Before I order front suspension parts, front disc brake kits, booster//master cyl. , etc I have Macs & Summit catalogs BUT what I don't know is what is the "best buy -- best parts"to use for a 1962 Galaxie ?? What I do know is that you HAMBERS have enough experience so that you can recommend the best and save me countless hrs. searching to find the answers. Thank a bunch.
You will be surprised at how many suspension/steering parts your local NAPA store can get for your old Ford.You can also get pretty much anything for it brake\steering\suspension wise from Kanter auto parts,but be prepared to pay for them!
Grab yourself a Hemmings Motor News Magazine. There's tons of advertisers in there that can help supply you with almost anything.
Since I am replacing most everything going from drum to disc I would like to get a kit. It would make ordering parts much easier. Is there any brand name I should look for ?? Summit, SSBC, Right Stuff., Currie, etc. ?? For the brake booster//master cyl. and the pwr steering I think Ford will probably be the best.
Take a look at Scarebirds stuff for the disc brake conversion. The one I bought for my 64 fit real nice.
Moog carries a lot of parts for those Fords, but not all. PST has just about everything you need. Upper shaft kits are scarce at times, but the bushings are around. AVOID buying parts that are made in China or places like India. Brakes, Scarebird for sure. Wilwood makes a very nice conversion kit as well.
I hate to say this, but it's like grocery shopping. One store has milk for less and the other has bread for less. If you want to save money, you have to spend time shopping around.
I definitely don't want China/India parts. I haven't had time to ck ebay but will, $400. sounds awfully cheap compared to some that sell for $800. I don't mind spending a little more as long as I am getting quality USA parts. I can get the '62 going but I want to be sure I also can get it stopped. I'm going to do some ck'n & comparing now & get something ordered.
We've been using Napa for almost everything on our 59' Fords. Parts are great and not too expensive. We had to catalog order lower ball joints but that's the only thing they haven't carried so far in the past 15 years.
I know that my Kanter suspension parts had a lot of China stuff included. Kind of bummed about it but it did all fit.
Check with "ABS Brakes" out of Orange Cali. Their kits are decent and prices not bad. They offer brake and steering kits. Dearborn Classics have a lot of the suspension pieces for your 62' as well
I used Kanter for my Rocketbird and a year later had a squeak……found most of the rubber was shot. Very disappointed, and now having to do the job again. Did I mention how I hate to do things twice!
I sell a front disc brake kit for your car. Check out hotrodsandbrakes.com the FB-2 kit will fit your 62.
I used hotrod428's kit on my '62 Monterey (same chassis as your Galaxie). It works quite well and was easy to install. Master cylinder and booster came from Master Power Brakes. For bushings and ball joints, I ordered everything from Mac's. That was before Eckler's bought out Mac's and merged them with Dearborn Classics. At the time, the local Auto Value couldn't get upper A-arm or anti-sway bar bushings. I don't know if Mac's suppliers have changed due to the Eckler buyout. Steering is a home built GM J-Body rack and pinion conversion. That works and drives really well, but you do lose some turning radius without modifying the spindles (something to consider with a 20 ft long land yacht).
I able to find the best prices on Ebay and Amazon for the suspension parts, mostly Moog, on my 62. As for brakes, 77 T-Bird spindles and disc brakes and 78 Lincoln Mark V for the hydro-boost system.
I had a terrible time with your kit on my '59 last year. The caliper would not fit through the ears on the bracket without some machining. It looked like the plasma cutting start-stop point was in a bad place. The welded on lugs were improperly spaced and had to be forced open for the hardware to attach to my spindles. The faces of the lugs were not close to parallel with the plane of the brackets, again, the Bridgeport to the rescue. I took .030 off one of them. A word of advice, make the welded lugs as something you can lightly press into the bracket, then spot weld them in place. A threaded bung would be optimal and take care of the alignment issues. You really need some sort of checking device to make sure your product will fit without the problems I encountered. So without a power press, measuring and machining capabilities, I would have not been able to install your product on my car.
Did you use the whole unit from top ball joint to the bottom from the '77 Bird ?? My suspension is solid as new so there is no reason for me to change out the ball joints. I'll just get a disc brake kit. I do have another question - most of the booster/MC kits have an 8" booster, the original booster in my car is a 9". What that tells me is that with disc brakes I don't need as large a booster. A 8" is sufficient. Right ??
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