The 65 project came with a pile of new and used brake parts. There are what appears to be the original drum fronts including the whole assembly from control arm out. There is also a pair of disc spindles/rotors and caliper mounts as well as a pair of hubs I can’t identify. For the disc spindles, there is a pair of brand new rotors, calipers, and tie rod ends. A good start to swapping over to disc.

A while back, when I was inventorying what came with the 65, I cleaned up one of the disc spindles to try to identify it. Based on it being a 3 bolt spindle with the “horse shoe” style caliper mount, it’s a 68 or later.

I couldn’t get a clear shot of all the numbers. Doing some searching though, they appear to be the D1ZA type which is 70-73 mustang. From what I read, these have a larger pin diameter, making them stronger. I don’t know that it matters for what I plan on using the car for, but in general, these appear to be a desirable setup. Nice.

Rather than put these on the 65, I decided to stick with original style and use the original spindles that came with the car since V8 drum spindles are the same as V8 disc in 65. This way, I wont have future problems finding parts or needing to remember what the brakes came off of. What also helped me to decide that was my son inevitably wanting a V8 in his 67. I want it to be a little more safe, so good disc brakes which are also 5 bolt would solve both those problems.

Looking through the brake parts, I found a pair of brand new spindles and calipers. The part number on the spindle boxes indicates they are for a 70 mustang. The calipers on the other hand appear to be for a Granada and will not mount on the setup I have. At this point, I have a good idea what I have and what I need. The plan is to put them all together so I can just replace the whole assembly, including new control arms. Will see how that goes when I get there, but for now, I need to order some parts.

I called Dan at Chockostang. He was able to hook me up with exactly what I need in a loaded pair of calipers and the associated hardware. He also reminded me I needed the hoses, so those got included. To finish it up, I picked up a new manual disc front/drum rear dual master cylinder to address the new changes. Dan knew exactly what master I would need. With parts on the way, I started cleaning up the original parts.

I will be using the spindles obviously, and the caliper mounts. I considered buying new dust shields, but in the end, I didn’t. $80 for the pair, but these are usable, just ugly with texture. The metal is strong, so I blasted them and rattle can sprayed them. No one is going to see the dust shields anyhow. The other cast iron parts cleaned up good enough for a coat of paint as well. I was afraid I might have to use the guard bracket for the caliper, but the new caliper kit comes with those, as well as the pad retaining clip.

Between the dust shield and the spindle is a cork gasket. It doesn’t appear to be significant, but Virginia Classic Mustangs had them, so I bought them to replace the ones that disintegrated when I took it apart. Since they had them, I also bought the dust shield retaining bolts. I like new parts, but I am also cheap. It’s a fine line.

I thought I could get away with scraping the crud off of the big parts and blasting the spindle with the caliper bracket in place. As you can see, there was a lot to scrape. In the end, I just couldn’t get into some angles to clean it, so I took the bracket off as well.

Once everything was blasted clean, I put some rattle can paint on it to look pretty and maybe a few extra years before the surface rust returns.

Getting to loading the spindles, it starts with the cork gasket and new bolts I mentioned earlier. The order is gasket, dust shield (dinner plate), then the retaining triangular bracket.

The project came with a pair of rotors conveniently labeled R and L so I don’t have to learn which way the lines go when the wheels turn. They did not come with any other parts, so I had to buy some new bearings and grease seal. I thought this would be tougher with a mix match of parts, but sticking with parts for a V8 ’71 Mustang worked well. The races were in the bearing already though, so I didn’t have to deal with pressing new ones in, even though they came with the new bearings.

I have a forever size can of wheel bearing grease, so I hand packed the bearings. First goes the larger, inside bearing, then I tapped the seal in place.

With the outer bearing greased, I cleaned up the original retaining washer, nut, and crown. I also have a forever size pack of pins for just such an occasion. What I don’t have is a new dust cap. I will need to find me a couple of those. The originals are pretty well beat to hell and it would be a shame to put them back on looking like that.

The calipers from Chockostang came all loaded and ready to go.

The hardware kit doesn’t come with bolts. I had to go find a few since the salvaged parts I had were missing a couple. One of the spindles didn’t have a caliper cover, so the bolts for that were gone too. The darker bolts in the above picture were what came off the one that I did have. The heads are smaller than normal, but I don’t see why. There was room for normal bolts, so I went to the hardware store and picked up enough for both spindles. The caliper kit comes with perfect pad retaining clips, just like the originals. Also included are the caliper retainer pins. Considering I am using the original bolts for the pad clip, is everything needed to finish the job at this point.

First step is to insert the rubber nipple in the caliper bracket. I use dish soap for things like this. It makes it install easy, but dries tacky, unlike any type of grease. Then, I pulled the ends out of the way and slid the pad in place, followed by bolting the silver pad clips in place.

Now, the caliper itself will just drop in place. It is held by the two long pins. They are only threaded on the ends near the head where they connect directly to the caliper. The remainder goes in the rubber nipples I just installed. I am sure someone will say I am doing it wrong, but I snipped a small slit/hole in the tip of the nipple to let the air out when I push the pin in. I also used a very light layer of grease on the pins, careful not to touch the threads. This allowed the pin to slide through the rubber without pulling it out the other side, while not making a balloon out of it as well.

With the caliper bolted in, I tightened down the caliper shield and put the banjo bolt in place to attach the break line hose. I left it loose, thinking parts attached are less likely to get lost when they are needed later. I will get it facing the right direction and tightened down when they go on the car.

Other than center dust caps, they are complete, and ready to be installed on the car. Now I need to check clearance on the 65 original 14″ wheels that I am hoping to use temporarily while my son saves up and picks out new wheels and tires. Lots of new parts required for adding one lug nut. Which reminds me, I need those too.

Next major step is to work on the 8″ rear I found and get it working again.