68 Coupe Front Suspension & Brake

you cannot use the 89 mustang brakes on the early car, unless you have an adapter for the calipers, and no one4 makes such a thing.

engine can be used with a little modification, such as changing the timing cover and oil pan for earlier units.

the transmission can be used since it already bolts to the later engine, but you will likely need a different cross member for the trans mount.

the rear end can be used, IF you eliminate the suspension mounting points and convert to a leaf spring mount.

If you really want to use the Fox body front brakes,struts, and spindles, I think Fatman Fabrications makes a kit to adapt it. The cost of buying the kit and installing it is much higher than buying new parts that fit though if I remember correctly. I'm interested to see which rear end you go with.

LILCBRA said:

You can find a front brake conversion here: www.discbrakeswap.com
..............

Click to expand...

what is the quality level of these kits vs the other name brand suppliers? i was about to order a Wilwood set but see that the prices at the site above are just as good and the kit is a little more complete.

does anyone know if there is any difference between the disc or drum spindles? does it make much of a difference if you're just trying to improve braking for a daily driver?

I just did the Wilwood 4 piston set on my 1968 Shelby GT350. It had a single piston Kelsey Hayes disc on it from Shelby American. Even though Wilwood and CJPony told me that the Wilwood was a bolt on, it was not. All those kits apparently are designed for drum brake cars. What is the difference? The holes that the Disc brake Caliper bolts into on the spindle are much smaller. In fact I was a bit shocked to realize how small they were. The Wilwood came with 3/8 inch bolts. We drilled out the wheel spindles and tapped new threads for the 3/8. Then it was a bolt on deal. The other good news was this Wilwood classic disc brake set up was actually more compact than the existing Kelsey Hayes, so they fit my 15" 10 spoke Shelby rims better with more clearance. By the way the Wilwood kit was a bit cheaper at CJPony than directly from Wilwood. Go figure that. And cheaper than the Kelsey Hayes knock offs. The shop I had do the brake work had a drum brake 66 Fastback at their shop before I brought my car in. That owner got a kit from SSBC. That Mustang was still setting there when I pulled my Mustang out of their shop. The kit was also not a bolt on deal and needed to be modified to fit the car. The only good thing was he had drum spindles that didn't need drilled out. It was other parts of the kit that were a problem. I'd recommend the Wilwood's. Except for the spindles needed to be drilled this was a bolt on deal. Everything was there and fit as advertised. And I love the brakes I have on this car now. Does it make a difference? You bet. Be forced to do a panic stop and think about what the brakes are worth. We all want our Mustangs to go. But we also need them to stop.