Hi all, first post on the forum. I've picked up a late 70 Mav parts car to snag the 3.03 manual transmission & BH for my daughter's 65 Falcon. If the 4 lug 8" rear end checks out I'm going to try and swap that in as well. We're keeping her 4-lug 4 bump 14" wheels and I'm putting disks on the front. The rear is about 1.5" narrower than the Falcon rear end which I can make up with wheel adapters, but I was wondering if the small bearing 8" is compatible with any drums larger than the stock 9 x 1.5 brakes? I realize that wider brakes would require new axles and that the costs might get beyond what makes sense, but thought I'd ask you all anyway. 10 x 1.5 drums are an option as we'll if the backing plate bolts up. Thanks!
There are far more knowledgable "Maverick guys" around here than me that will likely correct me if I'm wrong.. but I can't see why the midsized cars rear brake systems used on their 8 inch rears couldn't be swapped over. Most of the cars I had that ran an 8" used the 10" rear drums setups. Seems doubtful that Ford made that many different bearing sizes for these little 8 inchers(I've swapped nealry a dozen out through the years and they all seemed similar except for widths) but worst case scenario would be that the backing plates bolt pattern changed so they could make more cash on smaller/specific parts of these cars. If that were the case?.. just cut off the axle tube ends and swap on another backing plate intended for the same bearing size, is all. And..
Do like we do.....Explorer and Crown Vic/Grand Marquis disc brakes on the 8" housing. 71gold did a tech article on here that works really well. That is what I use, never had an issue with them.
Thanks for the replies guys, keep them coming. It is an 8" (see pics below). Tag says a 2.79. I know these came with a couple of different bearing sizes and flange dimensions that can make it hard to fit some brakes from another 8". That's why I ask. I like the Explorer disk brake idea, but they're a 5 x 4.5 vice 4 x 4.5 lug pattern which we're trying to keep (she likes the hubcaps and hence the wheels). Also, even if I can get rotors redrilled for the 4 lug pattern not sure they'll fit inside the 14" stock wheels. I can check it out next time I'm at pull-a-part.
The early Maverick model known as the 69.5 had the little rear with the back cover on it - I know - I threw one out
Actually it is a kind of mixed bag. In my 1970 Maverick Grabber registry, I have cars with 7.5" rears and 8" rears. Considering they were all built after March of 1970, looks like the 7.5 went late into the model year.
the 4 lug 8" rear ends use a smaller axle bearing and have a different mounting flange bolt pattern for the brake backing plate and axle retainer. you cant just swap the bigger brakes to that housing.
but.. that smaller bearing must have the same id as the l;arger ones considering that the axles themselves would be the same, right? couldn't he just chop-n-swap to the larger bearing housing ends to accept the larger brakes backing plate? or are all the 4-luggers going to have the smaller rear brake drums anyways? course.. by the time he pays to have the housing modified for larger stock drums.. he probably could have just upgraded to the crown vic or explorer brakes for not much more and have far better braking out of the deal.
The 14" hubcaps should fit a 5 lug 14" wheel. I believe the rim dimensions for the hubcap is the same, and the 14" Granada/Monarch wheels should clear the Crown Vic caliper. Never mind, I just re-read your post and realized you are using the early dog dish style caps. I had mistakenly envisioned the full 14" futura caps I had on my Falcon!
the bearing id is smaller and the the distance from the axle flange to the bearing is also different. the bolt pattern for the backing plate is different and wont match the explorer brakes stand. the thing to keep in mind is the front brakes do most of the stopping. its not worth the effort to try to up grade the rear brakes if they are staying with the 4 lug rear. put the effort into the front brakes and the stopping will be just fine.
Well thanks so much for all of the input. I'll just rebuild the existing rears and get the disk brake upgrade done on the front. Happy New Year!
