Hello all,

I've been trying to sort out the front end of my '52 F3 (actually a M3). I want to retain the 8 bolt setup. I've already swapped the rear end with a dana 60 from a mid 70's truck and it looks great.

Here are the options I'm considering for the front:

1. Use stock i-beam with 75/77 F250 Disc brake components like: F-2/F-3 Front Disc Brake Conversion

2. Use stock i-beam with Disc brake bracket then use a 5 lug to 8 lug adapter like 5 lug to 8 lug adapter

3. Use a kit from TSM TSM 1849 kit

4. Make my own mount for a Caliper/Rotor set from a '67-'77 or '88-'98 F250/F350.

I am looking at the cheapest way to achieve reasonable stopping. Here's my problem with each of the above:
1. It's hard to find a 70s brake caliper mount etc. here - new ones are pricey and rare
2. Rather expensive
3. Looks like its expensive considering there's no Rotors or Calipers
4. Can't find a technical or exploded view of the '88-'98 caliper mount.

Do any of you have templates for the mount? Any other suggestions? I'm quite a newbie to this and this is my first build - so please excuse my ignorance!

Thanks!

 

The TSM kit (3) does come with rotors. They are from a newer Ford, but get redrilled with 1/2" holes to fit your existing studs. You just need to get the K10 calipers and lines and you're good to go. This is probably the easiest since you keep your stock axle and everything is pretty much bolt on.

 

Thanks Stephen.

 

Personally, I'd do anything I could to avoid wheel adapters. So for me, that leaves option 1 and 3. Option 3 looks pretty good as most of the hard work is already done. By the time you dinked around with the specialty machine work (which you'd have to do again if you ever needed to replace the modified parts) and bought all the stuff to make option 1 work, you could easily be up to the expense of option 3. I think I'd take a hard look at that. My 2c.

 

Yes, Wayne, that makes sense. Ideally, if someone has the templates for something like option 3, I could make them myself. That said, looks like there's limited information on that. So I may have to just bite the bullet and buy theirs.

I'm making more of a rat rod than a hot rod. That's the reason I'm limiting my budget. The stock drums would've worked, except the drums are have no shoes left to bite. The shoes themselves are around $60 each side. Drums around $100. So I thought I may as well go with a disc conv.

 

I know what you mean on the expense of replacing stock parts vs. swapping to discs. That's the same reason I'm going to use discs on my M-1. I can also appreciate keeping everything as affordable as possible, but if there's one place you shouldn't skimp, it's safety and stopping power. The extra couple bucks spent here will pay off later.

 

The F-250 HD/F-350 caliper mounts are as follows:
1968-1975 - unbolts from spindle - early style Dayton calipers
1976-1979 - unbolts from spindle - late style Dayton calipers
1980-1985 - integral with spindle - Ford version of late style Dayton calipers
1986-1993 - integral with spindle - Ford caliper with steel/rubber sandwich pins
1994-1997 - unbolts from spindle - Ford caliper with slide pins
1999-2004 - unbolts from spindle - Ford caliper with slide pins
2005-2010 - unbolts from spindle - Ford caliper with slide pins

 

Great information there, Nathan. Do you know what the caliper mount for years 94-04 look like? If I had come kind of a schematic, I could probably fab one up quickly. Thanks again, Nathan!

I know the 68/72 looks like this:

.


I want to find something that can be used instead of 2B301 for '94-upward.

 

The 1995-97 caliper looks like this:


The 1999-2004 caliper looks like this:


For these you would just have to make a flat style bracket and drill two holes for the caliper bracket.

 

I would like to ask if anyone knows if these parts will work on a 56 or has anyone done something similar to a 56 F250? Thanks in advance guys!