Front Disc Conversion questions

[bmxmon]

Hey, I have some questions about switching over to front discs. First, I would like to know if anybody has any recomendations on front disc conversion brands. I will be switching from 4lug to five lug. Finding new spindles will be no problem, i have a junk yard near by that has tons of old mustangs and the like. I have been leaning towards SSBC, but dont know the best place to get it from. Also, while cruising the internet looking for kits, i noticed some places said that their conversions would only work on automatics, why would that have anything to do with it?? I will be staying non-power, and switching to a dual resevor. (which seem to mostly come with the kits) Thanks

[Rev]

I got my Granada disk brake conversion kit from Jim's Mustang in El Cajon Ca.It came with almost all new parts except spindles and rebuilt calipers. I think it cost me $600 plus shipping (about 4-5 years ago). I did later upgrade to power brakes from NPD and Praise Dyno pads and shoes about 2 years ago. That was another $600-700, but well worth it. It's not fun when everyone else on the road can stop faster than you can.

Rev

[rwhite65]

Hey Rev,
Do you have a dual master cylinder as well?
Ryan

[bmxmon]

I was also wondering, will ZR45 245/45 ZR 17s wheels fit under my mustang, with those late model wheel adapters?? They are stock tires/rims from a 96-98 mustang gt. thanks.

[rwhite65]

I put 245 50 r16 in the back, with 225 50 r16 in the front. I used a set of 16X8 rims that were specifically made to go on a mustang (proper back spacing). My car has been lowered and the fender wells have not been rolled. I had problems with the tires rubbing, until I adjusted the supension a little in the front and rear to get it the rubbing to quit. I unfortunately had to raise the car a little bit from it's old lowered point.

They say u can put 17's in there, but I would not even attempt it unless you are willing to roll the fender wells.
Ryan

[Rev]

Originally Posted by rwhite65

Hey Rev,
Do you have a dual master cylinder as well?
Ryan

Yes, I put a manual dual cylinder MC on when I did the original conversion. I later installed power assist that required a new dual cylinder MC. The Praise Dyno high tech pads and shoes help a good bit as well.

Rev

[rwhite65]

what dual master cylinder did u use? I have found the options for the 65 to be slim and expensive, so any other options are highly sought.
Ryan

[Rev]

Originally Posted by rwhite65

what dual master cylinder did u use? I have found the options for the 65 to be slim and expensive, so any other options are highly sought.
Ryan

Not sure of the exact #'s. I got the manual MC from Jim's Mustang with the original kit. The power disk MC came from NPD when I ordered the power booster. The MC's are different and one must use the correct MC for the specific application. I think each one was around $100 or a little more for a brand new one. May be more now.

Oh, and you will need a proportioning valve and some extra small brake lines if you go to a dual reservoir MC with disk/drums. I got that in the original kit.

I paid:
$600 for the original kit
$450 for the booster and new MC
$250 for Praise Dyno pads, shoes, and new hardware

There was some shipping cost involved, but not too bad.

Rev

[rwhite65]

I have one of the brake valves (Wildwood) already installed with power brakes on the ole death cylinder. I was gonna put the rear disc kit in, when u mentioned the Praise dyno kit. Kinda got me wondering about keeping the drums back there.
Anyhow, just trying to figure out who I want to buy the dual kit from.
Ryan

[Rev]

Originally Posted by rwhite65

I have one of the brake valves (Wildwood) already installed with power brakes on the ole death cylinder. I was gonna put the rear disc kit in, when u mentioned the Praise dyno kit. Kinda got me wondering about keeping the drums back there.
Anyhow, just trying to figure out who I want to buy the dual kit from.
Ryan

Unless you have one of the small boosters made especially for the 65-66 models, you may not have room for the dual chamber MC without denting in the shock tower. Those extra small boosters are made just to insure enough clearance for the dual MC.

Rev

[bmxmon]

Hey, i found a granada kit on ebay for $361. The guy is selling a couple of the "kits" Says it just like the granada switch, except i would need to switch the lower ball joint. Looking through my chiltons guide, it says i have to replace the entire lower control arm to replace the ball joint, you just cant replace the ball joint. If you search ebay for 65 mustang disc brakes, it will come up. For $361, it seems like a good deal compared to a $1000 kit, but those are brand new and come with the master clyinders, but w/o the spindles. Any thoughts would be awesome.

[Tpastore]

Guys,

I have a 65GT with disks in the front. When I changed from the single to dual cylinders I had all kinds of troubles. I kept seeing bearing grease all over my rims. After many months of trying to figure out what was happening I figured out that the grease was getting heated, expanding, popping the cap off a bit and squeezing out. What caused that? Well the calipers were not releasing all the way, What caused that? There was a check valve of some sort in the master cylinder. After a call to Mustangs unlimited they told me to drill it out and all will be fine. Did it (and cleaned out the filings) and all worked fine.


I say this and at the same time I just posted a quesion about adjusting the porportioning valve. I had 10 years of everything working fine before the brakes started acting funny.

Tim

[bmxmon]

would a P 215/65R/R16 wheel work?? I would guess it would, only the middle numbers might screw it up, but im not sure what those stand for....thanks... just found a tire calculator, and found that the different between these tire and 245/50 R16 seem to be that the sidewall is .7" taller, the diameter is 1.4" longer. Also, the circumfrence is 4.2" longer. Would any of this present a major problem??

[Rev]

The 215 stands for the side wall width (215 mm). The 65 stands for the aspect ratio (65% of the 215 mm = the distance from the inside diameter of the tire to the ouside diameter. The 16 means a 16" rim.

245mm X .50(aspect ratio) = 122.5mm = 4.82"(inside diameter to outside) X 2 = 9.64". Add that to the rim diameter and you get about 25.6" tire diameter or 25.6" X 3.14 = 79.5" circumfrence.

215 X .65 = 139.75 = 5.50 X 2 =11. Add that to 16 you would have 27" tire dameter or 27 X 3.14 = 84.75 circumfrence.

From what I calculate, the 215/65/16 would be somewhat taller. Aspect ratio makes a lot of difference in the diameter of the tire.

Rev

[bmxmon]

hey Rwhite65, what size is the backspacing on your wheels?? thanks.

[rwhite65]

I will check my paper work to make sure, but I am 99% positive that the back spacing is 4.5 inches on my wheels.
Ryan

[JZALK3metsfan13]

i put SSBC 5 lug power discs in my 69 coupe and it has some great stopping power...i got the kit from John's Mustang of Houston, who i DO NOT recommend for ordering this kit...also...the kit did not come with the new spindles

[bmxmon]

Has anyone had experience with the wheel spacers that dallas mustang sells?? They say that they let you bolt up the new style wheels to the classics, but they dont give exact years. Anybody know?

[Richard Tognotti]

hey bmxmon; I put ussbc force ten brakes on my front. Currie Ent. built my rearend and put explorer disc on it. I also put 17" wheels on the car. Front are 8x17" with 4.75 backspacing and the rear are 9 1/2" with 6 1/2" backspacing. The front has TCP coil over and is dropped 1" it's close but not rubbing, I would feel better about them if I had gone with 7" instead. I did'nt pull or roll any outside fender wells. The only thing I did do was,I had to cut the outside ear off the axle bumper(above the axle) and knock down the lower inner wheel well at the front lower of the well to make sure the tires didn't hit and that is very easy to do. The tread width is 10.7 ". I could go 1" wider tires if I wanted to. The wheels are American Racing.You can see the car on the home page. it's the dark red fastback.
Good luck with yours. Rich T