Rotors?

[Budiak]

So I've noticed that my stang has 4lug wheels, and every other one I have EVER SEEN is five lugs. is this because I have a straight six?

Anyways, how would I go about swapping it out for a five-lug setup? I dont really need disc brakes yet, so should I just go to a wrecking yard and grab the drums, rear rotors, and spindles?

[Clark Rodgers]

Regretfully this is not easily fixed and yes it is because you have a six cylinder. The front not be that bad if you are just wanting to swap in spindles, hubs and drums. But the rear is a bigger issue, the only way to do this is change the axles. I would really consider the disc conversion up front to save you money doing this twice but if you can find some good used parts or even a good donor car, go for it.

[fordkid68]

Budiak- I have A strait six ith 4lug wheels also. it's cuz of the 7.5 rear end. for some reason tey decided to put 4lig wheels on there.(don't ask why)


Clark Rodgers is right you have to swap rear end in order to get A 5 lug wheels.

sorry I couldn't give you any new info.


ford kid

[Budiak]

I've never found disc brakes that offer four lugs. I dont have a problem with four lug rotors, but nobody offers anything for them!


Fordkid, did you stick with the drum brakes? I havent found any discs available ANYWHERE with four lug rotors.

[Rev]

Actually, I think Stainless Steel Brake Corporation does make 4 lug disk conversions. I wouldn't recommend it though as it is an off beat conversion.

The smartest thing is to do a more "main stream" conversion using more reasonably priced parts. I would look for Granada/Monarch parts to get a front disk (5 lug) front end and a 9" posi (5 lug) drum brake rear. You probably will have to buy some new replacement parts to make all of this work. Guessing $1000-1500 for all of it. Expect more to get a posi center section in the desired ratio ($2000-2500 total).

Rev

[Budiak]

Do I really need a posi? I dont mind grabbing a 9" rear, but is posi really necessary if I'm just making a driver?

Besides, are the drum brakes really that shitty? I found out that the wheels I have are pretty clean looking stainless steel wheels, not the hubcap kind, they look pretty sharp if a little dirty, I'd like discs but if it just means I'm going to have to spend 2500 bucks to change out everything, is it even worth it for the stopping power?

[werked 66]

the best thing i have ever done is drop out the stock rear end with drum brake and put in a currie 9" took 10 minutes to put in {took longer to paint it} got the disc brake setup didnt have to do a thing except put it in

[fordkid68]

Budiak yea I still have drum brakes on my stang. unless you are going to be putting more power under the hood the drum brakes will work fine. you said that you were building A driver so it doesn't sound like you are going to be racing it. so I think drum brakes will be fine. they have worked for me so far with out A problem. even when I have to stop in A hury they never fail me.


ford kid

[Budiak]

Hey, awesome. I dont plan on racing it at all, too dangerous, and I dont want to spend that much money because well, I dont have any.

As for the drum brakes, if I do keep them until I plan on someday putting something bigger in there, is there some sort of drum brake rebuilt kit that I should get and use on them? I dont know if they've ever been rebuilt, etc.

[John Z]

Not really a kit for rebuilding drum brakes. The brakes consist of a drum, that you take to the machine shop to see if it needs to be turned to have a smooth surface, springs, shoes and cylinders. These are all available from most auto parts stores. You can get cylinder rebuild kits, but I always just use new cylinders. It is not usually necessary to replace all the springs, just good practice. You should get a repair manual to guide you through the process. HTH

[Jeff65]

Originally posted by Budiak
Do I really need a posi? I dont mind grabbing a 9" rear, but is posi really necessary if I'm just making a driver?

Besides, are the drum brakes really that shitty? I found out that the wheels I have are pretty clean looking stainless steel wheels, not the hubcap kind, they look pretty sharp if a little dirty, I'd like discs but if it just means I'm going to have to spend 2500 bucks to change out everything, is it even worth it for the stopping power?

Do I really need a posi? No, in fact a posi is not all that good to have on the street for normal driving. Here's why...posi (limited slip) and locking rear ends increase tire wear and can act poorly under certain conditions. Examples of conditions are rounding a curve in wet weather. If you acclerate out of a corner in bad weather, the limited slip can reduce your control of the car by locking up and subsequently breaking traction. To avoid this situation on rainy days you have to be more careful entering curves at lower speeds to avoid your natural reaction to press on the accelerator while coming out of the curve.

Are drum brakes shitty? No, they've been in use for years longer than disc brakes. In fact, drum brakes have more surface area and stop your car with lower effort than disc brakes. Were it not for power brake boosters, most folks would opt for drum brakes. Drum brakes have two annoying properties that disc brakes do not have. Drum brakes heat up faster and consequently the shoes and drum distort. This leads to uneven stopping power. Thus, if you do three successive high speed quick stops, drum brakes will inevitably fade and lose some braking effectiveness. On well designed drum brakes it will take several quick stops before this becomes noticible. Drum brakes perform poorly when wet. This is true, you have to be careful to keep your drum brakes dry else it can feel like you have none. The reason this happens is because drum brakes have a large surface area and use lower hydraulic pressure than disc brakes. Disc brake design provides a lot more pressure (psi) on the rotor than drum brakes do. This provides disc brake stopping power when wet. The bottom line here is drum brakes will work fine for you as long as you understand they have characteristics unlike disc brakes. In normal driving they stop your car just as well as disc brakes do.

[Rev]

I drove my car for years with 4 wheel drum brakes. The problem arises when everyone else can stop quicker than you can. I encountered this problem several times on the the freeways of Houston when cars ahead wold stop quickly for one reason or the other. I never actually rear ended anyone, but it was clear that they had more stopping power than I did. Those experiences made me do a Granada front disk conversion.

Rev

[Budiak]

I think I'll rebuild my drums, have them turned, etc.

[Rev]

I did that and they're gonna suck. Oh, well.

Rev

[Budiak]

Wait, arent you the one that said that you had 4 wheel drums and they were fine?

[Rev]

I said that I drove it for some years with drums (5 lug) but that I almost rear ended cars on the freeway when they stopped quickly. That made me do the disk conversion.

Don't mean to sound like a know-it-all here. I'm just trying to keep you from wasting a bunch of money like I did.

Rev

[Jeff65]

I agree if you drive your car daily in traffic the disc conversion is quite worth the money spent. OTOH, if you drive your car once in awhile, to/from shows, the drums will be fine; just stop following so close like you do in your other driver!