Brake upgrades for Granada spindles?

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Joined
Aug 8, 2018
Messages
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Location
California
My Car
72 Fastback - 351C-4V, Fitech EFI, T56 Magnum 6 Speed
I'm trying to improve my brakes hopefully without replacing everything. After a recent brake job I learned that my car was converted to Granada spindles presumably as part of a drum to disc conversion back in the 80s.

Is anyone aware of a larger rotors and calipers for this setup? I've not found anything for a Granada, because of course who is racing Granadas around.

Also, recently converted over to discs in back from drums by swapping to an 8.8. I haven't done anything with the proportioning valve. Do I need to switch over to a disc / disc proportioning valve? If so any budget friendly recommendations would be appreciated.

Side note - In high school a buddy of mine was given a Granada by his grand mother. Very much an old lady's car complete with flowery embroidered upholstery etc. Helped him drop in a junk yard big block and setup a giant tunnel ram and nitrous. Back was jacked up with giant tires like you did back in the day. People would chuckle at the granny car, but that Granada was an absolute beast and was the fastest thing around for years.
 
I'm trying to improve my brakes hopefully without replacing everything. After a recent brake job I learned that my car was converted to Granada spindles presumably as part of a drum to disc conversion back in the 80s.

Is anyone aware of a larger rotors and calipers for this setup? I've not found anything for a Granada, because of course who is racing Granadas around.

Also, recently converted over to discs in back from drums by swapping to an 8.8. I haven't done anything with the proportioning valve. Do I need to switch over to a disc / disc proportioning valve? If so any budget friendly recommendations would be appreciated.

Side note - In high school a buddy of mine was given a Granada by his grand mother. Very much an old lady's car complete with flowery embroidered upholstery etc. Helped him drop in a junk yard big block and setup a giant tunnel ram and nitrous. Back was jacked up with giant tires like you did back in the day. People would chuckle at the granny car, but that Granada was an absolute beast and was the fastest thing around for years.
Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone making Granada brake upgrades, but that reminds me of a Granada story. When I was younger and going to college, I bought three cars as a package deal. I only wanted the 69 Mustang coupe but I had to buy all three cars to get the Mustang. The next day my buddy offered me $500 more than I paid for all three cars for the Mustang so I sold it. I sold the second car for $1000 and I am now was up $1500 but I had an ugly brown Granada Ghia with a tan top and tan interior to get rid of. I drove it for 4 months with a for sale sign asking $500 or best offer and didn't get any interest at all. My friend was in college and needed a cheap car so she could get back and forth to school and I offered her the Granada for free just to get rid of it. She asked me if I had a car nicer looking car she could buy instead, because it was so ugly.
 
I'm trying to improve my brakes hopefully without replacing everything. After a recent brake job I learned that my car was converted to Granada spindles presumably as part of a drum to disc conversion back in the 80s.

Is anyone aware of a larger rotors and calipers for this setup? I've not found anything for a Granada, because of course who is racing Granadas around.

Also, recently converted over to discs in back from drums by swapping to an 8.8. I haven't done anything with the proportioning valve. Do I need to switch over to a disc / disc proportioning valve? If so any budget friendly recommendations would be appreciated.

Side note - In high school a buddy of mine was given a Granada by his grand mother. Very much an old lady's car complete with flowery embroidered upholstery etc. Helped him drop in a junk yard big block and setup a giant tunnel ram and nitrous. Back was jacked up with giant tires like you did back in the day. People would chuckle at the granny car, but that Granada was an absolute beast and was the fastest thing around for years.

Welcome to the club. My 71 has Granada setup on front also. My current setup is disc/drum and the car stops fine. Although the 71-73 came with 12" rotors a lot of the aftermarket manufacturers offer 11" so you can use a 14" rim. As far as the proportioning valve you may want to consider an adjustable one. This will allow you to set up braking to work best for your set up since you have an unmatched disc/caliper setup. They cost about the same as a standard valve does.
 
If you don't want to swap parts, look into some Porterfield pads in their R4S compound. It's a street friendly friction material that'll give you a lot more "bite" than a parts store pad.

https://porterfield-brakes.com/search-result/?years=1977&make=19&model=4655&manufacturer=0
A super budget friendly option would be semi-metallic pads. The Granada fronts are D91 pads. Rears for an 8,8 vary, but I'm sure you can easily find them by application.
 
