Frontend advice

[Proverbs27:17]

I'm building a 1964 Comet 4 door wagon. I was going to switch over the front brakes to disk brakes. After looking at how much the kits cost ($600 or more) and figure other things that might pop up I wondered if I might be better off to just bite the bullet and put a mustang ll frontend under it. Your thoughts? This is my first comet build so I am all ears!

[Joe Travers]

I love the rack and pinion setup on my '63. I'm running 205/60-15s on the front w/ no sweat or sore elbows
You can buy the complete conversion kit w/ front disc brakes. A little pricey but well worth it if you are going to keep the car.
My 2 cents.

JT

[lavron]

I wondered if I might be better off to just bite the bullet and put a mustang ll frontend under it. Your thoughts?

It will cost you more and it is a big undertaking, I did all the work myself on my M2 swap and I didn't use a kit, not counting the airride stuff and 2 extra sets of spindles (one set was mismatched other was my screw up) I spent around $500 (crossmember, control arms, spindles, discs, calipers, rack and column mods) I think the most expensive single thing was the control arms. I also used a Lincoln Continental master cylinder which bolts right to the firewall but you would have to do a little modification on the brake lines or replace them and figure out where to move your brake light switch.

I think the cheaper and easier route would be to upgrade your steering to the '65 parts and use a set of disc brake spindles off of a Granda, Maverick or Mustang if you can find any, it all just bolts on, JMO.

Probably if anyone was seriously considering an M2 swap and didn't buy a kit I could be compelled to make them a really good deal on a set of standard height spindles with brackets to fit a common GM metric caliper

See Ya,
Mike

[Joe Travers]

I think the cheaper and easier route would be to upgrade your steering to the '65 parts and use a set of disc brake spindles off of a Granda, Maverick or Mustang if you can find any, it all just bolts on, JMO.

Yep, if you're just shooting for front disc brakes, this is the way to go.
Granada setup is old-school from the 70s that works very well. Did that conversion on a '68 Mustang many years ago.
The rack and pinion kits w/ brakes will run around $2K for parts alone.

JT

[Proverbs27:17]

Thanks for the advice guys. Mike, how much do you think it would cost to upgrade to the 65 steering?

[SASSY]

More input, is your car originally a V8 car?
Fred

[Proverbs27:17]

Yes, it is an original V8 car.

[lavron]

Thanks for the advice guys. Mike, how much do you think it would cost to upgrade to the 65 steering?

Most of the parts are readily available I believe the tie rods are the same as a mustang the only specific Comet part you need is the drag link, I think someone here has a link to a place where I found them a few years ago that was cheaper than anyplace else but I can't say they are still around, if no one volunteers the info I will see if I can find it again.

There is a thread on-site about doing the conversion I believe that shows the parts you need. I think cost will depend on how you can source the parts you need, you might check RockAuto once you get a list together and check to see what they have, I can't remember if you need '65 spindles but if you are switching to Granada spindles that would not matter.

I have never done the conversion I began collecting parts but then I went to M2 (mostly because of doing the air ride) and sold all my stuff. Depending on where you live you may find very few Granada/Mavericks left in junkyards and if you do they usually have the spindles taken already, there is a local scrap yard here that had several Granadas and I can see if they still have spindles if you end up going that route.

Again it has been several years since I pursued this so things may be different, I believe we had a discussion about it in my build thread way back someplace before I went crazy and chopped everything out of the front of my Comet.

See Ya,
Mike

[SASSY]

I believe the best way to go is early Mustang.
All the parts will be available long term and are reproduced by multiple sourses.
Read through the related threads in the Driveline heading
Fred