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  1. #1
    FEP Power Member LTDScott's Avatar
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    Default Converting SVO to SN95 rear brakes

    There's probably like 4 people total who might benefit from this, but I documented it so I figured I should share it for posterity since I couldn't find much info on the topic. This might be more relevant to Mustang SVO and/or Lincoln Mark VII owners, but I'm not a member of forums for those so this is the best place to share. The parking brake cable part is relevant to any Foxes with a foot activated parking brake, though.

    My '85 LTD LX had SVO (aka Lincoln Mark VII / Fox Continental / Fox Saleen) rear brakes swapped in by the previous owner, including the hard lines on the axle housing. The parking brake cables used were early Mark VII. I never had any problems with the SVO setup and they seemed to work well, but the 1.25" longer axles on each side plus the lower than Mustang wheel well openings on the LTD meant I was very limited in wheel/tire selections. Even with very high offset (+45mm) Enkei RPF1 17x9 wheels, anything wider than 245/45/17s in the rear meant tire rub on the quarter panels (lips already rolled), and the supercharger I hope to soon install plus my involvement in autocrossing meant I want to run wider/stickier tires in the rear, so I decided it was time to narrow the rear track width and give me more options. In addition the selection of performance pads available for the SVO brakes was slim, whereas there are tons of choices for SN95.

    I found a great deal on Craigslist on a new Ford Racing M-2300-M SN95 Cobra rear brake kit plus custom made brackets to retain the stock Fox width axles (similar to the North Racing brackets). I also bought some new Yukon Fox-length 5-lug 31-spline axles (to match my differential), Hawk HPS SN95 Cobra rear pads, '94-'95 Cobra rear brake hoses (steel braided), '91-'92 Lincoln Mark VII parking brake cables, and misc hardware (banjo bolts, etc).

    This is what I started with: stock SVO / Mark VII brakes:


    I'm not going to detail the disassembly, but I got the axle stripped down to this:


    Here's the pile of parts I removed:


    The Cobra rear discs are larger diameter than SVO (~11.65" vs ~11.25"), but not as thick:




    As I mentioned, the brackets to retain stock Fox width axles were custom made and bolt to the inside of the flange at the end of the axle housing, but North Racecars also makes some for the same purpose (which bolt to the outside of the axle housing flange like stock), or some people have taken stock SN95 Cobra axle brackets, cut a large notch out of them and mounted them on the inside. Alternatively, you could just use stock SN95 Cobra axles (.75" longer than Fox on each side) and brackets if you don't mind the extra length.


    The first unknown I faced was the brake hoses. The SN95 hoses are almost identical to SVO and mount to the axle housing using the same holes. I was stoked to find that the SVO hard line on the axle housing threaded right into the '94-'95 hoses. I thought adapters may be needed, but nope. The only catch is that the hard lines had to be bent upwards, because the hard to soft line connection on the SN95 hose is higher up to clear the SN95 "anti-moan" brackets. I used brute force to bend the line upwards, and it was a bit of a struggle to get the holes all lined up. It was a very tight fit to get the hose and anti-moan bracket to play nice together, but ultimately it worked fine.


    Here's the axle bracket, anti-moan bracket, and brake hose installed.


    Note that I needed to use some 7/16" washers to space out the caliper bracket so the rotor was centered in the caliper bracket. This is normal and even the North Racecar brackets advertise that shimming may be needed.


    Here's everything together.


    The last step was the parking brake cable. This was one of my major hesitations about doing the swap because I wanted my parking brake to work. Someone here on FEP mentioned that the cable from a '91-'92 Lincoln Mark VII may work, because it uses the same foot activated parking brake as my car, but the '91-'92 ONLY Mark VII used the same style rear calipers as SN95s. I did some research using Dorman's website and they looked like they would work, so I bought a pair. First, the front part of the cable where it meets the middle cable is identical to the older Mark VII cable I was using, including the spring clip that attaches the cable to the tab on the body (below the rear door).


    Long story short, the '91-'92 Mark VII cables were a 100% direct fit. I did adjust the parking brake cable tension using the adjuster under the car, but the parking brake works great - it stalled out the car when I had it running up on jack stands. From my research, it appears that ALL 1983+ Fox Body cars with a foot activated parking brake use the same rear cable, which means all of them should be able to use the Mark VII cables for SN95 rear brakes too. The '82 and earlier cars (Fairmont, Granada, etc.) look very close with similar dimensions, so it's likely these cables may work for those cars too.


    I bedded in the pads and then adjusted the rear bias using an adjustable proportioning valve, and I'm very happy with the results. I'm going to take my car to the autocross tomorrow and will really put them to the test.

