I'm almost complete with a power disk brake conversion on my 66. Any ideas on how to shorten the push rod going into the power booster to allow my brake pedal to drop a bit more than where it is? Also, i put my wheels back on and one of them rub the caliper. I tried it on both sides and it rubs both sides. The other one does not rub on either side so i'm guessing the one rim is warped or something. My question is should i be able to use 15 inch rims or can i go with 16's. if 16 inch rims are an option will this leave more inside clearance?

Jim

 

1) Push rod: Hack saw, then round her off with a file or ginder.

2) Rims that rub. Must have stock 61-66 rims on the one side. Take a look here at some rim info, which should help. http://www.hermannsonline.com/f100/rims/index.htm
You may need to use some 1/4" or 5/16" spacers. Or I was able to get the stock rims to work by ginding off a couple of high spots on the calipers. The high spots are actually on the tangs that hold the brake pads in the correct allignment --not a critical location, so grinding them down is not a danger.

But I was unable to get the stock hub caps back on -- the larger, longer hub from a 1978 F150 extended too far out. I cut a small hole (kind of like 4x4 front caps have) to allow the front hubs to extend out, thus allowing the caps to go on.

Good luck.

 

Hi Jim, I redrilled the connecting holes where the pedal & shaft meet, to be able to drop my pedal.

If you are running stock wheels you may have to run 73-96 wheels to clear the rotors.

John

 

Newer steel wheels as John suggested are plentiful and cheap at the junkyard. Don't forget to get one for the spare also! I would not use spacers, nor am I a fan of grinding the calipers.
The pushrod length for the master cylinder is rather important, may want to see how I did mine here if you haven't already.

 

May want to run search. Topic posted on few occasions. Believe other members advised to use pedal assembly out of donor truck and will not have to deal with push rod length, proportion valve issues, and stop light switch. I installed upgrade before hand and did not know other options. Took 1/2" alum square stock, easier to work with plenty of strength, and cut length approx. 2 1/2" and used as spacer between the firewall and master cylinder. Drilled mounting holes in alum stock and used longer bolts. Again, not knowing any different, used an adapter and went with original pressure switch for brake lights, but according to more knowledgeable members, using the pedal assembly from donor truck is better way to go.

dave

 

ddavid

Just wanted to tell you. I found your site with the brake conversion long before I found this site. Didn't know it was yours until I followed your link above.
Great job on your instructions..

jd

 

Using the pedal assembly off a donor truck would seem to be great idea and some people seem to have gotten it to work -- I got a pedal off a 69 with manual tranny to swap into my 65 with manual tranny and it did NOT work. I am not sure why, but they were enough different that I found that just shortening the push rod was easier.

Ditto that swapping to a plunger type electric switch for the brake lights is safer. I made a bracket to hold a 67-72 type plunger switch in just the right place so that it contacts the brake pedal arm when the brake is "out" and then immediately closes the contacts at the slightest bit of movement of the brake. At least in manual trannies, the brake arm is quite close to the steering column -- your bracket can be constructed out of a piece of 2- 2.5" pipe, split into 1/3. That piece fits up onto the steering column nicely, and can be held in place with a pair of band clamps. To the piece of pipe, you weld a tang with a hole drilled to accept the switch. Works great, but you have to have some basic metal working skills and equipment.

Finally, one more tip I have not read in any of the "how-to" guides. Use the front brake hoses off a 1983-87 Dodge Charger. These are a little longer than the originals that come with a 72-79 disk brake spindle. If you re-use the original 72-79 brake hoses, they are too short. Some folks move the location of the hard line termination -- various approaches such as bolting in a peice of 1" tubing etc. My approach was to get to know the parts guy real well at my local CarQuest --we went through piles of brake hoses till we found one that works. The charger lines have a metal braket that needs to be removed. Once that is done, they are a bolt up, and don't get in the way or get pulled or pinched.

 

Thanks for all of the responses and great info. Sounds like now is the time to go ahead and get the new tires and rims i've been wanting.
I did get the power booster and brake pedal assembly from a donor (manual transmission) and it bolts up fine. The issue is that the pedal seams to stick up to high and the pedal will not go all the way to the floor before it bottoms out which i'm sure is caused by the longer shaft. Is this a big issue? I'm not sure yet if it will even work this way because as i was bleeding the system and just started getting pressure the bleeder on the right rear drivers side stripped out and will not seat so now i will go ahead and replace the wheel cylinders on the rear.

Jim

 

I had the same problems on my 66. I cut the rod about 1 inch and redrilled the hole. Measure twice, cut once or you will be looking another rod. I had to grind down the edge of the bracket that bolts to the caliper, not the caliper itself. Not a big deal until you break the bolt off in the caliper and an easy out. Easy outs don't drill very well. I only had the problem with the left side if my memory is correct. Getting the brake switch to work was no fun but works fine now. Good Luck.

Go #17

 

Hey dads66, Mine is torn down for the moment, been to wet to make much progress though. What did you do about the steering/tie rod settup. Did you buy a new one or use the existing 66 one? Good luck, and I think I am going to run into the same wheel problem...oh well, looks like new wheels for me too!

 

Tremecgt I bought new tie rods and drag link and everything bolted up very smooth. While i'm doing the rear brakes i will try both back wheels on the front to see if maybe one of those will work. I may just have one oddball rim. I have also been held up either by the rain or planned other indoor activities because of the miss calculations made by the weather guessers here in San Diego.

 

Ah-ha! Charger hoses. I knew someone had used brake hoses from a Dodge but never knew what they were. I will add this to my swap how-to page shortly.
I think I also forgot to talk about the rims not fitting, so will address that as well.
My goal is to make the disc swap is easy as possible. I know several folks have already found it beneficial. I enjoy writing up stuff like that.

 

Dave

Question on your hubcaps.

I have the correct stock 66 stainless steel division bar caps on my crew cab, with 79 spindles and discs i had no fit problems in relation to the dust cap. They popped right on.

are you using 61 to 65 caps? the innie style?

Garbz

 

Garbz -- Yes, the problem is with the "innie" style caps. In 66, the larger caps, like you have I think, switched over to the "outie" style nubs.

As an aside, those original "outie" rims LOOK identical and will accept hub caps to 79 (maybe later, beats me). HOWEVER, for years 66-69 or so, the "outie" rims still had the different "innie" profile on the INSIDE, where they clear the brakes. The reason that MOST later "outie" rims clear disk brake calipers, while the innie rims rub is that the profile of the inside or "backside" of the rim was changed later to accomodate the disk brake calipers.

In any case, folks that like the larger 66 style hub caps, have the flexibility to use rims from later years and their caps will still fit.

My webpage shows a picture of the profile which I am referring to. Not pictured, is the 67 rim that I have, which looks like a later rim on the outside, but a 61-65 on the backside.

Make sense?

 

Man i had a whole tirade typed up and it went poof!

Makes perfect sense... I have not tried the innies with later spindles. I know a trick is a 3/8" steel shim between the rotor and wheel does the trick on 61 to 64s. Havent ran into it on the 65 66s yet. Probally as i havent built a correct 65..LOL.I will do something tho for you i have a set of correct F250 61 to 68 innie style 8 lug non split rims and hubcaps. I will try the F250 caps on the 61 ot 65 innie five lugger and see if they fit....If they do I will type back at ya and that may be a route, They are harder to find but if they fit........

On the crew i have the 79 trailer special heavy 150 chassis and i used the wheels and new tires i had on goat, which are stock 86 F150 15x8 4x4 rims.

I am using the 66 dog dish SS type caps along with beauty rings. My second choice would have been a set of repop 66 ranger full wheel covers.

Garbz