I just looked up the front bearing sizes for the 4 lug and 5 lug spindles on Rock Auito. They show the bearings to be identical for my 72 Grabber. Those that can confirm this, please chime in. I am looking to go with disc brakes on the front and need to make sure there are not going to be technical issues with the rotors. Since I already have some nice 4 lug rims, I am going to stay with the 4 lug pattern.
The rotors are 5 lug and the spindles must be changed to disc spindles. Search it in the tech sections. Sorry didnt realize you were talking aftermarket or fabrication. Forget what I said.
Disc brakes have a different spindle than drum brakes. Theres no way to bolt the calipers to drum brake spindles. Wheel bearings are cheap enough and should be replaced and not reused on a different spindle
The biggest problem I've found so far is finding a rotor that will fit over the hub. None will without modification. I have a metal lath so I am modifying the hubs to fit. Next step will be to select a set of calipers and fabricate a bracket that will bolt to the spindle. I'm looking at S10 calipers because they are cheap and have a simple mounting system. Just need to get to the local junkyard and collect some parts. Maybe this weekend.
Well, this all started some time ago when CSRP started doing disc brake retrofits for the Falcon, Comets and early Mustangs with 4 lug. I emailed them to see if they had any kits for the Mavericks and was told the spindles were the same. I already knew of some differences and needed confirmation before talking with them directly. I was told through the email that the kits they had would work on the 4 lug. I take anything like this in stride due to all of the problems with aftermarket stuff which does not fit or work properly. I am going to get some specs from them on rotor size, calipers, etc.
I can confirm that on front drum brake setups that the 4-lug and 5-lug spindles are identical...as are the bearings obviously. When I swithed from 4-lug to 5-lug on my 71 I just had to install the 5 lug drums over the original spindles.
I looked through their websight and all the pictures I see are 5 lug. Does their swap retain the 4 lug set up? All the descriptions say it works on a 4 lug set up but cant see where it says it remains a 4 lug set up.. If it does, how much is the kit?
I just got off of the phone with Dennis at CSRP and he nixed the possibility of a 4 lug setup. He did state that there were some 4 lug rotors that might fit the spindle cone but they did not have any to sell per say. Also, 15 inch rims are a necessity to accomodate the rotors and calipers. I currently have 14 inch rims. Anyway, I am going to keep researching pssibilities but maybe I am beating a dead horse with a stick.
Thats was what I found when I went searching. So I'm trying to come up with a plan to retain the stock 4 lug set up. I have already machined a set of hubs down to fit in the rotors I bought. I'm using rotors from a 2003 Hyundai Sonata. They are only 10.3" diameter and are a vented rotor. The machining is pretty easy and can really be done with a grinder. I used my 4 inch grinder on the first hub just to be sure it can be done with normal shop tools. But the lath makes it come out so much better. Next step is to get a set of calipers. If they fit within the 14" wheel, then making some brackets to mount them will be the easy part. When I am finished, I will write a tech article on how to do it. I will also offer machined hubs for those that want the hard part already done.
