The purpose of this page is to show you that you can have something better than the Chevy guys. I'm talking about having 4 wheel disc brakes...using 100% FORD parts! Other than the caliper brackets (pictured in red below), these parts are all OEM and your nearest auto parts store will have everything you need. Now the style shown below used the two-piece caliper and piston housing. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the caliper (the U shaped part, see pics at the bottom), so I have heard that the '86-'91 one-piece caliper will work. I do not know this as I do not have a one-piece caliper to test.
The pic on the left is a shot of the
outside of the brackets while the pic on the right is a shot of the inside. In
each case, the bracket on the left is a 1978/79 Ford Dana 60 and on the right is
a bracket from a 1976-79 E250/350. Why use van parts for your truck you might
ask? Because they are cheaper and more readily available! Why cannibalize a
perfectly good Dana 44 or 60 for the brackets that a van in a junkyard would
have?
Getting on with specifics- the D60 bracket has a 4.5" inside hole with five
asymmetrical mounting holes making it more difficult to mount. While the van
bracket has a 3.6" inside hole with four symmetrical mounting holes making it
very easy to mount, especially over a D70, D61, Ford Sterling or even a 14bolt
with 3.5" axle tubes (sorry not for you D70HD owners though).
Just look at those huge drums. I will admit they are decent if they can stop a fully loaded cube van or truck. But discs are so much better. Anywhere performance braking is needed, then discs should be used for the job and drums left for semi trucks, school busses and airplanes.
Some more shots of the axle spindle and huge innards of
the drums. My girlfriend helped me put all of those parts on the backing plate
when we rebuilt the axle. Had I been smarter at the time, discs would have gone
on sooner. Beside all the fuss it was to get those parts on, I doubt I'll have
any help next time around, so discs are a must once these drums and shoes wear
out.
And here are some more pics of the van caliper brackets and caliper after being sandblasted and primed red. They really are tough, and thicker than the set that came on the Dana 60 front axle. This should make for a very unique rear disc brake system. Unfortunately you will have to rig up your own parking/E-brake if you wish.