I recently purchased a 1965 Mustang that was originally an Inline 6 but the engine & trans has been replaced. My main concern is stopping. I have read a lot about the I6 drums not being strong enough. I was looking at the CSRP disc swap and adding MustangSteve's power boost. First, would that work? Secondly, I don't know what kit I need to buy; the I6 or V8. I'm assuming I need the I6 but I would like to get the V8 version so I can swap it out to a 5 Lug wheel. I don't think that's possible from what I've been reading about swapping out rear-ends for a V8 version. Can someone shed some light please?

BTW, steering feels tight and suspension feels nice. It came with rear air shocks as well.

 

welcome to the forum. How close are you to vancouver wa? I have an 8 in that I am wanting to get rid of that came out of my 65.

 

Just pointing this out for someone with more expertise to clarify: Isn't it bad to have rear air shocks on a stock Mustang?

 

Right or wrong That's all we grew up on using when I was into Mustangs back in the mid '80's.
I always hated air shocks because they jacked the back end up too much.

Lynn

 

Swap in V8 spindles and at least an 8" rear end. The V8 steering components are stronger too.

 

Air shocks are a bad idea. They can punch holes throught the trunk.

 

If this were my car, I would find an 8 inch like Tony has and get Granada disc brakes up front. Then it would be 5 lug all around. The rear drums are fine. This would be a simple and inexpensive way to convert it and you would be using Ford parts.

I have Granada brakes on mine. This is a great upgrade.

There is nothing wrong with the other brake upgrades mentioned.

 

Welcome to the forum! You sound just about where I was 10 years ago when I bought my fastback. I had 4 lug drums on the front and someone had put in a 8" 5 lug rear out of a 67. (2" wider than a 65 and made the wheels stick out)

To answer your question, yes if you plan on keeping the car it would be wise to upgrade the brakes and steering to a V8 setup. You'll be buying new 5 lug wheels and there are a lot more choices than the 4 lugs.

Think about what types/size of wheels you want on your car. Stock 14s all the way up to 17's. This will have a factor in deciding on brakes. If you want to go with 17"ers, then there are several aftermarket brakes such as wilwood and baer, as well as the Cobra and S197 take off brake setup that MustangSteve sells. This is a good choice/good price if you're going that big. If you are wanting to stay smaller in wheels..say 15 or 16", then the Granada or CSRP setups are your best bargains. If you're wanting to go bone stock 14", the factory discs, or granada that have been modified to fit are your options.

Going with most of these require a spindle change, and the granadas have a different size tie rod. Now is the best time to change out the inner and outer tie rods, drag link and Idler arm.

 

Thanks for all your input. How about adding power boost & discs up front and keeping the standard setup for the rear drum? Wouldn't the disc conversion fix the weak brakes?

 

Let me rephrase the question. Couldn't I swap to 4 Lug (I6 Version) Discs and add power boost? Wouldn't that provide enough stopping power on the V8?