Disc brake conversion options

[Breadfan]

My dad has a '65 Park Lane Marauder and we're going through the brake system as the weather warms up.

I'd like to see what options there might be for upgrading the front brakes to disc - they're drums all the way around.

Has anyone done this on an older Merc, are there off the shelf parts from newer cars that can be used?

I figure I'll hit google up, but wanted to know if anyone has tips for a DIY disc brake upgrade. Kits are an option if they exist, but I was wondering if it could be done with off the shelf Ford parts rather than a custom big brake upgrade.

[ckadiddle]

No clues from me, but I can imagine it would be MUCH better to have a 4 wheel disc brake setup on that heavy beast.

[X369]

Mike,
I had planned on doing this to a 64 that was stolen and never recovered a few years ago. At the time I was hoping that a Lincoln front end transplant would work but never found out for sure. Does the 65 have a single cylinder master cylinder or power brakes? Good luck! Keep us posted.
Ron

[Zack]

I have a dual master cylinder on my 59 caddy with 4 wheel drums and it stops better than a stock MM.

[prchrman]

If the car does not pull left or right during hard braking I would leave it...the problem with front drums with some vehicles is that they tend to pull left or right during hard braking...also cost vs benefit comes into play...and is the car more valuable original than with mods...willie

[Breadfan]

Mike,
I had planned on doing this to a 64 that was stolen and never recovered a few years ago. At the time I was hoping that a Lincoln front end transplant would work but never found out for sure. Does the 65 have a single cylinder master cylinder or power brakes? Good luck! Keep us posted.
Ron

It has power brakes, and the master cylinder looks like this one: http://www.cardone.com/English/club/products/webcat/imageinfo.asp?PARTNUM=1039626

Sounds like you were going down the path I was wondering about, aside from a whole front end swap I was curious if spindles from a later car would fit, along with a different master cylinder and proportioning valve.


I have a dual master cylinder on my 59 caddy with 4 wheel drums and it stops better than a stock MM.

Honestly you have a point here, the car will never be a road racer by any stretch. From what I have read a good set of drums will be just about equal to the stopping power of oem style discs. The big difference will be in repeated stops and fade/heat.

The current brakes look pretty decent, previous owner must have just gone through them, they look to have new shoes and wheel cylinders, etc.

However, last time I drove it, there was something wrong and there was hardly any power brakes, I'm a big guy and it took me alot of effort to get the brakes to grab.

As a result we are going through the brakes, checking the booster. We're going to inspect and/or replace the master cylinder (so cheap we will probably replace), check vacuum to the booster, replace the booster if necessary, check all the brake lines, and flush the brake system.

All this talk reignited my wonder about doing a disc conversion on it. :)

[fast Ed]

Listing for a 60 - 68 Galaxie here:

http://www.scarebird.com/12802/22632.html

So that may work for the Merc as well I'm thinking. :)


cheers
Ed N.

[Breadfan]

Listing for a 60 - 68 Galaxie here:

http://www.scarebird.com/12802/22632.html

So that may work for the Merc as well I'm thinking. :)


cheers
Ed N.

Cool thanks! Yes those may be the same!

Appreciate the link, I googled and didn't find that. I just about HATE searching for car stuff on the Internet these days, 99.9% of the returns are junk or ads or con-artists. :bigcry:

I hate searching for something like "Marauder brake upgrades" and finding links to sites like this:

h--p://www.OMG-MARAUDER_BIG_BRAKES-BEARANDWILWOOD-FITS_hondacivics-too-LOL-1337-ricemagic-STEALYOURidentity.com

That's why forums are such a great place for info.

[Zack]

You'd be surprised how far a good set of new wheel cylinders and brake hoses will transform the braking of an old car.

[Dragcity]

My '65 Thunderbird has factory front disk brakes, dual piston to boot. Maybe a set of those would work. I know the Thunderchicken stops very well.

