I have purchased new callipers and disks for the front of my MK1 Uno and I am now wondering whether I replace the rear drums with my old front disks and callipers. Does anyone know if this is possible and what is required?
Front discs/ calipers would be too powerful for the rear of a Uno. There's a bias proportioning valve but they always seize up, so the last thing you want is more poweful rears. As Ant says, you'll stamp on the brakes and the rear of the car will overtake the front!
The biggest advantage of rear discs is a reduced risk of brake fade. However, do you really drive your car that hard to promote brake fade in the rear? If it's not a turbo, probably not. Plus don't forget that the fronts do 80% of the work anyway.
If you really want rear disc brakes then you'll need to source a Uno Turbo rear beam that comes with rear discs as standard. You cannot bolt on rear discs/ calipers onto a brake drum rear beam, or at least not without a LOT of work. Even if you managed that you'll still have to sort out a handbrake.
Give your rear drums an overhaul (new shoes and cylinders - cheaper than a rear discs conversion!) and you might be very surprised at how good they can be. The reason rear drums often aren't very good is because they haven't been serviced for years...
Hmmm, 180s at every intersection could get rather tiresome I guess .
The only reason I am thinking of going to rear disks is for trials use which tends to be a bit hard on the handbrake. I'll referb the rear drums and see how we get on. I have access to a Turbo rear end if I need it, but that sounds like it could be an option of last resort.