62 Ford F100 4X4 Front Drums to Disc Brake Conversion

Hi all,

I've been working on a new project- 60 F100. I'm swapping in the drivetrain from a 62 F100 4X4. I want to update to a dual reservoir master cylinder and front disc brakes. Anyone out there with some experience with this type of swap? I'm looking for a factory type setup, not one from an aftermarket company specializing in high performance, bolt-in kits. What, if anything, is a bolt-on from newer model trucks?
Thanks in advance for any help,

Nick

I am no 4x4 guru so take what I say with a big grain of salt. lol
I had a 76 4x4 F150 with the solid axle in front and it had discs. Might take a look at one of those and see if it'll work. What axle do you have in the front?
clint

hi clint,

i got a dana-spicer id guide from a friend of mine so i'm hoping to check into it this weekend. i'll let you know what it is.

nick

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: montego69 on 2/25/06 2:44am ]</font>

cliff,

it is a dana-spicer 44 axle. looks to be completely stock.
anyone out there aware of a factory type swap to disc brakes or am i wasting my time because the drums are completely adequate?

thanks,

nick

I had an old F150, I think it was a pre 75 chassis, (the body and title said 79) and it had Chevy spindles and hubs. From what I recall, alot of the 1/2 ton trucks with Dana 44s all take the same ball joints, so the spindles swap as well. Look up the Moog part number for your upper and lower ball joints, and for, say, a 78 or 79, and if they are the same, all you really need are junkyard spindles and backing plates, everything else can be bought in the aftermarket, or get it all used, whichever you prefer. Dont forget to check taper diameter and placemnt on your tie rod ends as well.

If you haven't already, take a look at fordification.com
Great resource.

So, does your front axle have open or closed knuckles?

If they are open knuckles you can use chevy, dodge, or ford brake parts to do the conversion. Basically, you will need to take everything from the knuckle out (including the knuckle) as well as the outer axle shaft.

Personally, I would go with GM stuff only because they are very plentiful around here. There is a whole pile of GM front axles at the junkyard here, but I have yet to see a Ford solid axle. I don't think the ford trucks in the '70s were very popular around here for some reason.

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On 2006-03-01 06:43, BBFMAN wrote:
I had an old F150, I think it was a pre 75 chassis, (the body and title said 79) and it had Chevy spindles and hubs. From what I recall, alot of the 1/2 ton trucks with Dana 44s all take the same ball joints, so the spindles swap as well. Look up the Moog part number for your upper and lower ball joints, and for, say, a 78 or 79, and if they are the same, all you really need are junkyard spindles and backing plates, everything else can be bought in the aftermarket, or get it all used, whichever you prefer. Dont forget to check taper diameter and placemnt on your tie rod ends as well.
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Dana 44 parts are dana 44 parts for the most part. There were some variations depending on who Spicer made the parts for (Ford, GM, Dodge, etc.) but everything will pretty much interchange.

You cant do it the way you want without custom spindles and brackets for the calipers.

Pre 73? maybe, but definitely in 71 and before, they used trunion bearings instead of ball joints. That style front end, open or closed knuckle was slightly different on the ends of the axles and you couldnt bolt the disk brake/bearing combo onto the spindle, not to mention no way to mount a caliper bracket

In addition, you couldnt bolt the new style knuckle onto the old housing because of the disk brake uses ball joints and its completely different. The spindle itself is even a different bolt pattern and OD, so you cant swap that

What I did on my 71 (which should be the same) was to put an entire 76 front axle under it. Its a bolt in and then you have ball joints and disks

(Personally, trunion bearings rarely loosen up but they need to be packed now and then, so I like them better, but having disk brakes is worth the weaker but easier to service ball joints)
[addsig]

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On 2007-04-29 08:42, My427stang wrote:
You cant do it the way you want without custom spindles and brackets for the calipers.

Pre 73? maybe, but definitely in 71 and before, they used trunion bearings instead of ball joints. That style front end, open or closed knuckle was slightly different on the ends of the axles and you couldnt bolt the disk brake/bearing combo onto the spindle, not to mention no way to mount a caliper bracket

In addition, you couldnt bolt the new style knuckle onto the old housing because of the disk brake uses ball joints and its completely different. The spindle itself is even a different bolt pattern and OD, so you cant swap that

What I did on my 71 (which should be the same) was to put an entire 76 front axle under it. Its a bolt in and then you have ball joints and disks

(Personally, trunion bearings rarely loosen up but they need to be packed now and then, so I like them better, but having disk brakes is worth the weaker but easier to service ball joints)

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So, have you seen an open knuckle kingpin front end? I was under the impression that the kingpin to ball joint switch took place at the same time that they went to open knuckles (hence the reason I asked that way).

I guess you learn something new everyday.