Help: Time to replace the Braking System

[maginter]

Hi All -

I have a 27 year old MK1 build that used the braking system from an SN95. I have disc in the front and drums in the back. Anymore to get it to stop, I really need to stand on the pedal. A normal press it will drift to an unpredictable stop. I think that it is time to change everything out and get it more modern.

So, what options have you all pursued for a replacement or initial system? I don't want to break the bank, but I do want to be confident in the car stopping with moderate pressure on the pedal. Also, want to change to 4 wheel disc.

TIA and I look forward to your comments!

Mark

[Jeff Kleiner]

SN95 had discs so given that you have drums I'm assuming that you actually have Fox components and not SN95. Does the car have 4 lug wheels or 5? Manual or power brakes? If manual do you know if the pedal was modified to change the ratio? The answer to all of these will help us to direct you.

Jeff

[maginter]

SN95 had discs so given that you have drums I'm assuming that you actually have Fox components and not SN95. Does the car have 4 lug wheels or 5? Manual or power brakes? If manual do you know if the pedal was modified to change the ratio? The answer to all of these will help us to direct you.

Jeff

Hi Jeff -

Thanks for the inquiry. I have the original owner's build notes and and he called out a SN95 as the donor vehicle, So, took that as what was installed, but you are correct and I should have known better. So to answer your questions:

Does the car have 4 lug wheels or 5? 5 lug

Manual or power brakes? Manual

If manual do you know if the pedal was modified to change the ratio? Unknown, but what would I need to look at in the mounting to determine that?

BTW, small world.... I am in Westfield and My Parents are still in Bloomington...

[CraigS]

If you are close enough to drive over to Jeff Ks, a 30-60 minute visit would give you more info than you can get anywhere else in one shot.

[maginter]

If you are close enough to drive over to Jeff Ks, a 30-60 minute visit would give you more info than you can get anywhere else in one shot.

It is about an hour 45 minutes, but I get your point. I need to get the brakes to a point that I feel safe, then I could make the trip.... Thx, for the comment.

[CraigS]

A few things I did along the way to help my MkII. 1- Verify if the pedal arm has been modded. You will have to research this but generally there were two paris of holes for the arm to be mounted in the pedal box. The fix was to move from the upper pair to the lower air and cut/weld the pedal lever. This gave more mechanical advantage so a given pressure on the pedal put more pressure to the MC. 2- Switch to rear discs. Get the largest calipers you can find. The easy step is go to Mustang Cobra rear discs but if there are larger now available (my experience is maybe 12-15 years old) get them. 3- Depending on what size your master cylinder is you may be able to go smaller. This will give you a hydraulic advantage similar to a mechanical advantage. Used to be the common MC was 15/16" bore and we would switch to a 7/8" bore MC. 4- Switch to pads w/ more grip. I used to run Hawk HPS or HPS5.0 in the front and HP+ in the rear. Staggering the pads helped gain more rear brake power. This was needed since the Mustang brake system was set up w/ more front brake power to go along w/ the approximate 55% front weight. But the FFR is about 53% rear weight so needs more rear brake. The HP+ are almost unbelievable but they do dust more. I use this on the wheels which helps a lot.
https://www.armorall.com/product/outlast-brake-dust-repellent/