Brake mods...answers please...

[KULTULZ]

Ford Country Sedan 1957-1959 Base

They are costly but everything is new and complete as to say finding and restoring a 65/67 KH 4-PISTON SETUP.

1960 spindles were a SERVICE PART REPLACEMENT for the 57/59.

The GRANADA SWAP can cause alignment problems as the spindle geometry is different. It is also a sliding caliper design which can hang and cause uneven pad wear.

I just showed the system as an alternative, especially to common GM style off-shore kits.

[59meteor]

I have that same 4 piston Wilwood setup on my 59, and although the label does say 1960-68, it does fit the original spindles on my 59 perfectly, and in the Wilwood catalog, it does say fits 57-59 as well. I also had a factory front spindle and brake setup that I removed from a 77 Thunderbird, which is supposed to fit, but you need to use different outer tie rod ends, plus in talking to people that have done that swap, they were unable to gut the front suspension aligned properly, so there must be some difference in the geometry. Plus they were very heavy, and the sliding design for the calipers is rather mickey mouse. I have my Wilwood front discs, in conjunction with 10 x 2 1/2" rear drum brakes from an Explorer, and manual brake master cylinder, and it stops great.

[gasman826]

Since I already have discussed Granada style conversions several times, I won't waste everyone's time by doing it again.  I also have ran out of Granada style spindles so any future conversions will likely be Wilwood.  My current conversion was going to use KH 4 piston calipers.  I have several OEM sets of KH front disc.  After researching the availability and price of calipers or caliper rebuild kits, hardware kits, and rotors, I decided to go with a Wilwood 6 piston conversion kit for the front but stick with Crown Vic rear disc.  Price and availability are driving the choice.

[rovohn]

I have that same 4 piston Wilwood setup on my 59, and although the label does say 1960-68, it does fit the original spindles on my 59 perfectly, and in the Wilwood catalog, it does say fits 57-59 as well. I also had a factory front spindle and brake setup that I removed from a 77 Thunderbird, which is supposed to fit, but you need to use different outer tie rod ends, plus in talking to people that have done that swap, they were unable to gut the front suspension aligned properly, so there must be some difference in the geometry. Plus they were very heavy, and the sliding design for the calipers is rather mickey mouse. I have my Wilwood front discs, in conjunction with 10 x 2 1/2" rear drum brakes from an Explorer, and manual brake master cylinder, and it stops great.

I have the 77 Tbird arrangement in my '57
As far as the alignment is concerned I just removed enough shims to get the "right" amount of camber as these spindles bolted in have excessive positive camber,it's probably not perfect but I took the car on a 1,000 km trip and haven't noticed any excessive tire wear,and the car handles quite well,I did have the toe adjusted at an alignment shop due to changing the tie rod ends
I think it's is a cheaper alternative than Granada spindles as you don't have to ream for the bottom ball joint,that being said both types are getting pretty thin on the ground here in BC
John

[KULTULZ]

I also had a factory front spindle and brake setup that I removed from a 77 Thunderbird, which is supposed to fit, but you need to use different outer tie rod ends, plus in talking to people that have done that swap, they were unable to gut the front suspension aligned properly, so there must be some difference in the geometry. Plus they were very heavy, and the sliding design for the calipers is rather mickey mouse.

The trick to the TORINO SPINDLE is that FORD changed the upper ball joint positioning (machining protocol) for whatever reason (most likely in a TSB of the period) in 1979 to ease the caster/camber problem. But all years have the same CASTING ID NO. I would assume one would have to go by the DATE CASTING CODE to find a 79 or a direct donor.

Agree on disc brake design. They are meant for cheap assembly on a production car, not performance. KH is the way to go (IMO) but very costly to find and mount. The WILDWOOD setup is an easy fix for the KH availability problems. The calipers are aluminum (unsprung weight). I don't care for red calipers or the WILDWOOD marking but what are you going to do?

