I have a H165 diff for a Stanza and want to know if the disk brake setup off Series1 TRX bluebird will bolt on?
Has anyone tried this before?

1 didn't have discs...3 did
I believe they do bolt on

Check out the writeup on fitting bluebird disks to 1200 ute H165 diff
in 'DEMAC's 1200 Ute' build thread. He has documented all the steps required for this conversion.

bluebird discs will bolt straight onto the h165 (or h150 and 190 too) just need to take everything off the bluebird axle and put out onto the new 165 axle

Yeah much has been written about it before its nothing new There aint much new on here. Which i like.

the bluebird disc over drum setup will bolt on...... but ya need a big press too...

you need to swap everything over on the axles, which means removing the wheel bearing with a press so that you can change the backing plate and installing a new wheel bearing (this is a pretty key point no one bothered to mention)

and as was sort of mentioned, i dont think series one came with the disc over drum setup, some series 2/3 and TRX's

Ok, thanks everyone for their input...

Basically I have a Stanza that I modified (I know you'll laugh) a 4.3 Ratio Volvo diff to fit in it. That way the whole Volvo disk brake set up went straight into the car.
It works great but is a bit of an over kill for what I am doing with the car...

So I have sourced a H165 Stanza diff, I will put an LSD into it, and want to "bolt on" (hopefully no modifications???) some Bluebird rear disk brakes...

I think this will be much lighter than the Volvo set up I have know.
The Volvo has a Large crown wheel and pinion, and 29 spline axles!!!
Its fine if i had 600hp!!! but will probably only have 200hp with a NA engine...

If anyone knows of someone looking for a strong disk brake diff for a Stanza let me know...

Bluebird rear disks are not so good if you plan on running 13 inch wheels. Some fit and most dont. I ended up going with R31 rear disk setup. Its much more compact and a better package imo. Effectively all I modded was the std caliper mounting bracket so that the wheel bearing is retained correctly on a H165 axle housing....

Just found this in Demac's build thread:


Buying and fitting Bluebird Rear discs

Part 1 - BLUEBIRD DIFF ASSEMBLY
1. Find a suitable Bluebird
1.1. TRX or Series II but must have full diff/axle
1.2. Take a veneer caliper to the wreckers and check that you have at least 10mm of meat on the disc. 9.5mm is still legal but new discs are expensive ($160 AU each side)
1.3. Just buy the whole axle, diff and all. It will probably cost less than buying the bits

2. Take it home and strip it down
2.1. Remove calipers , put them aside for a cleanup or a recondition as you see fit
2.2. Remove discs , give them a quick cleanup and paint if desired
2.3. Remove the splash plates – large thin plates that protect the discs from mud etc
2.4. Dismantle the brake shoes, inspect and replace shoes if required
2.4.1. don’t lose anything
2.4.2. remember which way the shoes and the retaining springs go (they will only go one way but at least you know for sure)
2.5. Remove the handbrake cable by taking out the pins at the ends
3. Remove the individual axles from the main body
3.1. Remove the four bolts that are at the end of the main body into the axle/brake area. These will have nylock nuts on the ends
3.2. Pull out the axle. This should come out easily but you may have to jiggle the diff where it connects to the tail shaft to loosen the spline. If all else fails the use a slide hammer and connect it to the axle where the wheel lugs are.

Ok - check point – BLUEBIRD STUFF
You have two axles right and left, don’t mix up the backing plates – they only go one way
All the brake bits and the discs

4. Remove the backing plates off the axles
4.1. You will need a coal chisel, an anvil of some description, a big hammer. Also if you have an angle grinder with a small cutting disc and an air hammer
4.2. Both the retaining collar and the race bearing need to be removed first
4.2.1. Basically use the coal chisel and or the angle grinder to cut the retaining collar off – don’t worry about damaging the axle as you won’t use it on the 1200
4.2.2. Neither of these items (collar or bearing) can be reused so just use brute force to break them apart
4.2.3. Don’t use the backing plate for any leverage – they are only cast and can break (this backing plate is precious to you)
4.3. After the collar and bearing are removed there will also be a thin washer to remove, it should just slide off and then the backing plate is right to come off
5. Make sure you mark right from left and keep the following bits from the bluebird diff
5.1. Backing plates
5.2. Brake assemblies, both handbrake assemblies and disc brake assemblies.
5.3. Flexible brake lines for the disc calipers
5.4. All bolts, nuts, washers, clips – mostly so you have spares
5.5. IMPORTANT – keep the fittings that hook up the fixed brake lines to the flexible lines. The 1200 does not have these on the diff and you will need to weld them onto the 1200 diff
5.6. Also keep the Diff centre- it will be a H165 probably and is a good upgrade to your H145 diff

