I am going to swapping out my rear for a 9" so I want to change the front to a 5 lug as well. I know there are kits out there for the conversion, but I can't afford that at the moment. I assume all the components to the kit would be available from an auto wrecker. What year and model of vehicle would I be able to pull the parts from?

Corey

 

I assume that you are talking about a 1948 Mercury M-68 with a stock front suspension? Not sure if you will find hubs in a junkyard that will work but you could have your current hubs redrilled to the pattern you want...OR... the cheapest way to convert the lug pattern is to buy adapters...they will add 1 - 1-1/2 inches width to the track but that truck should handle it with ease.

 

I was thinking of also changing the front to disc brakes.

 

I'm hoping to do the same thing so i'm also waiting to hear a great (and cheap) answer. I don't know much about the Merc trucks, like what M-68 means. How many lugs do you have in the front now?

 

I have 8 lug in the front and back.

 

I bought a basic disc brake adapter kit from ECI a few years back. My truck is already 5 lug but you have a choice when buying the kits to stay with the standard 5 on 5 1/2 pattern or change to a 5 on 4 1/2 or 5 on 4 3/4.

You can buy a basic kit which is just the brackets and bearing adapters or the full on kit with the hubs, bearing, calipers, rotors, etc. I chose to stick with the 5 on 5 1/2 lug pattern. The basic kit came with the caliper brakets, a couple of spacers, all the bolts and the bearing adapters. I had to come up with front brake rotors, bearing, calipers, etc. Here's a breakdown of the parts involved that the kit called for;

1973-1990 Ford 1/2 ton front rotors, inner bearings, and seals
mid 70's fulls sized GM brake calipers, and shoes
mid 70's mid sized car outer wheel bearings

The kits comes with a small bearing adapter that slides onto the spindle and shims the inner part of the spindle to accomodate the late Ford inner bearings. I think that is the key element to the kit. I don't know if the spindle adapters are available for purchase without the rest of the parts, you might try calling one of the vendors and seeing about it.

A few years ago there was a thread with an article about adapting laate model Ford disc brakes to out trucks but I didn't save it. You might be able to find it doing a search (might)

You could easily adapt the front of your truck to a 5 lug pattern just by swapping out the front hubs. I think the spindles and bearings are the same for F-1, F-2, and F-3.

Bobby

 

I've be comparing the kits from LMC and Speedway. Is there a reason why the kit from speedway is half the price? To me, it looks like the same components.
What vehicle can I get the brake booster and MC from?

 

I would bet that the kits are the same and are just marketed by the various vendors. I helped a buddy last year install the kit from Speedway. When the box came in all the miscellaneous bags and boxes had labels from the supplier and not from Speedway (I can't remember who the supplier was). For what its worth the kit from Speedway was an easy install. If you go this route there are a couple of things to keep in mind;
1. you can build a homemade driver for the spindle adapters from 1 1/2" pipe approx 8" long
2. to ease installation of the spindle adapters put them in your oven at 400+ degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or so to expand them so they slip on easier (they are relatively thin and easily damaged) ((while you are waiting for them to heat up you can take some time and make sure the inner part of the spindles are smooth and free of burrs))
3. on some installations you might have to replace the grease zert on the kingpin with an angled one to clear the bracket.


As far as the power booster....are you staying with the master cylinder mounted along the frame? if so then you'll need a booser with a small diameter. If you are going with a hangine pedal assy, then you have more choices. On my 49 I fabbed my own hanging pedal assy using parts from a mid 90's Ford Focus. I'm using the booster from th e same mid 90's Ford Focus and a master cylinder from an early 80's Caddy.

Here's a shot of my pedal assy;


Here's my firewall;


I used a proportioning valve from a 70 Olds Cutlass.

Bobby

 

Can I use the booster and MC from the 76 econoline that I got my engine from?

 

I don't see why not, seems like a good option.

 

If keeping underfloor brakes, the booster is probably too big. Otherwise for underfloor or firewall, MC will only work if it is for disk/drum application. Disks require significantly more fluid so the disk rez chamber is larger than one for a drum application. You will also need disk/drum proportioning valve unless one is built into the MC. If you are cobbling together your own setup, you'll probably want to plumb in a adjustable pressure valve into the rear brake line so you can balance the braking front to rear.
Since the whole system is so balanced component sensitive and safety dependent, I'd recommend biting the bullet and buy the compete matched assembly, that way you will be getting all new components and a matched system guaranteed to work together.