Did you remove the residual check valve in the master cylinder for the rear drum brakes? It is behind the brass tapered seat for the rear brakes. It usually can be removed by lightly screwing a sheet metal screw into the brass fitting. Due to differences in weights and balances from car to car, an adjustable proportioning valve is about the only way to set rear pressure where you want it. Chuck
 
..... My friend was in college and needed a cheap car so she could get back and forth to school and I offered her the Granada for free just to get rid of it. She asked me if I had a car nicer looking car she could buy instead, because it was so ugly.
That's great! And I totally agree with her. Free isn't free when you have to drive a Granada. 😀

Check here: https://www.discbrakeswap.com/Mustang Disc Brake Conversion Kits Parts SWAP.2.html
The granada spindle swap is popular for early Mustangs but the discs don't seem that bigger than stock. Give those guys a call since they work a lot with disc brakes for Fords.
Thanks, I'll look them up

Welcome to the club. My 71 has Granada setup on front also. My current setup is disc/drum and the car stops fine. Although the 71-73 came with 12" rotors a lot of the aftermarket manufacturers offer 11" so you can use a 14" rim. As far as the proportioning valve you may want to consider an adjustable one. This will allow you to set up braking to work best for your set up since you have an unmatched disc/caliper setup. They cost about the same as a standard valve does.
Good call about the adjustable one as they are pretty mismatched with Granada brakes up front and Explorer out back. Not something I have any experience with so was trying to keep it simple, i.e. don't want to kill myself by doing something stupid, but yeah my setup is far from stock so that would probably make sense.

If nothing else, I'd like to get something that fills the wheel a bit more. I'm running 20's up front right now so the disks look like they came off a moped. All you see is tiny disks and giant wheel spacers.

If you don't want to swap parts, look into some Porterfield pads in their R4S compound. It's a street friendly friction material that'll give you a lot more "bite" than a parts store pad.

https://porterfield-brakes.com/search-result/?years=1977&make=19&model=4655&manufacturer=0
A super budget friendly option would be semi-metallic pads. The Granada fronts are D91 pads. Rears for an 8,8 vary, but I'm sure you can easily find them by application.
Thanks. I am running semi metallic pads right now, but will take a look at these. Looks like they also have Explorer (which is what the rear brakes are) pads in the R4S compound as well.
 
Did you remove the residual check valve in the master cylinder for the rear drum brakes? It is behind the brass tapered seat for the rear brakes. It usually can be removed by lightly screwing a sheet metal screw into the brass fitting. Due to differences in weights and balances from car to car, an adjustable proportioning valve is about the only way to set rear pressure where you want it. Chuck
No, I didn't even know that was a thing. So that's disconnect the rear brake line then there should be a brass fitting in there that I need to yank out. Try and screw into that to get hold of it to pull, is that about right? And that's there to keep some pressure on the shoes, is that right ?

Thanks
-Will
 
I know the word Granada doesn't give you visions of a vehicle out at the salt flats setting new land speed records. The Granada sourced brakes on your Mustang were used on '75-80 Granada, Mercury Monarch, '74-77 Maverick, Mercury Comet, and the '77-80 Lincoln Versailles. The heaviest car, the Lincoln Versailles, when dressed out, was a 3,800 lb (+) vehicle. That puts in slightly heavier than a '71 429 Mustang, yet the "Granada" brakes did a capable job on the Lincoln. Ford lists the rotor diameter at 11 15/16" on the '71-73 Mustang rotor and 11" for the rotor used on the "Granada Brake" equipped vehicles. So not a lot of difference in rotor size to make a noticeable improvement.
You stated that you wanted to improve your brakes without replacing everything. Unless your auto crossing, road course racing, or have a mega horsepower car, there is no need to invest in something expensive like Brembo brakes, for example. I would do as Hemikiller suggested and change to a slightly more aggressive brake pad. That would be the most cost-effective thing if I wanted noticeably better braking without spending big bucks on a new brake system. Just don't get too aggressive. I've seen a few people who feel more is better, install pads better suited for the race track, not knowing that they are ineffective until heated up and are not friendly to decent rotor wear.

Now my Granada story. I had gone to the local Ford dealer to pick up some parts for my uncle's truck. While there, I heard and then saw a Granada pull-up with a chopping idle and the typical N-50s under a jacked-up rear end, which was a common sight in the 70s.
He saw the look on my face and explained that he used to drive several high-performance Mustangs. But after receiving several tickets of "Appreciation" from the police and an unhappy insurance agent, he had to rethink what he drove for a while. What better sleeper than a car that looked like something your Grandmother would drive to the ladies' weekly knitting club meet? The Granada was available with a 351W from '75-77, which this one had. With some parts still left from the Ford Muscle Parts program and the abundance of Mustang parts that also fit under the hood, he was able to build a pretty stout sleeper car!

