ivanr77

My dad and I have decided to do a brake conversion on my car this coming spring due to the fact of my constantly failing drums, we decided that it is better to just go ahead and do the conversion then to spend money trying to repair and fix the drum brakes.

I've looked at several vendors and have found a conversion kit just for the front at a min. price of about $800, going on to nearly $1200, then the rear conversion goes anywhere from $700-$1000. Thats a LOT of money just for the kits, but i think that the safety is worth it in the long run, as for the labor cost...we'll actually avoid that by installing the brakes ourselves.

Anywho, i'm just looking for some feedback from anyone who has done brake conversions, whether or not it is worth it, and maybe some tips i should look out for on certain types of brakes, or some things i should watch out for. I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks

69mach1377

Definetly do the fronts.
Look at the recent post here with more advice.

ultrastang

The Granada front disc brake swap is a very economical one that yields very good results. It's been done many times over on early Mustangs and related Fords. The donor cars to get this setup from are the '75-'80 model Granadas and Mercury Monarchs. You will also need the factory proportioning valve located near the master cylinder.


For some reason, there's pretty much a void when it comes to a "wrecking yard solution" for adapting rear disc brakes to the early Mustangs. A few years ago, I took some Lincoln Mk VII rear discs I had and made some adapter brackets to adapt them to the rear end housings of the early Mustang 8- & 9-inch rear ends. These rear discs can be obtained from the '84-'90 model Lincoln Mk VIIs.

If you're interested in checking out what I did in adapting the Mk VII rear discs, you can go to the following link on my website.

http://www.ultrastang.com/Ultrainfo.asp?Page_ID=11

dodgestang

The Stainless Steel Disc Brakes (SSBC) are very complete. They will come with everything you need to convert the car to front disc using stock style kelsey hayes 4 piston calipers.
The Wilwood Disc Brake conversion is a little cheaper than the SSBC but will change the track width of the car significantly enough that if you have wheels with meaty tires they will rub hard and might not even fit at all anymore (depending on your wheel/tire combo).
The Baer brakes are a great item and also quite complete, they are however pricey and a little more track focused so prob. more than a street car like yours needs.
The Grenada upgrade is common and comes out as the 'economical' choice but you do have to invest alot of time in tracking down ALL the appropriate parts and I beleive the total price tag on the Grenada upgrade gets very cloase to $500 just in parts...not counting the time spent finding them.

Frank_Bullitt

I have put the Disc front brake kit on my 67 and it has helped a great deal. I still have drum on the back but they car stops good for normal street use. I'm planing to up grade to something like bear or wilwood when I get it on the track. So if you planing on just daily driver, then Front disc's should be a major step up.

(Note: I put mine on about 7 years ago, so I think I got them at Mustangunlimited.com)

ultrastang

What do you think about these rear discs? This is a '65 fastback with '94-2004 Ford SN-95 V-6/GT Mustang 10½" solid rear disc brakes.

The disc brake parts are slavage yard components that were taken from a '95 V-6 Mustang, and I made the adapter brackets to mount the discs on the stock '65 Mustang 8-inch rear end.

http://img48.exs.cx/img48/6817/DSC293.jpg

Ron Dodson

I am a newbie here but wanted to spread kudos for the Disc brake system I installed on my 65.
I went to the local junk yard and was told that OLD Granada parts would be 350 Dollars.Yeah, Right... And then I would need to rebuild, buy new pads, bearings , etc. My Estimated cost was going to be 550 and lots of running around and time.
I found a website http://www.discbrakeswap.com/body_index.html that looked really good and took PayPal. I sent 4 emails to Dennis, the owner, and he answerered EVERY question within 3 hours. I ordered ALL NEW parts for THE COMPLETE change out including new master cylinder for $525 plus $70 shipping and handling!!!!
I ordered it and 5 days later it was at my door. Everything complete and new. Dennis also has incredibly detailed instructions on his site to install it.
http://www.discbrakeswap.com/The_Gra...9.3006.v01.pdf
It went on and was completed in 1 day.
It was nice working with all new parts and having EVERYTHING!
I am 1 happy camper...

Scott H.

For a daily driver/weekend strip car, I'd do a front swap, and leave the rears drum. Drum on the rear works very well. You can always upgrade to the 2.5" wide drum brakes down the road for cheap. This is what the vintage race Mustangs run, and they have no problems. I'm not a real fan of the Grenada swap for first gen, as the spindles change the front geometry in comparison to the original first gen Mustang spindles. This causes issues when lowering the car and running agressive alignment specs. If you have a 68 or later, have at it. I really like the Baer stuff and the SSBC stuff.
If you go with discs, I'd suggest installing a dual reservior master cylinder and a booster. I really like the SSBC and Baer kits. No doubt they are expensive. Part of what you are paying for is the expertise and engineering that comes from a company that has the knowledge and experience to provide braking systems for professional race teams as well as street applications.

Good luck which ever way you go.

Soaring

Dennis has that same package for under 500 bux this month for any member on here.

Colorado_Mustang

I've like the parts and service I've received from Master Power Brakes and will be using them for an upgrade on my '65 Stang. I was able to find a '73 junk convertible with discs to swap out my '71. I kept the stock rear drums and installed a Wilwood prop valve. It'll compete with my '03 GT for stopping distance.

BTW, I keep my cars with manual brakes. I like the feel better, and you really don't lose any stopping power if you're careful with your master cylinder selection. You may also think about installed a Hydraboost booster instead of the ancient vacuum system. It's smaller and is more powerful. The New Edge Mustangs (99-04) have these, and I'm guessing the new ones do as well.