Guys wondering what brake upgrades have been done to 142, will keep rear discs, just would like to know of upgrades previously done,, thanks
164 brakes are the first upgrade. From there its a case of how much do you want to spend and why do you want to slow down faster?
Ok thanks, cheaper the better, keeping original engine with twins but will be opening it up too achieve a little extra power, so I thought while doing this I'd see what upgrades have been done before,,
164 calipers and rotors, unsure on how much bigger the calipers are, but the rotors are vented?
Rotors are vented, pretty sure the calipers are the same aside from the width, and they take the same pad.

I think you need to also use the 164 hubs in order for the rotor offset to be correct.
Ok great, I prefer vented discs, I want to keep original 15" rims so I don't want massive discs, I'll keep and eye out for calipers and discs, thanks for you help, never played with Volvo's before so I'm abit of a virgin!!
We all start that way.
Alex/angus didn't late 144 come with vented front discs? Would these be any different to the 164 fitted units?
Alternatively there are after market adaptors no?
Nah no 140 had vented brakes from the factory, 240's didn't even get them before the 242GT came out in '79.
Well definitely sounds like this a good forum to be apart of, especially for us novice Volvo people,, well have to pick people's brains through out rebuild,,
There is plenty of knowledge among us here for sure, not many questions go unanswered.
Hmm that's interesting, I've seen rotors advertised for.Both 140/160 in vented fronts. Maybe they are close in rotor offset or the same? Definitely worth looking into
Parts listings for earlier model Volvo's tend to be highly inaccurate from a lot of aftermarket suppliers.
Yes I've been caught out before with so-called businesses selling items to fit, but in reality they don't fit....
Better to go with info from regular people..
blondejay;95248 wrotedidn't late 144 come with vented front discs?

As Angus said, not from the factory.

140s had either ATE or Girling 4-piston front calipers, with Girling being the most common on Oz cars (look for the big 'G' on the caliper for Girling).

Going from the book, B20E and B20F cars had different rotors, but not ventilated ones (different part numbers, unknown if they were thicker / different diameter / etc) , but they all used the same hub.

164s had ATE 4-pot calipers with vented rotors after chassis #52759 and onwards (1972 year model).

164 calipers fit on 140s, since they have the same 3 inch mounting lugs on the steering knuckle, but the 140 hubs needs to be swapped with the vented rotor 164 ones (note that early non-vented rotor 164s use the same hubs as the 140s).

If you want to go aftermarket, IIRC AP Racing offer a suitable 4-pot caliper which would fit onto a 140 without too many difficulties - the one I'm thinking of has the same 3-inch mount spacing. A dig through their website will find it; take note they also publish their drawings to assist fitting.

Bear in mind it's not a good idea to fit racing-type calipers to road cars, since road racing calipers are designed to be pulled down and cleaned / inspected after each meeting, and to be bled between each session.
164e rotors, 240 calipers. Slight modification to make calipers fit. Lots more pads available.im chasing 164 hubs if anyone has them
But I was told by a bloke in the states that the 140 hubs are ok to use.. have to buy some rotors and test fit.. Anyone know?
I've done the 164 vented disk on two of my current 140s -a 1973 142 and a 1974 144. In both cases the 164 calipers had a smaller pad area. I had spacers machined up so I could use the larger 140 caliper.

From memory the only reason to use the 164 hub is to get the longer stud for the thicker disk. You can use 140 hubs: just press out the old studs and put in longer ones,

It seems a good idea to put vented disks in but in reality, the original brakes, if everything is in good condition (stainless flexible lines are a very good upgrade) and you use decent pads, are pretty good. I sometimes wonder if all I've gained from the swap is an increase in unsprung weight.
Ok thanks for the info, sounds like it may be easier just to put on new discs, pads and brake lines, doesn't sound like ventilated discs are worth the effort,,,, thanks
Cheapest way is get some higher performing pads and make sure everything is working well.
Because we don't have vented discs, might be worth looking at cross drilled/dimpled or slotted rotors (many people have had issues with rda slotted rotors, with severe pulsing)

Maybe look at other brands.
For hard/motorsport use, the vented rotors will take a lot more (ab)use before overheating. Depends on what you're doing with the car, really.

I freely swapped between 140/carb 164 & 164E hubs/rotors/uprights and never had any compatibility issues. Noting that nobody seems to be saying "I tried it and it didn't work because...", I want to shut down the whole different hubs thing, but I accept the possibility that there's a particular model of 140 out there that had different hubs...

Converting to a normal split braking system (ie: to front/rear rather than the triangular split) significantly improves the pedal feel and slightly increases the power. Mostly because you can literally halve the number of flexible hoses and junctions. With decent pads, the pedal feel and stopping power is as good as a modern car - and that's even with the awful 72+ bellcrank linkage between the pedal and the master cylinder!

I expect that some people will argue that it is a safety down grade (by reducing the effectiveness of the failsafe), but having done it in the 164 rally car, I consider it to be an essential modification in any 140/160.