And as a second thought, given the time of year it is, those Mighty Auto Pumpkin Spice brake pads might not be a bad idea! 😄
 
I know the word Granada doesn't give you visions of a vehicle out at the salt flats setting new land speed records. The Granada sourced brakes on your Mustang were used on '75-80 Granada, Mercury Monarch, '74-77 Maverick, Mercury Comet, and the '77-80 Lincoln Versailles. The heaviest car, the Lincoln Versailles, when dressed out, was a 3,800 lb (+) vehicle. That puts in slightly heavier than a '71 429 Mustang, yet the "Granada" brakes did a capable job on the Lincoln. Ford lists the rotor diameter at 11 15/16" on the '71-73 Mustang rotor and 11" for the rotor used on the "Granada Brake" equipped vehicles. So not a lot of difference in rotor size to make a noticeable improvement.
You stated that you wanted to improve your brakes without replacing everything. Unless your auto crossing, road course racing, or have a mega horsepower car, there is no need to invest in something expensive like Brembo brakes, for example. I would do as Hemikiller suggested and change to a slightly more aggressive brake pad. That would be the most cost-effective thing if I wanted noticeably better braking without spending big bucks on a new brake system. Just don't get too aggressive. I've seen a few people who feel more is better, install pads better suited for the race track, not knowing that they are ineffective until heated up and are not friendly to decent rotor wear.

Now my Granada story. I had gone to the local Ford dealer to pick up some parts for my uncle's truck. While there, I heard and then saw a Granada pull-up with a chopping idle and the typical N-50s under a jacked-up rear end, which was a common sight in the 70s.
He saw the look on my face and explained that he used to drive several high-performance Mustangs. But after receiving several tickets of "Appreciation" from the police and an unhappy insurance agent, he had to rethink what he drove for a while. What better sleeper than a car that looked like something your Grandmother would drive to the ladies' weekly knitting club meet? The Granada was available with a 351W from '75-77, which this one had. With some parts still left from the Ford Muscle Parts program and the abundance of Mustang parts that also fit under the hood, he was able to build a pretty stout sleeper car!

And as a second thought, given the time of year it is, those Mighty Auto Pumpkin Spice brake pads might not be a bad idea! 😄
Souping up a Granada as a super sleeper of sorts is no more peculiar than souping up a 60s and early 70s Falcon. Especially considering the only truly significant difference between First Generation Mustangs and their respective year Falcons was largely the sheet metal skin. I ponder the Falcon roots of these First Generation Mustangs (and Shelbys) any time I begin to get to thinking the pony cars in our corral are more than just some special kinds of vehicles. Yeah, our pony cars are really nice. I am glad we have them, and indeed there are some performance features in the Mustangs and Shelbys that were not typically included in the Falcon offerings. But, once you get down to the core of the vehicles the Mustangs are really not too dissimilar when compared to their Falcon cousins. Knowing that helps me keep from getting a little too full of myself.

That said, I used to work on a lot of 302 Granadas in the 70s while at a Ford dealership as a technician. Tuned "the right way" they could be nice little vehicles to cut around in, with some fairly serious performance for a sedan. I always enjoyed working on them. The one thing, beside weight, that held them back from being really snappy was their rear axle ratio options. Many were steeper than 3.0:1, which really held them back on the low end of performance. I think the lowest ratio available, depending on the year, was 3.0:1 or 3.4:1, although I did see a chart once indicating the lowest ratio was somewhere like 3.91:1 - a tad too low for practical cruising IMHO.
 
... Unless your auto crossing, road course racing, or have a mega horsepower car, there is no need to invest in something expensive like Brembo brakes, for example. I would do as Hemikiller suggested and change to a slightly more aggressive brake pad. That would be the most cost-effective thing if I wanted noticeably better braking without spending big bucks on a new brake system. Just don't get too aggressive. I've seen a few people who feel more is better, install pads better suited for the race track, not knowing that they are ineffective until heated up and are not friendly to decent rotor wear.

