I am building a 71 Maverick drag car. The car has been a race car since 1973. The car was originally equiped with 6 cylinder and three speed on the column. The person I got the car from claims that it has 71 mustang V-8 front spindles with drum brakes. They are five lug spindles with 4 1/2 lug spacing and are not four lug spindle's that were drilled to five lug. I am looking to upgrade to lightweight disk brakes made by Strange, Wilwood, Aerospace, or Mark Williams. Mark Williams is the only manufacturer listing disk conversion for 71 mustang or 71 - 74 Comet. http://emporium.markwilliams.com/prodinfo.asp?prodid=3138 Questions, will mustang spindles fit on a maverick? How can I confirm that this switch was made? Are the spindles just maverick v-8 spindles with drum brakes? Will these brakes work on my car? I have read several post claiming the switch of early model mavericks to disk brakes using hardware from the Granada or Fairmont. If I use these spindles do you know if the above manufacturers offer a kit for this conversion. Thanks for your help.
I"m not sure what spindles you have but I don't think drum brake spndles will work w/ disc brakes. I like that MW kit but there stuff is just way overpriced ! Soon I will be having Aerospace make me a set of front brakes ($525), they just need me to mail them a spindle and they will custom make me an aluminum hub. They might be able to make you a disc brake hub to go over your drum spindle.......give them a call !!
Casting Numbers Thanks for the replies. I called aerospace today and they said they have a kit. They claim they do not require the spindles for match. Gsjohnson the casting numbers are as follows; right front = DOOA 3108, left front = DOOA 3107. I assume that you know what these numbers mean and how to decode them. I would appreciate your input. Thanks!
Those spindles are off of a 70 Torino with drum brakes. I believe the spindles were the same whether it was drum or disc brakes for the Torino. I'm using D0ZE 70 Mustang spindles on my 72 Maverick & they are the same as the Granada disc brake spindles dimensionally, as I have 73 Maverick rotors & calipers. If cost is a concern, I would just go to your local junk yard & get both Granada front spindle/ disc brake assemblies. They work excellent & are the same as Maverick disc brake option. Don't forget to get the distribution block on the left side inner apron. You will also have to convert the outer tie-rods to the V8 type(they're larger). Hope this helps.
spindle decoding Gsjohnson thanks for the information. For future reference how do you decode the spindles? Cost is always an issue but I am more worried about performance. Aerospace and other's significantly reduce rotating weight over stock cast rotors, Thanks again!
Let's take D0ZE as that is the basic decoding info. D=70s production(the entire decade). E would be 80s & C would be 60s. 0=specific year of the designated decade. So 1970. D1 would be 1971. E5 would be 1985. C9 would be 1969. Z=Designated model, which is Mustang. O is usually a full size Ford(Torino/Fairlane, but also can include Maverick. I need my book to give you all of them. The final digit is the engineering division of Ford that produces this part. Again, I would need my book in front of me give you all those desinations, But there are different digits designating engine, trim, body, suspension, etc. Hope this helps
gsjohnson, I am curious about your comment above about running '70 Mustang spindles on your '72. Did you change spindles? According to my interchange manual your Maverick spindles should have been the same as a '70 Mustang from the factory. 70 Mustang = '70-'73 Maverick. My '70 Maverick was originally a 6 cylinder but had the same spindles as a V8 '70 Mustang, so I just got drums, hubs, and backing plates from a '70 Mustang. Since my interchange manual only goes up to '74 it doesn't list Granadas so I can't corolate some of these part numbers. You also mention that you are running '73 Maverick rotors and calipers. I thought Mavericks didn't have disc brakes untill '74 and they were the Mustang II type. Sorry for being so long winded, but I'm confused.
I was unaware that 72 Maverick Spindles were disc brake capatible, although you maybe correct. I do know that the outer tie rod ends are different sizes between the 70 Mustang spindles & the 72 Maverick spindles. I'm utilizing D0ZE 70 Mustang spindles with Maverick rotors & calipers. Disc brakes were first introduced on the Maverick in 1973 & remained the same throughout the years. These are virtually the same disc brake setup that was introduced on the Granada. I don't know if this clarifies anything for you, but this is what I know.
