In the end, though, once I got the drums dialed in, I decided to stick with them. I spent a lot of time on this forum trying to figure that out, and aggravated only myself, because of it. The problem was the arc in the available new brake shoes were not quite right, and though I had the drum turned by an "expert" garage, they didn't do a very good job getting it rounded out. I did have a problem that finally got solved. I spent a lot of time and $'s debating this with myself, and decided to stick with the drums because they work just fine. The drums are large and more than good enough for "normal" everyday straight-line driving without too much hard braking, but for "spirited" driving, particularly on curvy roads or in mountains, any drum system (other than the drum systems used on old Porches) is marginal.Įven with all its weight and bulk, the Bullet Bird handles flat and very well, and driving it with 'elan thru rolling, twisting countryside roads will produce a huge grin on anyone's face- as long as the brakes don't fade! Discs are on my list of things to do- I've blued one set of front drums already, complete with way too many severe hard spots to machine out.
#1965 ford thunderbird disc brakes full#
The coupe with two people and a full tank of gas can weigh around 4800 lbs or so. Not a good thing, particularly at freeway speeds.ĭrums are more prone to fading. No two drum brakes will adjust exactly the same- in normal slowing or stopping situations you'll never know the difference but if you have a panic stop and one front brake has a slight more clearance than the other front brake, the car may abruptly pull in the direction of the tighter brake.
Discs apply braking pressure very evenly, as they maintain a very slight, constant pressure on the discs as a means of self-adjusting and do not rely on the complex automatic adjusting systems of cables, rachets, springs, rods and so on used on drums. The discs are much simpler and easier to work on.
The drum brakes are fine for normal day-to-day driving, but they do have some shortcomings- which is why manufacturers have turned to discs. Tom has photos of what he did, and may send you the patterns if you have a machine or metal fabrication shop around to do it for you. Trouble with that installation is that mounting brackets have to be fabricated, as there appears to be nothing for a simple bolt on. You can also check Master Power Brakes ( and Another person who has done conversions, and sent me some helpful stuff is Tom Cherry at I believe he has also put rear discs on his, using components from a Lincoln. The stop light switch on that cylinder is in the front, as is yours. There was also a post from "t-bird-art"in Jan '03 in the discussion thread who said that a master cylinder from a '67 Ford truck with all drum brakes would work and clear the stock tower brace (barely) without modification. You can compare the diameters of the OEM tires with today's to get a good match.įor the master cylinder/booster, just about any dual cylilnder master cylinder will work, but will require modifying the shock/spring tower brace to clear properly.
Look up BFGoodrich, Goodyear, and Cooper tires on the web- one or two of theses companies sell vintage tires as well as modern stuff. The result is an increase in engine RPM's of a couple hundred for any given speed, over the OEM tires- more pickup and acceleration, but lower fuel economy and overall engine life. the 14" radial, although listed as a replacement for the 15", has a lower aspect ratio (profile) than the original bias ply. Using the larger rims has another plus- with them you can use modern radial tires and get the correct diameter tire as the car came with. Good hubs are different- maybe wrecking yards, maybe in some catalogue or really good auto parts store- get new bearing/race sets and seals.ġ5" rims are required to clear the calipers. Rotors and calipers (includes crossover tube, I think) are available thru suppliers such as Larry's T'Bird and others.
Back in Dec 2002 the same question came up, and the answer for the fronts is to use components from a '65/66 Bird- the hubs, rotors, calipers, brackets, and the crossover tube connecting the calipers on each side of the rotor. Allyson- you're in luck! The front front disk conversion is a straight bolt-on- except for some replumbing of brake lines.
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