[59meteor]

I also find bright red calipers a little too "ricey" for my tastes as well, luckily mine came black, although since I am using 15" stock looking steel wheels with dog dish hubcaps, the calipers are not visible from the outside anyhow. As for the caliper slide design on the later 70s Thunderbird/Torino/LTD 11 etc, no idea if the problem exists with these vehicles, but I have a couple of buddies with 78/79 2 wd F350 trucks, that have had the open section of the caliper mounting brackets spread open some, which have allowed the caliper to move enough to dislodge the flat leaf spring meant to apply pressure to the caliper to keep it in place, but still provide the ability for the caliper to move to allow for pad wear. Then the caliper if free to flop around, and in the case on one friends truck, which had larger 19.5" diameter wheels, that the caliper actually fell off, got tangled up in the spinning wheel, tore off the rubber brake hose, and bounced down the road. My 74 F 350 had a similar 2 piston caliper design, (both pistons on the same side)but instead of having the open , sliding arrangement of the later trucks, my 74 had 2 large round pins, that allowed the calipers to slide, but also "captured" the caliper, as the pins rode in holes in the caliper body, as well as holes in the spindles.

[RICH MUISE]

same comment on alignment issues with my Granadas.....I have 50,000+ miles on my front tires with very even wear, should be good for another 20k I would think....car handles well, so if there's an alignment issue, other than not having enough caster, I can't imagine what it would be.

[rmk57]

  I have 1969 Fairlane, Torino disc brake spindles in mine. I had to ream the top ball joint hole larger and also ream the tie rod end hole larger. The alignment stayed pretty close also. I've been well over 100 mph in it and it's steady as a rock. Only difference in geometry I could notice comparing the two spindles side by side is the Fairlane spindles pin height sits an 3/4" higher, so your car will sit a tad lower. Even the wheel bearings and seals are the same. Mine even have the dreaded sliding calipers. I check the brakes once a year and everything seems to be wearing fine with them. I guess there could be issues if driven in salt, snow, rain year around. Only time mine gets wet is when I wash it.

[hiball3985]

same comment on alignment issues with my Granadas.....I have 50,000+ miles on my front tires with very even wear, should be good for another 20k I would think....car handles well, so if there's an alignment issue, other than not having enough caster, I can't imagine what it would be.

Just a caster problem on mine. I wish I knew that before I assembled the front end and could have corrected it. It's still pretty stable up the 90 mph max I have driven it.

[KULTULZ]

My 74 F 350 had a similar 2 piston caliper design, (both pistons on the same side)but instead of having the open , sliding arrangement of the later trucks, my 74 had 2 large round pins, that allowed the calipers to slide, but also "captured" the caliper, as the pins rode in holes in the caliper body, as well as holes in the spindles.

That is the floating design as compared to the sliding design used previously. FORD abandoned the KH design in 1967 as to cost. KH supplied the 1968 sliding caliper.

Opposed pistons are best (IMO) if one keeps the fluid clean (sticking pistons).

[KULTULZ]

  I have 1969 Fairlane, Torino disc brake spindles in mine. I had to ream the top ball joint hole larger and also ream the tie rod end hole larger. The alignment stayed pretty close also. I've been well over 100 mph in it and it's steady as a rock. Only difference in geometry I could notice comparing the two spindles side by side is the Fairlane spindles pin height sits an 3/4" higher, so your car will sit a tad lower. Even the wheel bearings and seals are the same. Mine even have the dreaded sliding calipers. I check the brakes once a year and everything seems to be wearing fine with them. I guess there could be issues if driven in salt, snow, rain year around. Only time mine gets wet is when I wash it.

This (IMO) is the way to go as they were SERVICE REPLACEMENTS for the earlier 65-67 spindles and are of a heavier design. The spindle will either take the later sliding caliper or the earlier KH 4-PISTON design.

[lalessi1]

The kit fits stock spindles. At least the kit that I bought did.

[rmk57]

This (IMO) is the way to go as they were SERVICE REPLACEMENTS for the earlier 65-67 spindles and are of a heavier design. The spindle will either take the later sliding caliper or the earlier KH 4-PISTON design.

  An even better spindle from that era would be the 1970-73 Mustang, 1970-71 Torino spindle and more than likely Cougar, Montego from those years. The spindle pin was thicker which may be better for a big block swap or more spirited driving. It requires a different bearing, larger I.D. but the same O.D dimensions. Not a big deal as your more than likely replacing that stuff anyway.