Started sn95 brake swap today...(updated, it werks! woo woo)

[AaronATX]

Finally got a decent deal on some of the remaining parts I needed to get working on my 5 lug/4 wheel disk swap....so I got started today.

After spending a billion hours on the web to try and make sense of all the options, I have the following parts:

2 95 gt front rotors
2 95 gt rear rotors
2 95 gt rear calipers
2 95 gt rear dust sheilds (didnt use)
2 95 gt caliper brackets (they are marked left and right)
2 95 gt front calipers
2 94 gt axles
2 95 spindles/hubs (1 was from an ABS car)
2 sn95 a-arms
2 1993 stock struts

Obviously I am still short a few parts but I have enough to get rolling at least. Aaaaanyway, on to the fun:

I tore down the front suspension to the a-arms the other day, so first order of biz was to remove the stock 86 a-arms. No big deal really, except for a few things....what the heck size are those bolts? The largest socket I have is 1 1/16 and it was still too small! And in order to remove the front bolts that mount the a-arm I had to just about remove the steering rack so that the bolt could slide out. You can kinda see what I mean in this pic:



When I put the sn95 a-arm in place (after much smacking the crap out of it with a hammer) I went ahead and reversed the front bolt/nut, but the steering rack is still in the way a bit even like that.

One mistake I made was to go ahead and tighten down the a-arm before I had everything else installed. Apparently this needs to be tightened afterwards, right?

Struggled with getting the stock spring back in for a while, but had to cut the wrenching short today. Over the next couple of days i'll continue to add to this thread to give you a blow by blow account of my progress and ultimately, problems I will run into.

Incase anyone wanted to see a pic of the stock 86 a-arm next to the sn95 arm, here you go:



Oh, and here is a picture of the spindles/hubs....I removed the abs sensor from one, but you can see the ring on it in this next picture, compared to the other one. They both look the same to me besides that, but I guess I wont know for sure until I go to put them on. (yeah I ripped the dust sheilds off)

[ohno5point0]

Just curious why you replaced the a arm with an SN95 one. That is not necessary, and judging by the pics, I can see a thread in the near future from you.

HELP. Did 5 lug conversion and now wheels hit my fenders. HELP!

Ditch those 95 calipers and get some from a 99-04, V6 or GT. They fit onto the rotor and you get fual pistons with an aluminum calipers as opposed to a single piston steel caliper. You will shed 10 pounds or so of unsprung weight and gain braking power. You can get them for around 50 bucks from wrecking yards.

To get the front springs back in. bolt in the a arms with the two main bolts. Put a jack under the spring cup. Put spring in. Get a huge prybar, and put it under the spring. SLOWLY jack the a arm as making sure it does not fly out and take your head off. As soon as tension gets on the spring, push up on the prybar, like straight up. Then kick it into the spring cup and you have no worry of it killing you. Do not use a spring compressor. They are no good for our front suspensions.

If you have access to a welder, I suggest bocing the front arms. It's easy. Here's a puc of mine, and I do suggest poly bushings in the front arms.



If you have any questions. Let me know as I have done this swap about 100 billion times. I;m not joking.

[AaronATX]

I went with the sn95 a-arm because of the different a-arm mounting of my 86 k-member, as it is apparently a little bit more "inboard". I plan on using 17x8 factory ford wheels of some design.

As far as the calipers go, yeah I was considering that, but money is tight now, and I need my car on the road. I had the calipers lying around from a purchase I made a few years ago.

Nice tip on the a-arms though, I will have them welded up.

*edited for correctificationismastic stuff*

[ohno5point0]

If you have the stock K member in there, and you have an 86, I have bad news. I put 245/45/17's all the way around on my 86, and my tires rubbed so bad I had to take out the inner fender wells, and it still rubs on the frame, not as bad though. I am running a 17x8 stock Cobra wheel. So I dunno what to tell ya man. In my honest opinion, I think you will get it all together and jave to take those SN95 arms out. But, I hope you prove me wrong, cause that would suck donkey balls.

[AaronATX]

Exactly, you were rubbing on the inside right? Well thats why I went with the sn95 a-arms to help move that out a bit.

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthr...ighlight=a-arm


at least I hope its going to work that way we'll see I guess.

[5 Liter Mustang]

I tried the SN95 A-arms (I have 96+ spindles though) and the tires rubbed on the front fender a lot (more than 8mm worth from the newer spindles.) I think you are better off using stock A-arms, C/C Plates, and spacers to get the wheel where you want it.

[Marz]

Originally Posted by 5 Liter Mustang

I tried the SN95 A-arms (I have 96+ spindles though) and the tires rubbed on the front fender a lot (more than 8mm worth from the newer spindles.) I think you are better off using stock A-arms, C/C Plates, and spacers to get the wheel where you want it.

Ok... where do ther spacers go?

If you run the SN95 control arms, you'll have to get caster-camber plates, as you'll never get the car aligned otherwise. The only proper way to use them is to relocate your mounting holes in the K member (see Mustang Performance Handbook II).

[Lizardking]

I thought about the longer a-arms because I have 05 wheels with alot deeper offset.

