Thread: convert 1961 galaxie to disc Brakes????

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Hello all,
I have a 1961 Ford Galaxie Starliner and want to convert it to front disc brakes. I have read a bunch of articals about how you can take spindles and everything else off of other cars to convert it. I would like to hear from someone who has actually done it and what you used. There are places that sell kits but then you have to buy their parts for replacements. I would like to put something on that I can buy parts for at my local NAPA. There are plenty of junkyards around here but I need to know what car to get the parts off of. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul

Junkyard4; I took the spindles and rotors and the calipers from a granada and switched them to a mavrick. This was to get rid of the drums on the mavrick.
Everything went smooth, ford to ford ya know. Kurt

I just worked on a customers 57 Fairlane and it had granada spindles, rotors and discs on it, all the other suspension & steering componets appeared to be stock 57 ford with the exception of the tie rods being custom bent. Car was also equiped with the granada booster,master cylinder and proportioning valve. Car drives and stops wonderfull.

At the bottom of this page, you'll find an offer to sell you a complete set of instructions for $25 that will allow you to use OEM parts to convert your Galaxie to discs.
http://www.critesrestoration.com/galaxie.htm

I have suggested this to others and have been told that they wouldn't spend $25 to find out how to do it. That's just foolishness. You'll p*** away more than $25 in some sleezy tavern on a Saturday night and not have anything to show for it except a big head the next morning.

My mother always tried to teach me to have something in my hand to show for the money I just gave to someone. Spending $25 for plans and part numbers on how to do something that you don't know how to do yourself is following my mom's instructions.

The 61 and 64 use the same setup. The Granada will end up dropping the front end 1-2".

http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...t=16968&page=3

while were on this subject what would be adaptable to 66 full size ford custom for front disks anyone know?

Originally Posted by canadianal

while were on this subject what would be adaptable to 66 full size ford custom for front disks anyone know?

Geez Al, didn't you see the link I provided in post 4?

Tech, your picture makes you look a lot younger than your experience suggests.

mike in tucson

I did see it but thought the galaxie was a different chassis than a custom or crown vic (full size). Maybe i am wrong ??

i dug in this a little bit and found it on the site should look before i type

Hi, I'm in the process of collecting parts and information for my 64 Ford Custom (fullsize) project.

What I've found out so far is that the spindle, rotor, caliper etc from; 74-78 Thunderbird, Cougar, Mercury, 77-78 LTD II, 74-76 Montego and Torino, and 74-78 Contentinal are all a bolt on. The rub is that most 14" wheels won't fit and some of the vehicles mentioned are 5 on 5 bolt circle (the Contentinals and some of the other full size Ford products in that era).

I've also been told that 75-78 Comet, Maverick, Grenada and Monarc set up will also work but the spindles need to be redrilled for the bigger ball joints tappers and it will result in about a 2" drop.

I haven't done much research into what I'll be using for a master cyl yet, but I figure that will be the easy part of the conversion.

Hope this helps.


More stuff i found


66 Galaxie Disk Brake Conversion
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78 Thunderbird spindles (with the rotors calipers pads)
70LTD outer tierods (definate must! only ones that will work on your car)
77 Lincoln MarkV distribution block (any front disc/rear drum from the 70's will do)
front rubber lines/brackets from a 78 T-bird (or any 70's intermediate)
We used a manual master cylinder. You did not mention if you have power or not.

The little tricks.... 70 LTD outer tierod. If your using the stock inner tierods like we did (new replacment) its a must have item. I made numerous trips to the parts store for that piece!!!

You can however use 78 Tbird (70's intermediates 2doors) inner tie rods, sleeve and outer tierods if you wish.

Snatch the brackets for the front rubber lines. You will need them because the drum brackets wont work.

When you get a distribution block from the pick and pull. Take some paper and a pencil and take note of where all the lines go. Make a drawing showing this.

__________________

Originally Posted by robot

Tech, your picture makes you look a lot younger than your experience suggests.

mike in tucson

There, all better.

Tech what the heck happend ???? Balack hole?? time warp ???

Plus hers more stuff i found asit appears i am going to go parts hunting this spring


Personally I DO NOT recommend that national GalaxieClub, (long-ish story I wont get into here as it's way off topic)
Besides, there are people who have done this and will share the knowledge without having to pay dues! I'm one of 'em.

OK then what do you need.... get '77-'79 Tbird/LTDII/Cougar spindles (not sure about the early '70's Torinos).
They are a direct bolt on. A very slight alteration is all thats needed. The Galaxie tie rod end stud is shorter then the '77-'79 so the cotter pin hole will not line up high enough through the castle nut to install the pin. Two easy fixes. Take the spindles to a machine shop and have them mill the TOP of the boss the tie rod goes through. Forgot the exact amount, just measure how thick the old ones are and take off the difference. This is what I did (I actually ground down the bosses myself, if you can keep the surface square you can do it yourself too).
The other is to use '70 Lincoln outer tie rod ends. The stud is said to be taller like the '77-'79s but have the same size threads for the adjustment collars (the '77-'79's used a larger diameter thread, thats why you can't use those tie rods) I personally haven't verified the fit, but it would be easy to look at the '70 Lincoln tie rod next to a '67, match the thread on the adjustment side and see if the stud is taller yet still the same taper (smooth part that sits inside the spindle.

I didn't put a booster in as I didn't feel I need it. I'm in good shape and um...not exactly a 98 lb weakling the slight extra effort isn't noticeable. My 16 year old daughter doesn't have a problem either, she is athletic too.
Anyhow, Ford seems to have kept their master cylinders (the mounting flange) a standard size for decades. I popped a master from a mid '80s Econoline van, fit right in. Used the '67s original push rod.
That said, I'm sure finding a Ford booster to fit would be just as easy.
Maybe the one from the van I got my master from would have worked but some one took that before I pulled the master. In that case keep the booster to master push rod that comes with the booster and the original '67 (or what ever year your car) between the brake arm and booster.
The info on the booster might not be exact but should put you right in the ballpark.

A final thought, I considered rear discs but after driving her with just the fronts, and based on the large drums these cars have to begin with and the fact the rears at max do only 30% of the braking, I see no advantage to rear discs for 'spirited' street driving to drag racing at the track, road racing would be a different story, let alone road racing in a Galaxie!

1st LINK
2nd link
3rd link

I also found the following......................
'77-'79 Thunderbird, Cougar, LTD II and Ranchero complete front disc brake setups...spindles and all, are a bolt-on for '61-'64 Galaxies. Make sure you take everything from the donor car, including the master cylinder, combination valve, etc. 1972 thru 1976 Gran Torino as well...joe

Thanks Joe.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Thanks Joe.