I have at my disposal both a 1967 9" factory mustang rear-end and a 77 Lincoln Versailles w/ disc brakes. I am torn between which rear end to use. Whichever I use will have a traction-loc setup so that is not an issue.

On the one hand I would love to have the disc brake setup but have read some none too flattering accounts about the fixed caliper system employed by the Lincoln rear end setup, but I am rather dubious about my sources for this information.

If I go with the factory 1967 setup then I will put the bigger Galaxie brakes on there, which as I understand it, is the same setup that the original Shelby's utilitzed.

Which will give the best, most reliablebraking? Since this is a street driven car, safety is the name of the game. Disc brakes are great and I have put the Granada disc brake setup on the front, however, the Galaxie brakes are considerably larger and offer a much larger braking surface than the standard Mustang brakes of the time.

Since mycar is street driven and does not see any type of track action so my question is, given my druthers, which would be the best of the two setups?

Opinions, comments, suggestions??

 

by best braking power, are you talking about the front or rear brakes. cause i would be more coincerned about the front since the only time im ever gunna use the rear is if i am parked.

 

the Versailles has a very heavy disk setup and the parts are really expensive.

 

Say what?????
The front brakes provide the majority of the stopping power.The rear brakescontribute some where between 20 to 30% of the braking power and are very important for controlling the tracking of the car during stops. That isthe reason NASCAR allows adjustment of brake biasby the driver.

The real problem with properly functioning drum brakes is fade during repeated stops. Given that there is the option of using oversize drums on a street car, it is unlikely that there will be a measureable benefit in the use of the Versaille disks. The other problem with rear disks is figuring out how to hookup the parking brake.

There is the inmeasurable coolness of having all disks showing through large open-spoke wheels. Since coolness is a prime factor these days, I would recommend that you go with the Versaille option and give me that junk 9" rear end.Since you will not need the Galaxie drums I'll also accept them. PM me so I can let you know where to deliver the junk parts.

 

i stand corrected then[&:]

 

In my experience, the problem with drums has not been stopping ability so much as keeping them adjusted so they work properly. The auto adjusters just never seem to work properly. Also, the parking brake does not seem to be as effective as the discs that I've used. If you can use the Explorer type disc brakes that have an internal drum for the parking brake, you'll be surprised how well it holds. I have Grand Cherokee, which are essentially the same as Explorer rear brakes, swapped in my Jeep TJ and it works great. The street performance isn't necessarily much better, but it is more consistent, i.e. never out of adjustment.

 

What would it take to adapt the Explorer brakes to either the 67 or the Versailles rear end?

 

from jamesw site http://www.midnightdsigns.com/Mustang/Rear_Brakes.htm the parking brake isnt that huge of a problem people make it out to be do some googl searching youll find a few different how tos i used jamesw site so if you have problems he could help

 

Not sure why you might have adjustment problems. All four corners of mine have equal pressure applied to each shoe and has been that way since last year when I performed a brake job on all four corners. I think a lot of guys make a mistake by only doing the rear shoes, or just the front shoes and don't take into account that it's not just the amount of shoe that is important, it is also the amount of slick shoe and drum wear that causes brake failure as well. The only time I have felt unsure of my brakes was after going through water or going down a mountain and getting them hot. That is where the drum brakes are at their weakest point. So, you adjust for that phenomena. You feather the brakes after you come out of the water to dry them off, and you pull over and let the brakes cool off when coming down a mountain. It's just a different driving experience, and an experience you grow up with as I have.

 

Thanks Andrew for the link to JamesW's site. Man he has some good poop on that site doesn't he?

I thought I had made up my mind to go with the rear drums but after reading that article, now I am leaning towards the discs.

Either way I figure I will have some Ebay gold when I sell the one that I do not use.

Decisions decisions....