I've hear that the Lincoln Mark VII rear disk assembly would bolt right onto a 8" axle housing. Is this true? if so what exactly would I need to do? I did the front granada swap which requared tie-rod ends and a adapter for my brake line... will it bolt right in and what extra parts would I need if any? thanx
Some folks claim to have used late 90s Explorer rear discs. Some have claimed the late Crown Vics will work too. Supposedly the bolt flange pattern is close enough that just opening up the metric holes with a drill, up to standard bolt size, that they will bolt on. I know that the later discs are far lighter in weight than say a Versilles rear disc swap. Those are considerably heavier than even 11" drums. On the Mustang boards, folks have thrown out things like: Crown Vics only work on 8" and small bearing 9" and Explorer discs only work on Torino bearing 9" Then, you have folks that swear up and down that they have Exploder discs on their 8" or small bearing 9"... So you don't know quite who to believe. Best thing to do IMO is take a backing plate retainer with you when you go parts hunting and see if the bolts line up close or not. The later stuff will have metric bolt holes, and the bolts are slightly smaller, so you know that you will have to drill them out a hair no matter what. Let us know! Good luck Dave
I hate to highjack the thread but if a rotor will bolt on to your hub shouldnt you be able to make it work on the rear? I have toyed with the idea of using front rotors on the rear of my car. I'm sure there will be a little machining and welding involved but does anyone think this is feasable of course with a adjustable proportioning valve.Lets get a good discussion going on this one.
disc brakes rear a 1980 81 lincoln rear is a bolt in replacement to the maverick 8 inch rear...but you need lines perportion valve etc to make it work, we put one in a 73 grabber few years ago we used whole rear end....Jim Versailles rearend.:bananaman :bananaman :bananaman :bananaman
Rear discs in a street Mav.- it looks cool but I realy do not think that the braking would be any better (it may be worse in some cases) than using 11"x2 1/2 drums (in rear ,disc in front) .Isn't that what Shelby did on early Stangs? Sure I would like to say that I have a 9" rear disc. but for the money and trouble I would say it is not worth it. This is for a street car with less than 400 HP.A well built 8" with big drums will work just great. A 9" rear weighs more too. The 8.8 rear would be a better choice than the 9" ,less weight. Of course.... this is just my 2cents.
Is there a larger drum that can be used on a 8" rear,say a set of drums from a station wagon or such??
Yes just be sure to find ones that have the 4 1/2" bolt patern and yes you will need the backing plates too.Mostly found on sta. wags. some full size sedans, like 76-79 torino/montego wagons,LTDs,T-birds,ect. A lot of the full size cars had the 5" bolt pattern but not all, you just have to look around. The drums and hardware can all be bought new (NAPA).
Couple of corrections: The 9" rear is only slighty, emphasis on slightly, heavier than an 8" rear! The 8.8" rear is heavier, or at least as heavy according to technical specs I have found. The 8.8" is far from a bolt in. Requires much fabbing. The Versilles rear discs are very heavy. About 10#s per side heavier compared to large drums or late model discs. Using front brakes on the rear is a whole bag of trouble compared to just pulling a set of late model rear discs and bolting them in. Getting a hub to fit the rear bolt pattern is not too difficult... it is the caliper and mounts for the caliper that is important. I wouldn't trust my welding anyway on a life or death part like brake caliper mounts. This thread isn't really about going to a different rear, but if that is where the conversation is turning, it is quick and cheap to have your 8" tubes and axles transferred to a 9" housing center. Then a standard chunk with 28 splines is all you need for a very stout street rear. Throw on the cheap (and lightweight) Exploder disc conversion and you have a very cool setup. As for proportioning valve... I have thought about it, you should be fine with a drum/drum valve when using disc/disc. The disc/drum would be the one to stay away from. There is a cheap small bearing conversion to 11x2.5 drums that is direct bolt on for the 8" or small bearing 9". Check around Mustang sites for the parts needed. I don't recall the donor car. Dave