    I now have so much more tire to body clearance that I am now running 1" spacers to get my RPF1s to sit where they were before, and eventually I'll get some different wheels that don't require spacers (or at least as big), and it should be no problem to fit 275 tires in the rear (tailpipes will probably be the limiting factor).


    I hope this helps someone down the road!
    Last edited by LTDScott; 04-21-2018 at 09:04 PM.
    85 Ford LTD LX: Four eyes and Four doors

    EFI swap, AFR 165 heads, 5-speed conversion, Cobra brakes, etc.

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member David Claflin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LTDScott View Post
    I now have so much more tire to body clearance that I am now running 1" spacers to get my RPF1s to sit where they were before, and eventually I'll get some different wheels that don't require spacers (or at least as big), and it should be no problem to fit 275 tires in the rear (tailpipes will probably be the limiting factor).
    I have ran 285/40-17s on mine, 17x9 bullet wheels, and flowmaster 3" tailpipes. Could probably go bigger, I did fit a 17x10 with 315/35-17s, but didn't drive it around, just didn't look right to me so took them back off. I run 275/50-15 drag radials at the track and don't have any issues with those either, but my fender lips are rolled, and inner fender is massaged to clear the larger tires.
    1985 LTD LX, Mach1 brakes, 17" Mopar police car wheels. 302, T5, 4.10s
    1984 LTD station wagon, with 84GT nose, some might remember it as the old Dugan Racing station wagon.
    1986 FHP coupe, stock shortblock, TW heads, Holley SMII intake, 4.88, T5Z
    1990 Red LX, ported AFR heads, TFS-R box upper, weenie cam, 1 3/4 long accufabs, 3" exhaust, T5, 4.56

  3. #3
    FEP Power Member LTDScott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Claflin View Post
    I have ran 285/40-17s on mine, 17x9 bullet wheels, and flowmaster 3" tailpipes. Could probably go bigger, I did fit a 17x10 with 315/35-17s, but didn't drive it around, just didn't look right to me so took them back off. I run 275/50-15 drag radials at the track and don't have any issues with those either, but my fender lips are rolled, and inner fender is massaged to clear the larger tires.
    I could possibly run wider than 275s in the rear but I think the limiting factor will be the passenger side tailpipe, since the gas tank is offset to that side and the pipe is already “creatively” snaked around to clear the Panhard bar there as well
    85 Ford LTD LX: Four eyes and Four doors

    EFI swap, AFR 165 heads, 5-speed conversion, Cobra brakes, etc.

  4. #4

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    Good choice! I did the same thing and am also running spacers on the rear now.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  5. #5
    FEP Power Member LTDScott's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    Good choice! I did the same thing and am also running spacers on the rear now.
    Well you're also running high(ish) offset SVO wheels, so it makes sense that you'd need to.
    85 Ford LTD LX: Four eyes and Four doors

    EFI swap, AFR 165 heads, 5-speed conversion, Cobra brakes, etc.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by LTDScott View Post
    Well you're also running high(ish) offset SVO wheels, so it makes sense that you'd need to.
    Yep.

    I'll bet you noticed a BIG improvement in your brakes since they're all from the same application now. I've heard it said SVO rears with any other fronts is just not good because of the oddball piston size.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  7. #7
    FEP Senior Member
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    Nice write up. Thank you for sharing. I will just be going with the GT/V6 rear disc brakes on my wagon, but I was a bit apprehensive about trying to figure out the parking brake. I'll have to get some Mark VII cables on order.
    '89 XR-7 5 Speed
    '95 SC 5 Speed
    '91 Crown Vic P72 351W
    '97 Thunderbird
    '85 Ford LTD Squire

  8. #8

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    Great information and details on installation.
    Project "WinBacK" 1986 LX Hatchback
    - CA car, 5.0 w/5 speed
    - Cobra 17x8.5's + Modded Mach1 Chin Spoiler + 83-84 Hood & Scoop/85-86 "Blackout"+ FMS Mass Air Kit+ MM Clutch Cable & Quadrant + Fiore Cable Adjuster + MM SFC's+ Wild Rides "Battle Boxes" + Explorer Intake, Converted TB & Injectors, 70 mm Mass Air Meter + BBK Ceramic Shorties + 2.5" Bassani O/R X-Pipe & Cat-Back Exhaust w/ 3" Tips + 3L27 w/ Carbon Fiber Clutches​(out of retirement) + Pistol Grip Shifter + 99-04 GT Front/00 Cobra Rear Disc Brakes

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