6. Give everything a nice cleanup and then start on the 1200 diff assembly

Part 2 - DATSUN 1200 DIFF DISSASSEMBLY – you could do all the work with the diff assembly still in the car but I took the opportunity to clean the diff up and give it a new lick of paint. Plus I don’t like welding so close to the fuel tank (I have an R31 tank where the spare wheel goes in my Ute)
1. Take it out of the car and strip it down
1.1. Disengage from tail shaft
1.2. Disengage hand brake cable from the adjustment block near the front of the diff
1.3. Drain the diff oil
1.4. Disengage the brake line from in front of the diff
1.5. Remove drums , keep them as boat anchors (for very small boats)
1.6. Dismantle the brake shoes, put them in your spares drawer (don’t lose anything – especially springs and things you may want later.)
1.7. Remove the handbrake cable by taking out the pins at the ends
1.8. Remove the U bolts that hold the axle main body to the springs
1.9. Take out the whole thing and clean it up

2. Remove the individual axles from the main body
2.1. Remove the four bolts that are at the end of the main body into the axle/brake area. These will have nylock nuts on the ends
2.2. Pull out the axle. This should come out easily but you may have to jiggle the diff where it connects to the tail shaft to loosen the spline. If all else fails the use a slide hammer and connect it to the axle where the wheel lugs are.
2.3. Remove the seal just inside the axle that sits behind the bearing
Ok - check point – 1200 STUFF
YOU HAVE:
..Two axles right and left, mark them to back on their original sides
..Brake backing plates flopping around on the axles – held on by the bearing and collar like the Bluebird ones.

YOU NEED:
Two bearing kits (one for each side) – including new bearing, collar and seal

3. Remove the backing plates off the axles
3.1. You will need a coal chisel, an anvil of some description, a big hammer. Also if you have an angle grinder with a small cutting disc and an air hammer
3.2. Both the retaining collar and the race bearing need to be removed first
3.2.1. Basically use the coal chisel and or the angle grinder to cut the retaining collar off – THIS TIME WORRY about damaging the axle as you will need it on the 1200
3.2.2. Neither of these items (collar or bearing) can be reused so just use brute force to break them apart
3.2.3. Don’t use the backing plate for any leverage – whilst you won’t need to reuse it there is no point in wrecking it either.
3.3. After the collar and bearing are removed there will also be a thin washer to remove, it should just slide off and then the backing plate is right to come off
3.4. IMPORTANT!!! Note which way this comes off as you will need to put it back on the same way when you re assemble everything
4. Make sure you mark right from left and keep the following bits from the 1200 diff
4.1. Axles
4.2. All bolts, nuts, washers, clips – mostly so you have spares
4.3. Brake lines and handbrake assembly
4.4. Shims that go between the bearing and the backing plate

Part 3 - DATSUN 1200 DIFF ASSEMBLY – so here is where we put the stuff we need off the bluebird on to the 1200 diff body.
1. Put the 1200 thin washer on the axle the same way it came off
2. Put the bluebird backing plate on the 1200 axle – make sure that it is on the right way (shoe mechanism facing out)
3. Press the bearing back on to the axle
3.1. Easier said than done
3.1.1. Either get them done professionally (for the cost of a few dollars it’s done right)
3.1.2. Or get a big tube of the right diameter of the collar and bash it on without damaging the wheel lugs or the bearing.
4. Press the retaining collar on to the axle (as above)
5. Put the new seal into the axles’ main body
6. Put the shim in behind the bearing – don’t bend it too much
7. Insert the axles into the main body (make sure you have the right side in the right side)
8. You will need to line up the spline into the diff centre and gently persuade the axle into place
9. Bolt it up
10. Reassemble the hand brake shoes and mechanisms
IMPORTANT: DO NOT put the discs on or attach the handbrake cables – yet
11. We need to weld on the ‘tabs’ that will hold the flexible brake lines to the main body.
11.1. Find the ‘tabs’ from the bluebird main body – they were bolted on to the bluebird but we do not have anywhere to bolt it on to the 1200 so I welded mine.
11.2. Weld on to the main body approx 6 inches from the edge – you need to clear the bump stop and just get inside the little tabs that hold the metal brake lines
12. You may also want to shorten the metal brake lines as they no longer need to go all the way to the backing plates
13. Refit the main body into the car Attach suspension and bump stops with the U bolts
14. Hook up all the handbrake cables
15. Fit the discs and calipers (do this step after the diff is back into the car as there may not be room to fit the discs between the spring and the underneath of the car).
16. Hook up the hydraulic brakes
17. Adjust the handbrake shoes




So there ya go, thats the details, you can use the rubber bluey flexible caliper brake lines straight on to the metal lines from the original diff, i just bent the original to shorten them and cable tied them back to the diff housing... depends how neat you want it to be

if you are worried about weight i'd do as benny said and adapt r31 discs onto the rear. really easy to do using the standard r31 caliper bracket as its just a matter of redrilling some holes. they are the same caliper (as far as braking is concerned) as the bluebird setup but have a 260mm disc instead of a 280ish mm disc like the bluebird. and as the handbrake is in the caliper it is a much lighter more compact setup

Can also just run commodore calipers if you dont need a handbrake too