'65ish Spindles on a '61

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GeorgeG
Posts: 330
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Location: Smith Mountain Lake, VA

'65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by GeorgeG »

Are '65 (or thereabouts) TBird spindles a bolt on for a '61? I'm thinking about front discs but I'm a little leery of the conversion kits that use a press-fit sleeve to go over the '61 spindle so the discs/calipers can fit (ala TBird Ranch). Idea is to use the complete '65 setup. I know I've seen this topic here somewhere, but for the life of me I can't find it. Sorry if my question is a duplicate.
George
VTCI #9586
Early '61 hardtop: 4-wheel discs, C6 trans, 390 HP, coil over shocks, tach, LED lights....in family since new
'75 Porsche 914 1.8 FI upgraded to 2.0 specs
bbogue
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by bbogue »

George,
You might check with novanutcase. He appears to have done this. See his response in this link.

viewtopic.php?t=4413

Bill
Past owner 1961 Thunderbird - Heritage Burgundy Metallic

If there are no dogs in heaven, send me where they went. - Will Rogers
GeorgeG
Posts: 330
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:51 pm
Location: Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by GeorgeG »

Thanks Bill. Just looking at options. I have the TB Ranch kit, double MC and proportioning valve. If I can find a good '65 setup I may go that route and sell the TB Ranch kit.

George
George
VTCI #9586
Early '61 hardtop: 4-wheel discs, C6 trans, 390 HP, coil over shocks, tach, LED lights....in family since new
'75 Porsche 914 1.8 FI upgraded to 2.0 specs
merged
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by merged »

For what it's worth, I have a '62 & used the DB set-up from a '65 'Bird. It's a striaght bolt-on job but you will also need:
- proportioning valve
- dual master cylinder
- 15" wheels
Other than that, it's just turning wrenches.

-merged
At cruisin' altitude :cool:
GeorgeG
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Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:51 pm
Location: Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by GeorgeG »

Thanks. I already have a dual master cylinder and proportioning valve. 15" wheels are no problem.
George
VTCI #9586
Early '61 hardtop: 4-wheel discs, C6 trans, 390 HP, coil over shocks, tach, LED lights....in family since new
'75 Porsche 914 1.8 FI upgraded to 2.0 specs
novanutcase
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by novanutcase »

Complete Bolt on. You need the spindle and lower control arm along with everything forward. You'll need wheels to clear the calipers.

John
Professional Pic Whore

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PeterW113
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by PeterW113 »

Hello gents,

My takeaway from this post is that the control arms, spindles, hubs, rotors and callipers from a 64-66 Thunderbird are a straight swap if you are running 15” wheels on a 61-63 TBird.

My 62 has 14” Kelsey Hayes wire wheels, so not an easy swap.

Leaving aside the booster and proportionate valve.

Can you help me identifying suitable smaller rotors and callipers that can be used in conjunction with a 64-66 control arms, spindle and hub?

Your knowledge and experience is greatly appreciated.


Thanks

Pete
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RedBird64
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by RedBird64 »

Not from a 64 - they had drum brakes and all the parts are wrong!
Sorry but I don't think there are any kits that will work with 14" wheels. Heck, a lot of them wont work with any 15" wheel! And it's not the rotors that are in the way, it's the calipers.
Also keep in mind that you need 15" wheels that are meant for disc brakes to use the 65~66 disc brake seup. So 15" wheels form a 64 or earlier ford car (incl TBird) wont work.

Here's what your looking for; The wheel on the left is for disc brakes and the wheel on the right is drum only.
(these are original wheels that were powder-coated at Les Schwab Tires for a very reasonable price)
Image

BTW, this is a great mod. Made a HUGE difference to the braking of my 64 and you don't have to use a pile of odd parts like the kits do.

Scott
1964 Coupe Wimbledon white/Rangoon Red w/black int. Owned for 42 years. It was my folks car before that (second owners). VTCI # 12013.
GeorgeG
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by GeorgeG »

Thanks for all the great info. Now if this %$#%&%# rain, sleet and snow here on the east coast would stop, I may be able to get back to work on the 'Bird

George
George
VTCI #9586
Early '61 hardtop: 4-wheel discs, C6 trans, 390 HP, coil over shocks, tach, LED lights....in family since new
'75 Porsche 914 1.8 FI upgraded to 2.0 specs
PeterW113
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Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2018 3:04 am

Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by PeterW113 »

Thank you Scott,

I figured that the issue would be first with the Callipers fouling the rim. I was hoping that a compact four piston calliper might be available that would fit and produce enough breaking power, using an equally smaller rotor to be effective, but seems not.

Although I hate polishing the spokes I like the look of the 14” wire wheels, but it seems clear now if I want to improve the brakes I need to switch to 15” wheels and I would need 65-66 spindles or a kit.

Thanks for the picture of the 15” steel wheels which clearly shows the difference between drums and disc versions.

Thank you again for your help.

Peter
62Tbird
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by 62Tbird »

I'm also researching 65-66 front disc brakes on my 62. Will lower controls from another car work with this setup? Like 65-68 Galaxie for instance.
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RedBird64
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Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by RedBird64 »

Lower control arms for 61 through 64 are the same.
FWIW, the only difference between 61~64 and the 65/66 is the stops that limit how far the wheels turn. They are otherwise identical. They are different because the disc hubs are shaped different.
So you can either keep your lower control arms and modify the stops or simply bolt on 65/66 lowers.


Scott
1964 Coupe Wimbledon white/Rangoon Red w/black int. Owned for 42 years. It was my folks car before that (second owners). VTCI # 12013.
62Tbird
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Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:25 pm
Location: Bay Area, CA

Re: '65ish Spindles on a '61

Post by 62Tbird »

I ended up finding a set of 65 LCA's. So far the parts I have collected are as follows:
- 66 spindles
- 65 LCA, Hub, caliper, rotor and dust shield

Will order:
- thunderbirdbrakeparts.com 102 dual master cylinder
- adjustable prop valve: likely Wilwood 260-8419
- new LCA ball joint
- new LCA bushing

I have ordered 15x7 (backspace 4.00) Chrome smoothies, baby moon caps along with 215/75/15 Coker classics with the 2.5" white wall.

I will make another thread listing the conversion.
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