1952-59 Ford Disc Brake Conversion

As I finishing prepping everything before I start putting it all back together I am looking at the parts I received form Jamco and trying to figure out how it all goes together. I see that the part with the bracket will attach to the frame but I don't see how the other end attaches to the caliper. I am ***uming I am missing something.

 

Thats real interesting, that almost looks like a rear end brake line. Either way, I just used stock granada brake hoses, which is what everyone else used that I read about. The hose just screws into the caliper, no mounting bracket.

You should already have a factory hole/slot on the frame where the brake hose where fit into and then secure it with a horseshoe type clip. like this pic below



and this



Here is what the granada hose look like



Here you can see it just screwed into the caliper

 

So they didn't send me the correct brake lines. This whole thing with Jamco has been a nightmare from the begging. Well I may try to contact them and see if they will send me the right brakes lines, if not I will go and get a new set.

 

Maybe they use something different, but I dont know how you could use those lines you have with the granada calipers. Man that thing looks like a rear end brake hose.

 

The Granada hoses will face forward (towards the front of the car). The hoses that were supplied with the kit will exit towards the motor. I installed this set up on a 54 ford and had to machine the caliper where the hose screws in. There was a bit of a lip which would not allow the banjo end to seat. The stock granada hose will work but it points towards the front and you want the brake lines to go to the rear, somewhere near the master cylinder.

greg

 

So Greg if I am hearing you right this is the right hose but some machining may need to be done? How does the hose connect to the caliper?

 

My calipers are different then the ones shown in the picture from ctfortner.

 

1 hot
I had to get a proper bolt and crush washers for the banjo fitting. it was from Earl's - a 7/16" by 24 tpi single banjo bolt. I'm ***uming that the Granada calipers are the same as you have.

 

Ok thanks. I will still call Jamco and see if this was something that should have come with the kit. If not I will pick up the one from Earl's.

 

I would definitely double check with them, I have only done a couple of these swaps so maybe yours is different, if yours is a 54, mine is a 56. I would think the calipers would be the same for either one, if your using 75-80 granada parts though. But maybe thats the difference, I just got my calipers from local auto parts store for a granada, no clue what jamco is using.

If you go to e bay and look up Item number:350361685022 you will see the parts, which is exactly the same parts I used (not from here though) but my point is it shows the same calipers and brake hoses I used. Its for a 1954 also.

Here is some links to look through also, maybe will help some

http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=311&SID=8

http://www.webrodder.com/article.php?AID=44&SID=60

Here is a kit which specifies its the same kit for 1954-1956

http://www.braketechsolutions.com/1954_1972_full_size_ford_disc_kits?b=1

this doc helped me a ton doing my installation, check out the bottom one for granada swap

http://www.discbrakeswap.com/instructions

Good luck, let us know what they say.

 

I'm not understanding. If this is a "Kit" from Jamco, shouldn't all the correct parts and machining be done. I would give them a call...

 

Tried contacting them but they are closed until June 14th. So I will try to get a hold of them then. I looked at their website at the brake kit I bought. The hose looks right it, so it looks like it is just missing the banjo bolts. Which looked included in the picture.

 

You know, it funny, but when I was a kid and had my 55 Ford, I drove it like I stole it, and somehow always got it stopped before hittin something. And it was all stock. Now that I'm an old fart, gonna drive my wagon like a little old lady, and gotta have power disc up front, and all the other safety stuff.

 

The caliper and hoses I see apear to be 68 mustang, they take a banjo bolt and fitting to conect to the calipers. Is this a bolt on kit that you bought or is it a drop spindle kit? Is it possible to show more pictures of the spindles,rotors and calipers?

 

I have a Jamco kit on my 53 along with their a-arm kit. I just went out to the shop and looked at my 53 and that hose is not the right hose. The hoses you need are from the pictures that ctfortner posted from Rod and Custom. I do know that jamco is sometimes hard to reach but contact Jim Genty personally and have him get you set up properly.

 

Some of you may have seen my post about disc VS drum stopping distances and why I thought the Granada swap was a waste due to the loss of total contact area.Last night I got a Y-blocks Forever message post backing that up,He had a '55 that He had added the power brake and dual master unit to and then added the disc swap and he lost a noticeable amount of stopping distance after the swap.He also owns a '56 and stated "lesson learned" I won't be repeating that mistake.

 

Jeff: While I totally agree with your opinion that drum brakes can work as well as disc brakes...if one disregards heat-induced brake fade...I think that the gentleman you quote as having "learned his lesson" is mistaken.