Now my Granada story. I had gone to the local Ford dealer to pick up some parts for my uncle's truck. While there, I heard and then saw a Granada pull-up with a chopping idle and the typical N-50s under a jacked-up rear end, which was a common sight in the 70s.
He saw the look on my face and explained that he used to drive several high-performance Mustangs. But after receiving several tickets of "Appreciation" from the police and an unhappy insurance agent, he had to rethink what he drove for a while. What better sleeper than a car that looked like something your Grandmother would drive to the ladies' weekly knitting club meet? The Granada was available with a 351W from '75-77, which this one had. With some parts still left from the Ford Muscle Parts program and the abundance of Mustang parts that also fit under the hood, he was able to build a pretty stout sleeper car!

And as a second thought, given the time of year it is, those Mighty Auto Pumpkin Spice brake pads might not be a bad idea! 😄
Thanks, yeah I'm thinking before looking at just going bigger, I should make sure I'm getting the most out of this setup. Clearly I haven't done much to optimize other than replace everything with stock.

That Granada sounds a lot like my buddies from the 80's although his was even more over the top I think. I was even with him when he got pulled over and the cops just wanted to know what the hell it was and why he did this to that car.

I'm now thinking a business idea of making scented brake pads. Emergency stop... smell of smoking tires and a hint of pumpkin spice. Or hit a track day and get hit the scent of your own BO, gas, burning oil, clutch and a whiff of vanilla and lavender.

Souping up a Granada as a super sleeper of sorts is no more peculiar than souping up a 60s and early 70s Falcon. Especially considering the only truly significant difference between First Generation Mustangs and their respective year Falcons was largely the sheet metal skin. I ponder the Falcon roots of these First Generation Mustangs (and Shelbys) any time I begin to get to thinking the pony cars in our corral are more than just some special kinds of vehicles. Yeah, our pony cars are really nice. I am glad we have them, and indeed there are some performance features in the Mustangs and Shelbys that were not typically included in the Falcon offerings. But, once you get down to the core of the vehicles the Mustangs are really not too dissimilar when compared to their Falcon cousins. Knowing that helps me keep from getting a little too full of myself.

That said, I used to work on a lot of 302 Granadas in the 70s while at a Ford dealership as a technician. Tuned "the right way" they could be nice little vehicles to cut around in, with some fairly serious performance for a sedan. I always enjoyed working on them. The one thing, beside weight, that held them back from being really snappy was their rear axle ratio options. Many were steeper than 3.0:1, which really held them back on the low end of performance. I think the lowest ratio available, depending on the year, was 3.0:1 or 3.4:1, although I did see a chart once indicating the lowest ratio was somewhere like 3.91:1 - a tad too low for practical cruising IMHO.
Agreed, I love my Mustang and most Mustangs in general. But really these things are pretty primitive even for the era.

All of that is true, but at the end of the day, it still looks like this. Honestly with some age on it, I can appreciate it more now. Back then it may as well have been a Chrysler K car.

1664488426538.png
 
Thanks, yeah I'm thinking before looking at just going bigger, I should make sure I'm getting the most out of this setup. Clearly I haven't done much to optimize other than replace everything with stock.

That Granada sounds a lot like my buddies from the 80's although his was even more over the top I think. I was even with him when he got pulled over and the cops just wanted to know what the hell it was and why he did this to that car.

I'm now thinking a business idea of making scented brake pads. Emergency stop... smell of smoking tires and a hint of pumpkin spice. Or hit a track day and get hit the scent of your own BO, gas, burning oil, clutch and a whiff of vanilla and lavender.


Agreed, I love my Mustang and most Mustangs in general. But really these things are pretty primitive even for the era.

All of that is true, but at the end of the day, it still looks like this. Honestly with some age on it, I can appreciate it more now. Back then it may as well have been a Chrysler K car.

View attachment 67919
I didn't even remember that they were offered as two doors. The ugly brown one I had was a four door and I thought that was all they offered, learn something new every day.
 
Yes, this is the far more "desirable" 2 door model. Hard to find now as they are all in private collections. :cool:

Same here actually. That was just the first picture that came up in a google search, I don't recall 2 door models either. Frankly I've mostly blacked out all the memories of those cars... and Vega's
 
The Granada wasn't a bad car. It sold well and filled the void between the full-size Ford, the mid-size Gran Torino, and the smaller vehicles offered by Ford. Although there wasn't a manual transmission available with the 351, the 200, 250, and 302 could be ordered with a 3sp manual. That transmission was replaced with a 4sp overdrive starting in '77.
There was a rear disc brake option, which included a 9" differential. The rear disc brakes were standard on the Lincoln Versailles; that's why if word got out that the local salvage yard had received one, there was a stampede there. Everyone wanted the 9" differential with the factory rear disc brakes. A few other goodies on the options list were a console with A/T or M/T floor shift, bucket seats, and trim ring Magnums. All great stuff, All that was wrapped in a body I just didnt care to be seen in while cruising through the local burger joint drive-in! After all, in those days, your image was like a good street creed; it required the right car (a Torino or Mustang for me) and shiny Crager S/S wheels!

