1952-59 Ford 56 Fairlane front disc brake question

Been looking around, but no luck. Can anyone tell me if a set of 1970 Mustang spindles will bolt onto my 56 Fairlane? A buddy has a set that I can get cheap if they will work. Thanks in advance.

 

buy them, might cause a little bump steer

 

They will work just fine - they will need the lower tapers opened up to the bigger "pin" size of the earlier car ball joints though. The original wheels for your outfit will have a smaller hole in the center - so (***uming disc brakes) the brake rotors will need a bit of turning done to reduce the size of the pilot - its not a big deal. And some later wheels will fit on there anyway, unmodified.

The 65-66 Mustang spindles wouldn't be such a good choice - different steering geometry and the outer most stub of the spindle is smaller.

 

Thanks guys. May just go the Aerostar coil route and see how that looks. I really appreciate the answers.

 

F91 70 mustang spindles are like granada spindles, they will work fine. They have different calipers and caliper brackets. If you are interested I can perform the machine work to give you either an 1 1/2" or 2 1/2" drop. You can also use 70 mustang rotors, and not cut the hub. They are the right size to fit stock wheels. Dave daverace@sbglobal.net

 

Sorry, e mail daverace@sbcglobal.net

 

I have a 55 and would love to have disc brakes without having to buy one of those over priced kits .
So can anyone put the list together for the parts we will need to change them over WITHOUT having to use Granada spindles .
I read someplace that Maverick might work as well .

Any thoughts or comments from people that have Actually done the disc brake conversion will be very helpful !
Also will the spindles fit without any changes .
I am also going to us Aerostar springs as well .

Thanks ahead of time .
Jim

 

Jim,
I used the Maverick spindles on my '54.
The Maverick spindles are the same as Granada except the tie rod holes are smaller. Both spindles would need the lower ball joint hole reamed to fit your '55, and the Maverick would need the tie rod hole reamed also.
Speedway sells the 7 degree reamer needed to open up the holes. I think it is about $70. Either the Granada or the Maverick is a very economical way to go for front disc brakes. Use all stock components and if you can find a "donor" car you are in business. If you decide to do this and don't have the reamer, and don't think you could justify buying one for just one job, PM me.

 

Thanks for all the input and offers guys. I'm still debating on doing the spindles. Here the old girl that's getting worked on-

 

Jim, I used the front discs from a 72 LTD, bolted right on with no modifications at all. If you can find one, it's a cheap way to go, under $100.

 

Hi! I used 1972 LTD spindles an ford Bronco caliper! I had to hand mill for fit the nut to ball joint (5mm) for fit everything!

 

Man, I hope you,ve gotten that thing out of the mud before it disappears.

 

Thanks sting ! Sounds like that would be a lot easier and cheaper than going with the Granada spindles . Guys want too much for them at swap meets .
I have wondered about the Maverick since they were used on some Mustangs as well .
Did you use all sock parts front the 72 LTD ?
If all the mods that needs to be done is the reamer then that should pretty much be an easy swap then , unless I am missing something .
What bolt pattern is the wheels for the LTD ?

Jim

 

Jim, I did nothing but bolt the parts on, all stock parts, no mods at all, no reaming.
Bolt pattern is 5 on 4½.
My neighbor is a whiz with everything. We went to the junk yard with a tape measure and tools, he said, this looks like it will fit and we took the parts. I did have to go back for the wheels as the stock 56 wheel opening is too small.

 

I wanted to make sure about the wheels since I just got 5 tires and wheels for my 55 Ford .
Now all I need to do is find a 1972 Ford sitting in someone's back yard they don't want anymore . All the salvage yards around here don't keep anything that old .

OK if anyone has a pair that you don't need much for please keep me in mind . I am on disability and the check I get isn't very much . I can trade sbf parts for them or do you some good work for them if you don't live to awful far away . I do barter a lot for the parts I need .

You will also find me at the Jalopy Showdown every year , the Carsile FORD show as a vendor and in Hershey at the AACA show in OCT . I can meet you at any of those places .

Thanks for all the great help and advise on the 72 LTD disc brake swap !

Jim

 

Would it be only 72 that would fit? I expect the same frontend was in other years too. If somebody that has a Hollander's Interchange Manual could check it out for us, it would be great.

 

I'm sure there has to be other years than just 72. Mercury equivalents too. I've alreay started looking on Craigslist.

 

The-stig
Hi, Is it possible for you to show a picture of your disc brakes installed on your 55 ford? The parts guy at napa said the lower ball joint on a 72 ford is a lot bigger and that the spindles won't fit on my ford wagon. He said that lincoln versailles will bolt on to a 54 or 55 ford. Are you running 14" or 15" rims? Thank you for your help, Dave

 

Do a google search for 57 ford/Bob Lewis he covers the granada spindle swap very well, if memory serves me right he also lists parts numbers in case you need seals etc....

 

Sorry to take so long to answer, I will try and get pics up by this weekend. I've been called out of retirement and have been working (I hate it when that happens).

 

I found a 'street rod' bracket on ebay that Im going to get and try the set up on one of my Stangs. It uses the original hubs with Toyota Previa rotors, Celebrity calipers and pads, and Eldorado hoses. For the brackets and parts I listed the whole thing can be done for $250 plus master cylinder. There's alot of ways to skin a cat!

 

A bit of a frankecat, but skinned nonetheless, I guess.

 

Another question on the spindles for those in the know; Would '72 Mustang spindles work the same as the LTD, Granada, Maverick spindles i.e. bump-steer, geometry etc?

 

72 Mustang spindles have all the same pick up points as Granada and Maveric, They take the same ball joints as maveric and granada. These can be machined to fit 54 thru 56 fords. Depending on how they are machined, you can get 1 1/2" or 2 1/2" drop. You can use all 72 mustang brake parts, rotors, calipers,pads,and seals and can run most stock 15" wheels and 14" disc brake wheels. Dave

 

Thanks Dave!

 

I installed a set of 69 Cougar disk brake spindles on my 56. I made sheetmetal cones to space one of the diferences in diameters. The brakes worked fine and it steered ok. However it would eat the inside of the front tires off in about 2500 miles. At first I thought it was something out of alignment or bad parts. After the second set of tires I conceded it was the geometry. It must have dragged the outside tire on a turn and scrubbed off the inside edge. The steering arm joint is in quite a diferent place.
Since then I found out that 70 chevelle rotors bolt right onto the Ford spindles. I made my own caliper brackets with B body calipers and changed the 9" rear to matching Chev bolt pattern.

 

Finally got around to taking pictures of the 72 LTD brakes.
I had forgotten that the original ball joint was smaller than the spindle from the LTD and I had to add a ½" spacer to the ball joint so the castle nut would line up with the cotter pin.

Rotor and caliper.


Top of spindle.


Bottom of spindle with ½" spacer.

 

I just did the Aerostar springs, Granada 1.5" drop spindle, disc brake upgrade with 2 piston calipers dual master cylinder & sway bar(Got the spindles, master cylinder & disc brake kit & sway bar from NascarDave). In my opinion very affordable and customer support was top notch, I had many questions and Dave was on the spot with the answer. I will post pic's as soon as I figure out how.

 

Great pictures, Stig, thank you for posting!

 

Does this work for a '55 Merc wagon as well?