Disc brake conversion for 1956 ford fairlane

That looks like our 67 and 68 Falcons. I think in 69 or 70 they made few Falcons but they looked like Mavericks.
None after that.
Our Granadas are a boxy sort of car nothing fancy at all. They went from 74? or 75-79 if you want brakes, the 80-81 models were different.
Mercury Marquis of the same years was the same brakes.

 

hotrod428 brake kit looks like a good deal.
Here in NZ we use early 70s to late 70s falcon stubs and brakes , must be the same as granada as the fit up procedure is the same .I have some on a 57 , it works OK. Put some on a 54 ford though and it didnt work . There must be geometry differences as when it was on the shop floor with no springs to test it out we got horrible bump steer 1/4" or more toe in for every 3/4 travel up. So made my own disc adaption to the original stubs.
With the granada setup 14" steel wheels fit ok. But on my 54 I am using wilwood calipers on 12"dai. 1975 ford rear rotors on the front and the caliper wont clear 14" steels or even 14" mags ( as mags have less step on the inside) The rear is also disc (because i already had this stuff.) this is from a 94 v8 ford and the calipers wont clear 14" rims either.

 

IIRC Aussie Falcon early disc spindles will be the same as 70-73 Mustang/Cougar and 70-71 Torino-Montego. Similar spindles but different brakes.

 

I had 14 inch chrome reverse rims that fit the Granada conversion that I did. Now I have American 14 inch and they cleared ok.

 

I just finished installing spindles and disc brakes off a '72 Mercury Montego on Ozelle the '55 Ford, easy swap. Later found a '68 big LTD with front discs, appears to be same as what I pulled off the Mercury Montego. Bigger rotors and calipers than the Granada setup. Hardest part was getting the ball joints apart to remove the original spindles. Parents bought the car new, original ball joints still on it. Never had been apart.

 

Get in touch with this guy, he will be glad to help ya:
http://www.dropnstop.com/

 

I got basically the same kit that you are looking at on ebay. Straight bolt on with no problems. Granada spindles, rotors, calipers, dust shields, bearings, seals, booster, master, and prop. valve.

 

Can anyone tell me which NON-power dual master cylinder would be the easiest installation (and best braking) for my stock '56 Squire (292 FOM)? Also, I'd like to keep the drums. While I like originality I think maybe I'd be more comfortable with a dual cylinder after all.... Thanks.

 

Intro....

 

One benefit of the granada swap is that it is supposed to lower the front of the car a couple of inches. At least that is what I have read. Can anyone confirm that?

 

One other note I remembered after doing some searches. From what I understand the reason you can't run the original rim with a brake conversion is the ID of the original wheel center is too small to fit over the newer brake rotors. The reason I post this is because almost every thread I have read about brake conversions the question come up about why you can't run the original wheels. It doesn't necessarily have to do with the caliper room or rotor size.

Hope this helps.

 

I have granada discs on my 55 sunliner and a maverick 8 inch in the rear and I dont think it stops any better then with the original drum brakes,I know the maverick brakes are smaller then the originals and some day when I get the time I am going to find some larger brakes that will bolt on to the rear and might go back to drums when the Y block goes back in. It stops decent but I was expecting a improvement which I think did not happen.

 

We make a bolt on kit, sent you a PM.

 

Will the stuff you guys are using work on a 1954 Mercury?

 

Im not too sure how much different the mercs were. I am pretty sure the 55-56 ford and mercs most was interchangeable but like i said. not very sure on the earlier ones.

 

I just installed a kit from Scarebird - brackets, bearing spacers and parts list. Most of the parts (rotors, bearings etc) were inexpensive from Rock Auto.

I went ahead and put in a 7" booster w/ the dual master and proportioning valve but now understand that using a dual master w/ 7/8" piston would not have needed booster.

 

Please tell me it was a dual 7" booster; single 7's are good for go-carts and little else.

 

Yes, DUAL 7" booster

 

*whew*

 

Appreciate the info on brakes. My 56 Victoria brakes seem to fade after a coupla hard pushes. Will the brake booster fix this? Also the part I found at AutoMD is a Tuff Stuff 8 inch dual diaphragm booster but does not include the master cylinder. Does my existing master cylinder bolt onto this? Also, what's the diff between a single and dual diaphragm? Also, one of the boosters I saw(not this one) online said it would not work with a 312 with OE exhaust manifolds which is what I have.

I'm new to this if you haven't guessed with all the questions and greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Sand1

 

I see that this thread has been around awhile. Lots of good information here. My drums are shot and I want to upgrade to disc using one of the kits out there. Tried to PM scarebird but it wouldn't go through.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
It looks like there are kits that use the stock spindles and some that use a Granada etc. or a drop spindle.<o></o>
Anyone... your opinions on the stock height vs. the dropped. Does the dropped cause any problems?<o></o>
When you dropped the rear to level the car, did you run into problems with rear wheel well clearance?<o></o>
I have aftermarket wheels so caliper interference is not an issue.<o></o>
I'm kind of stressing on this so any opinions are welcome.
Thanks, Bill <o></o>

 

email is m at scarebird.com

 

I'm looking into a disc conversion for my '56 T-Bird. I also want to convert to a dual master cylinder system. There is an outfit in the Inland Empire (Ontario, CA) that sells conversion kits that bolt right up to the existing spindles on my 'Bird. Does anyone know about the necessity for a vacuum booster for this set up? Also, where do I find a new (NOS) dual master cylinder set up for my 'Bird - whether I put disc on or not.

Thanks

 

Pm sent

 

Ok... I posted something yesterday and the text and picture is missing. Could it be because this thread is six years old and is no longer taking replies or did my picture blow up my post?

 

All the same parts shown here will apply to your '56 Just ignore the part using the teflon tape that's a no-no with brake fluid.