I recently bought a project car mustang. The previous owner dropped in a 289 2 bbl without swapping out the spindles and rear end. I have a few questions. 1.would driving the car like this be safe? 2. If I upgraded it to 4 lug disc brakes would it make it safer? And 3, how can I tell if my car has V8 steering?

Thanks in advance!

 

If your 1966 Mustang has 4 lug wheels, you have 6 cyl steering, spindles and rear axle. For safety, you should install V8 components (idler, pitman arm, center link, tie rods, spindles, front springs, rims, and rear axle assembly, all with 10" brakes and 5 lug wheels.) Your steering gear box, upper control arms and lower control arms do not have to be changed. Four lug disk brakes only address one of the several problems, so don't bother. If you want disk brakes, put them on when you install the V8 stuff.
Best,
Al

 

Thank you for your help Al! My last question would be would the car be safe to drive while I save up for my 5 lug conversion?

 

If you drive sanely, you'll be OK as long as the suspension is in good shape.

 

The suspension is in good shape . The brakes have just been done with all new parts. Thanks for your help everyone!

 

After I swapped in a V-8, I drove my car for close to a year with the 4 lug brakes and rear-end while I collected the parts needed to upgrade the brakes and suspension.

It was safe.
...as long as I drove like I knew I had crappy, inadequate brakes.
Didn't have any real close calls but was sooooo glad when I finally got the V-8 brakes installed.

6 cyl. rear-end will hold up to normal driving.

 

its not safe the spindles are weak and can fail. do the swap asap. www.discbrakeswap.com has 5 lug brake kit for pretty cheap the rear axle can wait a while

 

My uncle has a 64 with 4 lug with a 260 owned since new. Did those come with 6 cyl. suspension components too?

 

nope.

 

All info I have says the 260 would have come with V8 suspension. The only unique thing I can find about the 260 suspension is that it could have come with 5 lug 13" rims. However, don't ever say that Ford always did it this way or never did it that way. Someone will prove you wrong.
Best,
Al