, with 14x1.5 threaded in studs which require ball end lug nuts to be used with the stock steel wheels. The rotors are steel, of course, made in Germany. The calipers are single piston Delco Moraine units, made in France .
Basically nice calipers, though the dust covers for the sliders are sort of “Mickey Mouse”, but certainly adequate.
[I have since replaced a dust cover that popped off (lost in space) with one of these rubber caps (cut shorter on a lathe) from McMaster]:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#84735K73
When it's time to change the pads, I will probably replace them all.

Everything in the CSP brake kit lined up/matched up very well, and there were no snags in the installation. My only complaint with the kit is that the furnished brake hoses were a little too long at about 395 mm. That is the length of stock brake hoses for a Thing with drum brakes. I noticed what looked like excessive “droop” in these hoses, making them seem accident prone, so I switched to 355 mm hoses like a Karmann Ghia with disc brakes would use. At 355 mm, there’s plenty of slack at full lock, and the hoses are much more out of harm’s way.

There are no dust shields included with this kit; possibly because it is made to be used with the stock 14" wheels which have no ventilation slots.
Because of this, there is a large accumulation of brake dust behind the wheels. Something for the coin-op car wash.

The replacement pads are hard to find in the US (except from the people that sell the kit). I recommend picking up a set so you have them "in stock" when you need them.

Good luck, Mondshine

[hobie16]

[mondshine]

I bought the CSP brake kit, as well as the pads at CIP1.

The pads are expensive (because they are hard to get).
They're used on several European cars not sold in the US.
Just for fun, here are some cross-reference numbers I have found (no guarantees for accuracy ):
WAGNER WBP20939A
FERODO FSL173
TRW GDB199
ATE 13046070482
BREMBO P59005
JURID 57126J, 571833J
MINTEX MDB1141, MHB0581, HB0725

Good luck, Mondshine

[hobie16]

[Thing_Man73]

I installed all new S/S brake lines through out when I installed my front disc, I do not remember the length at the moment but the Thing stops on a Dime now. It is by far the best Disc Kit that I have ever installed on a VW, very expensive but worth it. I got an extra set of pads from CIP1 for $31.99 as mentioned above.

[ente_kaefer]

I will chime in on the CSP front disc brakes, as I recently had them recently installed on my 1973 Thing. Night and day difference from the drum brakes !! Seeing that all of the driving I do is local, between 30 and 50 MPH, with *lots* of stop and then go, the disc brakes are a major improvement over the drum. I also purchased a set of replacement disc pads from CIP1 when I ordered the front disc brake set.

Definitely not inexpensive, but very much worth it to me as the car now stops on the proverbial dime . . .