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NYsquarebird58's Brake System Overhaul and Disc Brake Conversion

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  • DKheld
    Super-Experienced
    • Aug 27 2008
    • 1583

    #61
    Glad to hear you are back in the wrenching mode Marcelo. You're gong to really enjoy driving the car with disc brakes - wish mine was back on the road (blown rear main seal). Thanks for the pics and letting us follow along - as Dave mentions great pics (almost as good as mine ).

    Might want to throw a small heat shield on the bottom of your prop valve since it will be right over the manifold ??? Not worried too much about the heat on the valve but rather on that plastic failure switch screwed into it. That stock booster bracket may get it all up high enough not to worry about.

    I had to extend my brake light wires when I mounted my prop valve down on the frame but looks like yours can stay stock - cool.

    Can't wait to hear your comments after the first disc brake drive.....

    Eric

    Comment

    • NYsquarebird58
      Experienced
      • Feb 6 2012
      • 352

      #62
      Originally posted by DKheld
      Glad to hear you are back in the wrenching mode Marcelo. You're gong to really enjoy driving the car with disc brakes - wish mine was back on the road (blown rear main seal). Thanks for the pics and letting us follow along - as Dave mentions great pics (almost as good as mine ).

      Might want to throw a small heat shield on the bottom of your prop valve since it will be right over the manifold ??? Not worried too much about the heat on the valve but rather on that plastic failure switch screwed into it. That stock booster bracket may get it all up high enough not to worry about.

      I had to extend my brake light wires when I mounted my prop valve down on the frame but looks like yours can stay stock - cool.

      Can't wait to hear your comments after the first disc brake drive.....

      Eric
      Thanks, Eric!

      I was thinking the very same thing about the heat shield. Hopefully I'll get this whole thing buttoned up in the next few weekends so I can do some fall driving.
      VTCI# 11860
      58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

      60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

      Comment

      • NYsquarebird58
        Experienced
        • Feb 6 2012
        • 352

        #63
        A few more pics of the booster/MC setup.



        VTCI# 11860
        58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

        60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

        Comment

        • NYsquarebird58
          Experienced
          • Feb 6 2012
          • 352

          #64
          Here you go Dave!

          Some pics of the factory booster bracket.











          VTCI# 11860
          58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

          60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

          Comment

          • simplyconnected
            Administrator
            • May 26 2009
            • 8778

            #65
            Oh! I see, now... the bottom uses a shoulder bolt which means you crank the nut tight and the middle link still pivots freely. Very nice. This setup also makes it easy to chrome all your parts later on, if you want.

            Your setup looks very professional. Nice work. - Dave
            Member, Sons of the American Revolution

            CLICK HERE to see my custom hydraulic roller 390 FE build.

            "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
            --Lee Iacocca

            From: Royal Oak, Michigan

            Comment

            • NYsquarebird58
              Experienced
              • Feb 6 2012
              • 352

              #66
              Thanks, Dave!

              Here's a pic of the freshly painted Booster bracket. I'm going polish and grease that pivot bolt before I put it all back together.

              I've got some Moly Paste that I'll probably use for lube.

              VTCI# 11860
              58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

              60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

              Comment

              • NYsquarebird58
                Experienced
                • Feb 6 2012
                • 352

                #67
                Booster Bracket Fabrication

                The jeep bracket I was originally going to use wouldn’t work without having to do some cutting and welding, and since I don’t know how to weld yet, I decided to see if I could fabricate a bracket out of material I had laying around.

                I needed to make a two inch spacer to push the booster farther away from the firewall so decided to uses these 2” hitches I had laying around.

                (Don’t worry I only really sacrificed one hitch, The one pictured left was bent from being overloaded. The one on the right lived on my truck for the past 7+ years, was rusty, and was due for replacement soon anyway)


                Here I am cutting a section off the bent hitch. I was able to cut the straight piece I needed right before the bent section.




                I put a 7 inch cutoff wheel on my table saw and ripped the tubing to my desired dimensions.


                Here are the newly cut sections. Notice that the flanges on one side are taller. This is because the bolt pattern on the Ford booster bracket is slightly wider than that of the new booster. (You’ll see what I mean in the next couple of pictures)


                I used a wire brush attachment on my angle grinder to remove all the old paint and rust.


                I then ground, filed and sanded all the rough cut edges smooth,


                Here are the brackets with the holes drilled on the booster side.


                You can tell that these brackets were made from an old trailer hitch. Notice the hole in the center of the bracket where the hitch pin would have gone.


                It was important to drill the holes just right. If the holes were too close to the inside radius of the bend, the shoulders on the nuts would hit and the nuts would not sit flush when tightened.


