Babybudistmonk

Hey Guys,

I'm in the process of getting my front suspension squared away and had a question about brakes and master cylinders.

I'm doing a 2.3t swap, using the engine and trans from an 87 t-bird into my 93 Stang. I plan on using the rear end further down the road, but am trying to get it on the road this summer yet so I can see how it feels, so I will be using the rear end from the mustang for now.

I would like to put 73mm brakes in the front of the car so I can have my front suspension all set and done and just have to worry about the rear end and master cylinder later.

My question is can I use the stock master cylinder with the bigger calipers in the front, as long as I still use the stock drum brakes in the rear?

Babybudistmonk

Wow, no help with this one huh? I guess I'll have to try it out once its road worthy and see what it does.

evintho

It might work. You're gonna have an awful spongy pedal though. There's about 25mm in size difference between the stock and 73mm calipers. That much more fluid is gonna need to be pumped into the calipers. You don't want to play around with brakes, your life depends on them!
Why wait on the rearend installation? The only real expense, other than worn part replacement is the NorthRaceCar offset brackets. $150. The TC rear is a virtual bolt in! Not difficult at all. I remember the factory brakes on my Mustang before I tore it down. One word...........SCARY! Also, I alternate between driving my '86 TC and Thunderstang on a daily basis. The TC brakes are all new and they stop the car. However, the 11" rotors, 73mm calipers and TC rear discs on Thunderstang are head and shoulders above the TC brakes! There is no doubt when I smash the binders on Thunderstang! It's probably one of the best upgrades I've done to that car! I would definitely recommend swapping in the TC rear w/discs. Oh yeah, you'll need the MC upgrade and an adjustable prop valve but both can usually be found on Ebay for cheap.

Babybudistmonk

The only reason I want to fore go the rear end swap is because summer is running out of time and it could be snowing here in 3 months. I still don't have my engine in yet and I want to get at least a little time on the road!

It will be swapped in sometime this fall/winter/spring, there's no doubt about that. I'm just looking to get a little time on the road to see what kind of problems i will run into that will have to be worked out in the off season.

Plus I'm planning on going to a torque arm/panhard bar set up so I can eliminate the binding issues of the 4 link system and get some good solid traction and handling. And that is quite an expense I have to save up for lol

hockey

I myself am doing a brake swap, I am using 1997 front brakes and lincon mark 7 rear disc. I am using 1993 cobra master cylinder and gutted the factory prop valve, I am using a summit prop valve for the rear but i still have the 4 cylinder brake booster. should i upgrade it ??? what options are there out there. I thought the t-bird rear was wider ???/

Babybudistmonk

The rear end on a t-bird is 1.5" wider over all. But that length is all in the axles. You can take the axles from the mustang rear end and swap them right into the t/c 8.8 rear. The only issue you have is now you have to move the rear disk calipers inboard about .75". Thats where the brackets Evintho mentioned earlier come into play.