My dad started rebuilding a 73 (302) and now it’s mine to finish. I am currently changing the front brakes from drum to disc. I am changing the spindles to Granada spindles. So I’m using Granada set up on those. I have a brand new 9” brake booster with master cylinder. It will not fit past the valve cover. What other brake booster will be compatible and fit in this car?
Welcome from Portland! I used a generic 7 inch booster that works o.k. but never tried a manual set up. I am not sure that the 7" booster is much better than manual, but it fits......barely.....and requires drilling and mounting. Do some searches on it, I think a few people around here have done it. I also put Granada front disc brakes on, and I bought some Granada tie rod ends. It seemed to me like the Comet tie rod ends were a hair too small, and the nut got tight before it seated in the spindle. Oh, and I had to adapt the brake line with a brass part/fitting from the parts store....ironically, the parts store with the smallest selection was the only one with the correct one....but I cant remember the size off hand.
Thank you for your help. Can you tell me which 7” booster I need to buy. I’m not a car guy and I’m learning as I go.
I dont even know if there is a brand name on it....it is VERY generic. Also, drilling the four holes in the firewall to mount it is tricky, and it must be positioned so that the brake pedal pushes the rod straight into the booster. The pedal rod must be modified slightly and welded, the master cylinder holes must be filed to fit the studs on the booster that are slightly too far apart, and I had to rig a piece of brass to fit into the back of the master cylinder to take up the slack between the adjuster on the booster and the backside of the master cylinder piston. I had to buy a die grinder, and 90 degree close quarter drill to get it done. AND bolting it on was a pain with the steering column in the car. Drilling the mounting holes with the engine IN the car was tough too. When I was halfway done, I was wishing I had not started it.....but it was past the point of no return, and I thought I really wanted it. I am not as seasoned as many of the mechanics around here, but am not green either. This will be a fairly difficult modification, and unless you have a welder, air compressor, die grinder, drill, drill bits, files, etc., installation of a 50 dollar part can turn into a 500 dollar nightmare. And at the end of it....if you get there, you may only be somewhat better than manual brakes. I recently read that this booster requires 18 inches of vacuum and my engine is making 16 currently.....so it works, but is not awesome.
mounting may be tricky but there are attachments that make your drill turn sideways that might help also most of the later model cars had disk brakes so maybe melvinsclassicfordparts has a booster and bracket for you good luck
A booster isn't absolutely necessary but will(should) reduce pedal effort considerably... The orig Ford setup is a nightmare, uses a goofy mounting bracket & pedal assembly to lower and angle MC upward, sooo I have a manual setup on mine... One of these days I'll maybe go to the 7" booster...
from Atlantic Canada! I am running Granada/Maverick discs up front and 98-02 Crown Vic discs on the rear with a factory Maverick disc/drum manual master cylinder. Stops just fine.
I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. I have Granada manual w/ 10" drums and disk/drum master, car stops pretty good. I had considered going the route your contemplating but, w 14" vac, may not have been enough. No it don't stop like my late model DD- 4 wheel disk, engineer designed cars, but I realize I am driving classic car technology and drive/act accordingly. Once you get the disk working, you may decide what you have is sufficient.
