I was just wondering if anyone knows of a OE swap to change the Mustang II from 4 lug to 5 lug ? The kits that you buy are already 5 lug i think and they make aftermarket brake kits that will do this but i was going to get mine from a junk yard and im pretty sure that there is no OE swap ... Anyone know ??
Ok i found a site that sells 5 lug 9 '' rotors for the mustang II ... they also sell a bracket kit so you can use the 11" granada rotors ... not too bad on the price http://www.zigsstreetrods.com/Pages/mustang2.html
When using the M II front you can use the 11" rotors off of a maverick or granada bearings,seals,and all! then there is a bracket that you can buy to either use GM calipers or Ford calipers.
interesting.... Very interesting Robert.....so the taper on the spindle is the same? I"m very interested in this as I would like to upgrade my front brake system to a Wilwood brake system....
cool Thanks robert i'll check it out !! .. I was reading an article in the tech tips section of car craft and they said that there was no OE swap ... guess they dont know everything ... Thanks again ...
Yes the taper is the same,and the I.D. of the bearings are too. the seal fit like it was O.E.M. the rotors front to back measure identical Maverick-M II. the only thing that has been a problem for me is the fact that the M II cradle measures 27" Inside to inside and the Maverick frame rails measure26 5/8 inside to inside and outside of fraim rails measure 31" so as many already know I spread the cradle 4" to fit my frame rails and well that created ....um...another problem let's just put it this way I disagree with Pontiac......wider is not better! needless to say i'm redoing it this weekend.
robert, if the Mav's frame rails are a bit narrower than the MII's, I wondered if it's possible to "notch" the frame rails just a bit to allow the crossmember to slide in? Just thinking out loud, as usual
hey mavman the problem with notching the mav frame rails is to notch it enuff there would be no frame rail left......so what i'm doing is welding new frame rail pieces to the inside of the mav frame 2"x3"tubing where the cradle goes so once i do cut the frame rails out there will be pleanty of metal there,plus i'm going to run the new frame tube far enuff forward so my engine plate for my 460 will have a strong mounting point.
ah, ok. I havent tried this swap (yet)....but Ive done some planning/thinking, and that's what I thought would happen. Thinking about buying a fabricated crossmember, then using the M II parts....I think that would be a bit easier (but more $$$). Thanks!
Couldnt you just narrow the cradle to fit the mav's frame rails ? The only thing you would have to do then is have the lower control arms extended or shortened to make up for the difference in frame rail width . That is assuming the width is different ...Same thing with the tie rod end links. If you use tubular control arms it'll be much easier to haver them altered... But if the difference is only 3/8 of an inch total you would only need to notch the mav's frame rails 3/16 on each side ... You could always notch it a little more then weld stiffeners or ( Fish plates) around the mav's frame rail to beef it up some ...
the mav frame is wider than the M II not narrower so the broblem is you have to beef up the inside of the mav frame. I know there are other ways of doing it but this is how I decided to do it I will have it all welded together tomorrow i'll take pictures and post them.
And I know what you mean about the after market cradle mavman.....last week I seriously considerd ordering A cradle but.....I came to my senses when I first started this project I was wanting to do it on a budget and still am after buying new ball joints and bushings $100 rebuilt rack$115 new rotors and bearingsand seals$112 and outer tie rods $24 the after market caliper brackets are $80 if i remember right and the calipers are like $18 each and the hoses are $16 each of course the calibers and hoses will be GM. So i'll only have total in mine what they want for the aftermarket cradle($450) and I bought my front end parts car for $20.
Maybe i missed something .. But if the mav's frame rails are wider why would you have to notch them ? Same thing ... Add a spacer on the inside of the frame rails or cut the cradle and widen it ... Then simply weld the upper cradle mount in place ... Its much easier and cheaper to have the cradle or control arms altered than it is to buy a new cradle... $500.00 for a cradle vrs. $150.00 to pay a welder to burn a rod for an hour or two ...:confused:
the first time i did this on my car i did cut and widen the cradle that set the wheel span out to far as i stated earlier in this thread. even though the m II frame rails are narrower the span from rotor to rotor is basicaly the same between the 2. the way the after market cradles do it is they move the A-Arm mounts inboard,so to use the factory cradle I basicaly have 2-3 choices 1 narrow my frame rails. 2 notch the cradle back(but with this option you have to make sure you get the anti dive built back)"the angle the front suspension sets" 3 make a new cradle myself (in the near future I plan on trying this) ok so i could pay out the cash to buy 1 so that makes 4 options.
