disc brake conversion

[white_fox]

Hi
Just talked to a friend who put a set from a 1972 Cougar on his '58.
He has 9 Squarebirds so he knows what he's doing! He said it works perfect, no problems.
Anyone tried this? Apparently parts are readily available and reasonably priced.

[Guest]

Do you know if it bolted directly to the existing spindle or did he have to replace with a cougar spindle?

[Guest]

I JUST completed this with 1980 Ford Granada spindles and rotors, along with a new brake booster, master cylinder, combination valve, and 10lbs residual valve in the rear for the drums.

Also used are Camaro brake hoses up front (direct bolt on) and different tie rods (Not Granada, they don't mate to the existing adjusting sleeve).

I'm going to break in the brakes in the next couple of days to seat the pads.....It's already a night and day difference, though!

Marc

[Guest]

I went this bolt on kit a few years back, very nice and inexpensive, but I am thinking of going with dropped spindles and not sure if my kit will work. These are options are good to know.

[white_fox]

He told me he didn't have to change anything.The spindles were perfect and everything is stock.I asked the usual questions too and he said "no problem".
After I change my wiring ,I'm going to go this route.
Currently.my low beams won't work and when I go to high beams all 4 light but after a wile all go on and off as if there's a lose connection.but I haven't figured out where the problem is and I'm getting tired of messing with 50 yr. old wires.

[bcomo]

Check the dimmer switch on the floor. Mine had corroded contacts, and I just pushed it on and off untill it cleaned itself. You may want to remove yours and check the connections.

The other thing that happened on mine, was that the bulb contacts were also corroded a little. Take the bulbs out, clean the contacts, use dialectric bulb grease on the contact blades, then insert and remove them a few times to work the grease into the socket contacts.

[byersmtrco]

I've never heard of tha setup. Sounds great if it's a bolt on. It makes sense. I've heard of Granada spindles working on earlier drum brk equipped Mustangs.
My only concern would be, if the Couger had 10" rotors. May not be quite enough stopping power. A Couger, or Mustang (same platform) weighs in close to 1000 lbs less than a Thunderbird.

If that is the case, run a pad like Raybestos Premium (red backing) or something similar.

[bcomo]

With the Cougar disk setup, do you keep the factory stock 14" wheels, or do you have to swap them for something else to clear the rotors?

[JohnG]

seems like if you or I are going to go to the trouble of converting to disk brakes then the actual components ought to be appropriate for the weight of the car and result in really first rate braking. Stuff intended for Mustangs or Granadas sounds marginal to me.

If your setup is for a car too light then repeated use may result in warped rotors, a pain. . .

My 1979 Honda cb750 motorcycle has 2 9" rotors in front.... by way of comparison. Weighs 480 pounds (without my fat a$$ on board).

I want to end up with brakes that make me glad I have a seat belt on when I really lean on 'em...

John

[Guest]

disk bakes

Ok, is there a after market company that makes a bolt on kit for the t-bird(square bird) I just put a system on a studebaker so it's not out of the question. I have power drum brakes and they scare me. It feels like the car speeds up before it slows down. They work however after driving my pontiac T/A it's system is fitted to the car. It makes me think these brakes could be alot better.

[byersmtrco]

I've brought mine (safely - in a straight line- with little or no effort) down to a halt from 80 mph. My rotors are stainless 11.2"

She stops !!! It is a different feel in the brake pedal. It's a little more effort than you would expect. Not much. What I like is NO steering wheel pull. And the back brakes never get hot any more. I'm sure the wire wheels help. A lot of open air to the drums.


Granada spindles will work (IF) you get them off a V8 Granada. Those came w/11" rotors. Just don't use 10's.

The Honda 750 analogy is a good one. Although in all fairness, the CBF900 I had (years ago) had dual discs and you could stand that thing on it's nose. It didn't even need a rear brake.

[Guest]

Ok, is there a after market company that makes a bolt on kit for the t-bird(square bird) I just put a system on a studebaker so it's not out of the question. I have power drum brakes and they scare me. It feels like the car speeds up before it slows down. They work however after driving my pontiac T/A it's system is fitted to the car. It makes me think these brakes could be alot better.

I used a kit from: http://www.abspowerbrake.com/5860tbird.html

no issues and had it running in about 1.5 - 2 hours

[Guest]

Well, just got done breaking in the brakes earlier today. All I can say is WOW! It stops in less than half the distance the **** drums used to.

For you guys who are skeptical, Granada rotors also come in almost 11" diameter (which I'm using). I'm not driving the thing in a performance road racing course, either. It's a cruiser.

(BTW, I'm an engineer and own a business that makes racing blocks and supercharger rotors for some of the fastest cars in the country; this setup, done properly, is safe and reliable.)

Now, if I was going to drop a 1,200 HP turbo'd street motor in, well, this would NOT be the brake setup I'd go with........

[tbird430]

So what did u go with for a master cylinder & pwr. brake booster?

[Guest]

Gearhead
Did you use the stock 14" Rims
If possible would you list all the different parts you use to do the job.