first off i'd like to say that i really enjoy this site. there are some extremely talented people and a wealth of knowledge here. with that said i hoping to find help in finding some information as messing with this old stuff is completely new to me. i picked up a 36 ford, what i'm guessing is a 1.5 ton truck. i'm looking to do a disc brake swap in the front. i couldn't find any info on the dimesions of my axle or if anybody has done a swap using this axle. could other spindles be swapped to it that can accept a common disc brake kit? i really hope so, that way i can use all of the stuff that i already have. any info is greatly appreciated.
If it has the standard axle and not the big one, later round or square spindles are a factory swap. The 36 regular truck and car spindles are a one year only, and any disc swap will be a custom setup. If it is the larger axle and spindle a disc setup is doable, but again a custom one.
i'm ***uming its the larger axle but is there a tell for sure? also, whats the best way of piecing a kit together? are we talking machining the stock spindles that i have?
Pick a rotor/hub combo with the bolt pattern that you want and measure the id of it and the od of the spindle on both sides and get bearings that have the right dimentions. You would need to go to a place that sells bearings and the like and they will find the bearings and seal to match. If you are lucky you may find a rotor with an id that may match one or both the origonal bearings you have. Most aftermarket disc kits use the gm calipers, they are cheap and easy to get. Set the caliper on the rotor where it has clearance and fab some 1/4" steel brackets that mount to the spindle/backing plate holes. There will be abit of searching and measuring to find the parts and a little fab but its totally doable. I would take a spindle to a wrecking yard and find some rotors that have the right bolt pattern and width.
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