                I waited to drill the holes on the firewall side of the bracket until I had a chance to mock the unit up to the Ford bracket on the car and scribe the holes.


                Holes on the firewall side of the bracket drilled.




                Notice how the holes on the firewall side of the bracket are farther out than the holes on the booster side.




                It was raining pretty heavy today, but I was able to get outside tonight to test fit everything while it was drizzling.


                All ready for paint.


                Two coates of gloss black enamel and I’m off to bed.
                VTCI# 11860
                58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

                60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

                Comment

                • byersmtrco
                  Super-Experienced
                  • Sep 28 2004
                  • 1839

                  #68
                  Ah !!! Memories !!!
                  Of one of the biggest cans worms I've
                  ever opened !!! But . . . at least she stops
                  good.

                  Glad yer ok.
                  Your project looks good. You'll be happy end result.
                  Hope you kept some strong pain killers for the migraine
                  or two you're sure to get.
                  Wanna triple your fun? Add sway bars at the same time.

                  Comment

                  • DKheld
                    Super-Experienced
                    • Aug 27 2008
                    • 1583

                    #69
                    Genius - shear genius.

                    Yep - the disc brake conversion is 1 can of worms.

                    Adding factory air to a non-A/C car is a whole case....

                    Man - you're going to be back on the road before you know it.

                    Eric

                    Comment

                    • Guest

                      #70
                      Nice job ...

                      kinda fun making your own parts. I never throw away steel, you will always find somewhere to use it. Mike

                      Comment

                      • keith
                        Super-Experienced
                        • Feb 13 2010
                        • 564

                        #71
                        That looks fantastic. The table saw trick is a new one on me.
                        Keith
                        Sedalia, Mo.
                        sigpic
                        CLICK HERE for Keith's web site

                        Comment

                        • NYsquarebird58
                          Experienced
                          • Feb 6 2012
                          • 352

                          #72
                          Originally posted by byersmtrco
                          Ah !!! Memories !!!
                          Of one of the biggest cans worms I've
                          ever opened !!! But . . . at least she stops
                          good.

                          Glad yer ok.
                          Your project looks good. You'll be happy end result.
                          Hope you kept some strong pain killers for the migraine
                          or two you're sure to get.
                          Wanna triple your fun? Add sway bars at the same time.
                          Ha! Wish I had those painkillers yesterday. I was getting a migraine trying to figure out where I could source some 2"x2" square tubing on a Saturday.

                          It finally came to me when I was sitting on the steps looking out at the driveway. I looked at the back of my Suburban, saw the hitch and the light bulb went off! It tell ya', it was a eureka moment!
                          VTCI# 11860
                          58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

                          60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

                          Comment

                          • NYsquarebird58
                            Experienced
                            • Feb 6 2012
                            • 352

                            #73
                            Originally posted by keith
                            That looks fantastic. The table saw trick is a new one on me.
                            Thanks Keith! I've never really fabbed anything out of metal before, but I've built all kinds of things out of wood over the years. I guess using the table saw for repeated precise cuts just seemed logical to me.

                            This whole thing was a big learning curve for me. I know it probably sounds silly, but the most challenging part for me was drilling the holes. I just couldn't get that 3/8" drill bit to drill all the way through that 1/4" steel. I burned up a few bits on the first hole alone.

                            I thought I was doing it correctly. I started with small bits and worked my way up, but by the time I got to 5/16", I was having a hard time cutting through.

                            I called Dave up and he was able to diagnosed my problem. It turns out I was drilling too fast. I slowed that drilled down, applied more pressure and boy that made a world of difference.
                            VTCI# 11860
                            58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

                            60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

                            Comment

                            • NYsquarebird58
                              Experienced
                              • Feb 6 2012
                              • 352

                              #74
                              Originally posted by DKheld
                              Genius - shear genius.

                              Yep - the disc brake conversion is 1 can of worms.

                              Adding factory air to a non-A/C car is a whole case....

                              Man - you're going to be back on the road before you know it.

                              Eric
                              Thanks Eric! I'm hoping to be able to cruise this old bird before winter comes.
                              VTCI# 11860
                              58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

                              60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

                              Comment

                              • NYsquarebird58
                                Experienced
                                • Feb 6 2012
                                • 352

                                #75
                                Originally posted by gaffney1951
                                kinda fun making your own parts. I never throw away steel, you will always find somewhere to use it. Mike
                                Very true. With what I learned yesterday, I'm sure I'll be taking on more metal working projects in the future.

                                Now I've just gotta' get my hands on a welder...
                                VTCI# 11860
                                58HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37043 (Sold)

                                60HT - Thunderbird Registry Number: 37252 "Lucille" (Sold)

                                Comment

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