I suspect that the reason he "lost a noticeable amount of stopping distance" (which I think he mis-stated as meaning he gained a noticeable amount of stopping distance) is due to an installation error, not the inherant superiority of one system over another.

Unless he selected significantly smaller rotors and/or calipers, he might not have have gained stopping power, but he should not have lost any, if the installation was done correctly.

I'd suspect he has plumbed the installation wrong, disregarded the need for residual pressure valves, mis-matched the master cylinder bore/caliper bore/rear wheel cylinder bore sizes or improperly bled the system. Or perhaps committed one or more of the countless other mistakes which can lead to reduced stopping power from an otherwise well-designed system.

It is also possible that he failed to allow his new brakes to break-in before performing his stopping power comparison. Maybe he didn't test them at all, but allowed himself an unscientific seat-of-the-pants comparison which may or may not be valid.

In any case, I would take his testimony with a very large s****ful of salt until I was absolutely certain his disc/drum installation was performed correctly.

 

There is also an element missing,and that may lie in the quality of the pad/shoe material furnished in the conversion kits.A vendor who I will not name gets their remanufactured calipers and pads from Checker Auto(now O'Reilly's) to use in the conversion kits,I delivered them frequently when I subcontracted deliverys for the commercial sales dept.You can reduce the fade in drum brakes by 20-25% and decrease the wear factor by having your shoes relined with Kevlar linings.

 

When I converted my drums to discs, I noticed a big difference. I made sure all the componets were matched to each other and designed to work properly together. Several things to consider... master cylinder piston diameter, pedal ratio (power vs manual), brake line diameter front and rear, proper metering valve, proportional valving for front to rear bias, and some stuff I forgot. It all matters!
When I build a car from scratch I try to get all the componets from the same car. Simply bolting on parts is a hit and miss deal, sometimes you get lucky and sometime it makes it worse.

If you aren't sure what to do.... let the pros do it!!! Not worth it to crash you pride and joy with guess work on your brakes.

my 2 cents....

 

FWIW I realize that this post is about disc brakes, but when I was doing the rear brakes on my 56 wagon, I removed the original rear end and installed a 65 Mustang rear that had just been all redone. To my surprise, the mustang had way lesss surface area of shoe/drum than the original, so reinstalled the original and changed them to self adjusting. The ratio was better too as it's a 3:56 compared to Mustangs 3:00

 

Hey Parklane! Curious?? what parts did you use to make them self adjusting? this has been brought up before but never answered.

 

Here is a picture of the ***embly. It is a dropped spindle kit.

 

That is a reproduction. A 68 mustang style disc brake set up. If you can give me a measurment of the lower ball joint opening, I can tell you if it is a drop spindle or a stock height. There is also a hose available that will conect to your steel line and the correct end for the caliper. If interested let me know.

 

Food for thought.... I had a friend crash his car this last weekend because of poor braking. He did considerable front end damage when he ran into the rear of a semi trailer because he couldn't stop. I saw the remains of his car on Sunday and noticed that he had mis-matched parts all over the car. The most important flaw was the reversed lines on the master cylinder without use of a metering valve.
This home build of wrecking yard parts cost him dearly, parts were cheap but repairs will be very costly. Thank goodness no one was hurt!

Build them right the first time fellas !!!!

 

Thanks, I will take the measurement tonight. How does this setup compare to the Granada swap that others sell. Before I bought this I asked them what setup they used and they had told me it was a Granada setup. I am still trying to get a hold of Jamco to get their take on all of this as well.

 

I took this picture of my 58 Ranchero several years ago now. Everything is factory Granada. I sent the spindles out to get the lower ball joint hole re-tapered. I have no idea what Jamco uses for calipers and hoses but you are probably comparing apples to oranges and confusing people with this picture. Nothing Jamco here.

 

Not sure what you mean by nothing Jamco here. This kit I bought came from Jamco.

 

I have not seen that setup you have before 1hot, it must be something special Jamco has put together. I think its getting a little confusing because we are all talking about our granada swaps, and granada parts we used, and posting granada pictures, but your pictures and parts look completely different than the standard auto parts store or junkyard granada parts.

Do they say this is a "granada kit" from Jamco? Or is it just a drop spindle disc brake kit? This may be my fault as I started talking about granada parts ***uming thats what you had from jamco, but looking at your pics that looks like something completely different.

 

Well I apologize for the confusion. When I called Jamco to get the lowered spindle kit I asked if they used the Granada setup. They said they did. I ***umed from that point on that I had a Granada kit. Since that apparently is not the case I will have to ask them more about it when I get a hold of them.

 

Interesting, I would like to know as well for future reference. Hope you get it all sorted out!