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Dope

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Dec 13, 2018
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Location
CA
My Car
1971 Mustang Hardtop 302
Please delete. Thanks.

 
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I put the Leed Brakes front disc kit on mine. Runs 65-67 Mustang calipers/pads attached onto the drum brake spindles with an adapter plate, uses 65-67 Mustang discs, 70-73 wheel bearings/races, and a 70-73 brake booster. Drum brake pedal needs alteration to have a new pin 2 inches lower than the drum brake pin. The hot tip is: buy a brake light switch to suit power brakes rather than leaving in the manual brakes switch. The switches look identical but the power brake switch has a softer spring in it so it will activate earlier with the lesser force required on the pedal. A new switch will probably not come with any front brake kit that you buy.

 
Here  is a thought go with street or track upper and lower control arms  kit then you still can use any shock and coil spring set up. If you go with stock arms at least get roller spring perches and adjustable strut arms to help prevent binding. http://www.streetortrack.com/Street-or-Track-Tubular-Front-End-System-pr-24480.html

Here is a stock kit , on my 70 cougar I just ordered the control arms and semi roller perches.

https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/suspkit-71ps.html?attribs=86

 
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i've been considering doing mine also.. when i did my '66 fairlane 3 yrs ago i got a kit on ebay from a fella in new jersey. and i'd do a full kit again. cheaper i feel getting it all at once.

 
7173mustangs

Looking for advice on suspension and disk brake upgrades. Again this will be a daily driver so what I want is to be able to go to an auto parts store or dealer and be able to buy oe/oem replacement parts. The parts can be from any car/manufacture and I would prefer it to be bolt on but I don’t mind doing metal work for it initially just as long as the end result is parts from a specific car. This theory goes to both suspension and brakes.

What year / model / current setup are you working on?
 
Personally, I'd stick with a factory 71-73 front disc brake setup. You can upgrade them with high quality pads, rotors and stainless flex hoses. The OEM parts are plenty good enough for daily driver usage, and you can still get them at most any parts store, or just a couple days away with Rock Auto / Summit / Amazon. Explorer/Crown Vic rear brakes are an economical option that only requires a couple custom non-wear components.

I stopped doing "kits" of suspension components years ago. The companies always seem to sneak in some inferior quality parts to get the price point to a competitive level.

 
For a daily driver I'd stay with the factory disc/drum setup. Unless you are road racing or serious canyon carving the rear disc don't bring much benefit other than they look cool and are easier to maintain. The stock setup makes getting service parts as easy as possible. As far as chassis and suspension I'd start with subframe connectors. They greatly reduce chassis "windup" under hard acceleration, make the car handle better, and improve ride quality. I'd stay with stock springs, with 1/2 coil removed from the front springs and aftermarket shocks and anti-roll bars. Good luck with the build and let us know how things progress. Chuck

 
I agree with Chuck and Dennis.  There's nothing wrong with the '71-'73 factory power disc brake set-up, and parts are easy to obtain.  I also agree with both solutions for the rear axle - there's nothing wrong with the factory drums (KISS method at its finest) for basic daily driving.  

I also agree that there is probably a bit more braking power available by swapping in a rear-disc set-up... provided the F/R bias is done correctly.  Going with the Explorer 8.8 is a great way to do this, albeit with a bit of work to make it happen (swapping spring perches and narrowing, for instance) - you'll get a tough rear end, a good set of mid-range gears (3.54s, if I'm not mistaken) and replacement parts for the brake system are easily obtainable, as Dennis mentioned.

Unless you need to achieve a certain look, or intend to run the car through Autocross or go canyon carving on the weekends, I think all the fancy suspension money is better spent on drive train and HVAC reliability, with some creature comforts thrown in (don't forget those, otherwise that daily drive will suck all that much more without some tunes, , noise reduction, working HVAC, comfy seats, etc.).

 
Please delete. Thanks.

 
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Please delete. Thanks.

 
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I'm with Eric,

Good to high quality stock style discs and pads with new calipers will probably surprise you. On the rear there is the Aerostar drum upgrade. This gets you wider drums and shoes in the back. I believe there is a Lincoln drum swap people used to do that had larger diameter drums, but may need redrilling to match the Mustang bolt pattern. Again, good to high quality new drums, shoes, and hardware.

On the Explorer axle, get the late 90's and on disc rear. It may need some work on tube and axleshaft length to get the diff centered under the car. Some say no issues, but....easier to make correct when moving leaf spring perches than after it's in the car. They have 3.55 and 3.73 gears with some form of limited slip/locker rear (diff tag will have the ratio and an L for locker.

The biggest thing you can do is get GOOD tires. None of the improvements will mean anything if the tires are crap.

 
Factory disk brakes are K&H correct?

And no I’m not trying to obtain any looks. Just want a safe and reliable DD and if that means it needs to sit a little lower for better handling and braking, I don’t mind cutting springs as long as it’s safe.

Thanks for the replies.
Taking 1/2 coil from the top of the spring for me is more about having the front not sit higher than the rear. Don't cut it with torch, use an air driven cut off wheel. It will increase rate a very small amount. For a street car I prefer stock spring rates and increase roll stiffness with anti-roll bars. A set of wheels with the proper back spacing and good, and wider, tires will improve handling braking. Chuck

 
Here  is a thought go with street or track upper and lower control arms  kit then you still can use any shock and coil spring set up. If you go with stock arms at least get roller spring perches and adjustable strut arms to help prevent binding. http://www.streetortrack.com/Street-or-Track-Tubular-Front-End-System-pr-24480.html

Here is a stock kit , on my 70 cougar I just ordered the control arms and semi roller perches.

https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/suspkit-71ps.html?attribs=86

Thanks for the reply. This is a great kit similar to TCP but this is what I’m trying to avoid. Not being able to go to a parts store or dealership for replacement parts.
These cars are old enough that your napa or ford dealership wont carry suspension parts or if they do there are the cheap junk. Unless your in an accident most aftermarket control arms will live as long as the car, heck my cougar had 1 side that was all original suspension parts.

 
If you want to improve your handling and still be able to use stock parts, get a new shaft and bushing kit and ball joint for your upper control arm and box it. If your lower control arm ball joint is good, you can box it, or get a new one. RockAuto has an LCA ball joint, but I think it's about as much as a new lower control arm.

https://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-lca-stiffener-plates

https://forums.vintage-mustang.com/4224676-post1.html

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/the-toolbox/how-to-modify-control-arms/29323

 
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