@ The Dude. I like your business idea you have of making scented brake pads. Once it gets out of the development stage, I would like a set of "Burn Out Tire Smoke" with a hint of lavender!! (Or pumpkin spice for this time of year) And how about another "Eye Candy" Granada Picture? 😃
 

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Yes, this is the far more "desirable" 2 door model. Hard to find now as they are all in private collections. :cool:

Same here actually. That was just the first picture that came up in a google search, I don't recall 2 door models either. Frankly I've mostly blacked out all the memories of those cars... and Vega's
I was in Vegas a few months a go and a car pulled up to the light and my wife and our friends were all like what is that? I had to look hard and think, it was a Vega station wagon, I forgot they made the wagons because all the Vega's rotted away here in Chicago I hadn't seen one in forty years or more.
 
The Granada wasn't a bad car. It sold well and filled the void between the full-size Ford, the mid-size Gran Torino, and the smaller vehicles offered by Ford. Although there wasn't a manual transmission available with the 351, the 200, 250, and 302 could be ordered with a 3sp manual. That transmission was replaced with a 4sp overdrive starting in '77.
There was a rear disc brake option, which included a 9' differential. The rear disc brakes were standard on the Lincoln Versailles; that's why if word got out that the local salvage yard had received one, there was a stampede there. Everyone wanted the 9' differential with the factory rear disc brakes. A few other goodies on the options list were a console with A/T or M/T floor shift, bucket seats, and trim ring Magnums. All great stuff, All that was wrapped in a body I just didnt care to be seen in while cruising through the local burger joint drive-in! After all, in those days, your image was like a good street creed; it required the right car (a Torino or Mustang for me) and shiny Crager S/S wheels!

@ The Dude. I like your business idea you have of making scented brake pads. Once it gets out of the development stage, I would like a set of "Burn Out Tire Smoke" with a hint of lavender!! (Or pumpkin spice for this time of year) And how about another "Eye Candy" Granada Picture? 😃
I actually had a Futura that was pale yellow with a mildly built 302 and a C4 with a shift kit and slotted aluminum mags that I thought was kind of cool at the time. I embraced the quirky side of it. The novelty wore off pretty fast but it was a quick little car pretty light and was fun for a little while. This is a pic I found on the internet, it looked just like that but jacked up in the back with air shocks and slots on it.
 

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The Granada wasn't a bad car. It sold well and filled the void between the full-size Ford, the mid-size Gran Torino, and the smaller vehicles offered by Ford.
No it was a fine car... it just looked like a Granada.

I was in Vegas a few months a go and a car pulled up to the light and my wife and our friends were all like what is that? I had to look hard and think, it was a Vega station wagon, I forgot they made the wagons because all the Vega's rotted away here in Chicago I hadn't seen one in forty years or more.
That is almost a unicorn now, except a unicorn nobody wants to see. Honestly at this point I think it's neat to see any old car on the road and probably 6 Vegas survived past the 80's so neat to see the old PoS.

My memories of Vegas. Best friends mom had one so we used to ride around in the back everywhere. No AC so always had windows open. That car had such bad wind buffeting in the back every time we went anywhere I thought my ears were going to bleed. I hated riding in that car because of that and would be back there with my fingers in my ears. Other memories, how truly slow it was and pushing it when it broke. This was a nice one and it would still leave her stranded all the time.

The other one was later on in my street racer days. Dude had one with a built SBC V8, big tires and setup for street drags. I'll always remember the dude drops drops the clutch to take off and the windshield went white instantly. The car flexed so much the windshield just crystalized end to end like a switch went off. Another time when I wasn't there the back glass broke. Eventually he could hardly get the doors open in the thing.
 
No, I didn't even know that was a thing. So that's disconnect the rear brake line then there should be a brass fitting in there that I need to yank out. Try and screw into that to get hold of it to pull, is that about right? And that's there to keep some pressure on the shoes, is that right ?

Thanks
-Will
You have it all correct. Put the tapered brass fitting back in after the residual valve is removed.
 
You have it all correct. Put the tapered brass fitting back in after the residual valve is removed. Chuck
 
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