[X369]

Yes, that is the same master cylinder. Have you looked at mercurymarauder.org? - could be a good resource for you. You asked about spindles and reminded me of one morning headed to work when I stopped at a red light and the right front wheel kept going - spindle broke!:eek:

Ron

[Breadfan]

I tried to register there but never got an approval message when I tried to sign up...

...perhaps my email spam-blocked it...I will have to try again. :)

[stanchfi]

I've got some info on 60-64 full sized merc brake conversion on my site that might help.

http://www.mercurystuff.com/brake-conversion.html

Since the sister cars were the Galaxies, and slightly more popular, you might also want to look for kits for them.

-James
www.mercurystuff.com

[Breadfan]

Thank you! That is great info!

And, this is much what I was thinking, that there are going to be off the shelf parts that would work, that things like spindles from newer cars would be very similar and/or fit, part's bin sorta stuff.

[whd507]

my 66 colony park had disks, and I know 67s had a 4-piston caliper option, so it should be a simple swap onto a 65. unless you display the build sheet, nobody would know if it were original or not.

65-69 lincoln brakes will not work, huge 4-piston calipers but no way to mount them on the ford/merc chassis

[whd507]

68-72 full size stuff is a very very similar setup, and might bolt up, but has a bigger center hole for the wheel, so your original rims wont bolt up to the disks.

[wfritchen]

Thank you! That is great info!

And, this is much what I was thinking, that there are going to be off the shelf parts that would work, that things like spindles from newer cars would be very similar and/or fit, part's bin sorta stuff.

When I did the math on scavenging old parts, adding in a few new parts (rotors, pads, bearings, etc) the kits started looking pretty good. Also I had a real hard time finding a donor car, so that made my decision easier. Not many of the old Granadas and Montegos left in the salvage yards.

Take a look at www.mpbrakes.com (http://www.mpbrakes.com). even if you don't buy their kit, there is some great tech information on here. I went with this kit because it bolts right onto my stock spindles. (OK I haven't installed it yet, but I'm just waiting for spring to move the car to my brother's shop. All we need is a good hard rain to wash the road salt away.....)

[Breadfan]

When I did the math on scavenging old parts, adding in a few new parts (rotors, pads, bearings, etc) the kits started looking pretty good. Also I had a real hard time finding a donor car, so that made my decision easier. Not many of the old Granadas and Montegos left in the salvage yards.

Take a look at www.mpbrakes.com (http://www.mpbrakes.com). even if you don't buy their kit, there is some great tech information on here. I went with this kit because it bolts right onto my stock spindles. (OK I haven't installed it yet, but I'm just waiting for spring to move the car to my brother's shop. All we need is a good hard rain to wash the road salt away.....)

Thank you for the link! Actually checking their prices, that is very reasonable for a bolt on kit that takes away fishing through used parts and trying to find these cars in yards.

[RCSignals]

I have a dual master cylinder on my 59 caddy with 4 wheel drums and it stops better than a stock MM.

that's because drum brakes are better, until they fade

[RCSignals]

In the mid 60s ford started putting front disc brakes on some of their cars. there may be something that will work for you.

Other than that you can try companies like Stainless steel Brake. they have retrofit kits fr many applications.

For my '57 Ford, I know front spindles and disc brakes from cars such as Lincoln Versailles and mid '70s era Torino's and Montego's can be used. Sometimes Ball joint taper sockets need reaming.

[Thomas C Potter]

Late 65's through 67 use the KH 4 piston caliper. Make sure you get the wheels for 65-67 disc brake, and of course the master cyl. Those 4 piston calipers are expensive to have rebuilt. 68's went to 'typical' single piston. The 68 parts will bolt to 65. Do not get all excited about the factory 'proportioning valve', it is simply a pressure differential monitor for front/rear pressures. I'm not sure 69 and up will truly bolt-on. In addition to longer wheelbase for 69, ther may have been some subtle changes to suspension/spindles etc. If you want to see my 68XL with 67 manual disc set-up, let me know.

TP with 68XL and LTD, Oakton VA