[Tornado]

Those bolts on the a-arms are 30mm BTW. Lizardking is right 05+ wheels would fit great with those a-arms

[Tar 71]

My 86 still has the stock k-member and a-arms with 95 spindles, brakes,etc and MM c/c plates. I'm running 17x8's with 255/40's and no rubbing issues. Every car is different, you probably won't know until you get it together. A buddy did the same swap as mine and did have clearance issues. Hope it works like you planned and don't have to tear it apart again.

Tim

Originally Posted by AaronATX

Exactly, you were rubbing on the inside right? Well thats why I went with the sn95 a-arms to help move that out a bit.

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthr...ighlight=a-arm


at least I hope its going to work that way we'll see I guess.

He's going to kill his front tires in no time, no way you want 2.5 degrees of negative camber on the street. I've got close to one degree (need an alignment) and the insides of my front tires are destroyed. .5 negative is plenty for street driving.

[50 Proof]

I'd consider sticking with your stock A-Arms. I'm using my stock 86 A-Arms, stock K-Member, and my front bullitts (17x rub when the steering wheel turned all the way to the left or right.

[AaronATX]

where exactly is it rubbing, and what size tires, and how low is the car?

[ohno5point0]

Mine rubs on the frame at full lock to the right on the inside kinda by the brake lines.

[AaronATX]

Bleh, done for the night. Got both front a-arms, springs, spindles, rotors, and calipers bolted up and whatnot. Only really hassle I am running into is the fact that I have none of the bolts for any of this hardware. Fortunately the magic bolt bucket came through on a few occasions.

I noticed something that struck me a little weird when I went to put the first caliper on. These calipers are 2 piece? Like the outer part can slide back and forth a bit?



The 2 spots on the top left and right are bolts that were/are covered in rubber caps...I dunno, the whole piece can move around at least a few inches when off the car. I guess this is to prevent the caliper from freezing up and dragging on the rotor? Anyone know? Either way when on the car they don't seem to move, so I guess its all good.

Another thing, the brake pads appear to be identical, not an inner and an outer one like most of the foxbodys I have worked on. Cool, I guess.

Anyone know where I can get a breakdown of all the bolts and the sizes to attach all this stuff? I hate depending on my magic bucket

More progress in the morning!

[Anlushac11]

Just got a set of SN95 front spindles, calipers, and rotors. Interesting following this.

[50 Proof]

Originally Posted by ohno5point0

Mine rubs on the frame at full lock to the right on the inside kinda by the brake lines.

that's about where mine rubs too.

[AaronATX]

Found a set of wheels, couple of quick pictures on what the fronts fit like at least. Tie rods still need major adjustment, I just slapped the wheels on tonight to get the front off the jackstands. Stock springs as well. I'll get some better pictures in the morning when I do the rears.

[Lizardking]

So, we are waiting to see if you have any alignment issues. I like the width, my 05 rims would tuck right into the front nicely.

[AaronATX]

Having a hard time tracking down brake likes for the rear calipers. Will have one side in a few hours, the other will be thursday. Got the adapters for the rear brakelines (2 weatherhead 7818 adapters).....got the old axles out, the new ones in....just waiting on parts now...

[ohno5point0]

Originally Posted by Lizardking

So, we are waiting to see if you have any alignment issues. I like the width, my 05 rims would tuck right into the front nicely.

Oh he will. The toe will be way off and will need to modify the stock camber plates, or buy some caster/camber plates.

[fede85gt]

Keep the 86 arms and use sn95 balljoints and rack limiters.

[AaronATX]

Bleh, nothing but an uphill battle today. Got the rear about 80% done. I believe I was given the wrong rear brakeline. Take a look:







Infact, it looks an aweful lot like one of the front ones. The banjo bolt that came with it threads into the rear caliper, but there is no way to reasonably route the hardline portion. From the pictures I have seen, the hardline is supposed to go up and right next to the bleeder on the rear caliper. I asked for 98 gt rear brake lines. *edit* because I mistakenly thought I had 98 rear brakes, come to find out they are 94-95 *end edit* I was given partnumbers (bendix) 787600 as the left side, and ordered the right side, 78489.

Once I get the correct rear brake lines, I can adapt them to the hardline on the diff. (which should be fun, considering I don't believe i'll be cutting and flaring)....

Just for grins I am going to try and drive it as soon as I get the rear lines square. I want to see exactly how the stock m/c ,booster and porp valve manifest themselves with the conversion. I do have an 86 towncar mc to put in, and I will source either a 93 cobra booster or a 94-95 v6 unit. Whatever is cheaper.

I forgot how silly stock springs, low pro tires and 17's look on a fox. Once I determine what else I have to do to make this work, I will probably hack a few coils out till I find a deal on a real set of springs. I also have a set of MM cc plates lying around that my lazy friend wont install, so I will probably steal those.

All 4 wheels are on the car now and it rolls straight without a problem......and damn does it look mmmmmuuuucccchhhhh better

[AaronATX]

Pushed it out into the sun to take a few pics. Roommate just showed up so I can go parts hunting. Hopefully I will have it driveable tonight






And since he pulled up when I was taking pics, a quick shot of my roommates 93 lx