Hey guys and gals. Been awhile since I been on the forum. Good to be back.
I want to upgrade my brakes and looking for the best bang for my buck.
I have
68 Cougar XR7
Currently has OEM brakes, master cylinder and power booster
Front disc and rear drum
15" wheels
Mildly built 351W
Street use on the weekends
Three options I’m considering are:
rebuild OEM front calipers and rear cylinders
Upgrade front rotors (slotted and drilled)
Upgrade front brakes pads.
Rear drum conversion to disc
Baer classic front brake kit.
My concern with Baer kit is it calls for 15/16" master cylinder bore. I have 1" bore. Also how much performance improvement will I get with this kit.
Im looking for ease of installation and best performance gain for around $800.
Are there other options or recomendations?
And if anyone has experience with the Baer kit performance gains going from power disc brake to the classic brake kit.
I have a '68 XR7 that I converted with Wilwood. PN: 140-13476 - Conversion Kit - $815. PN 261-15661- Master Cylinder - $494. I converted 4 years ago. I like the brakes. They stop well. They aren’t too pricey. Wilwood is a known commodity. I have the 15" Styled Steel Wheels. I had to use a spacer (Billet 1/4" Flat Wheel Spacer - 5 x 4.5) on the rear as the caliper was rubbing the inside of the wheel. It’s important to get a spacer that fits the wheel. I struggled with finding the right fit. I would be cognizant of brake fittings if you are mixing and matching AN fittings with OE fittings. The bevel is different. They will not seal without adapters. I didn’t find the conversion too expensive nor that difficult to install.
Best bang for your buck is an upgraded friction material on the stock system. For street performance, Hawk, Porterfield and EBC all offer street-friendly compounds. To my knowledge, Porterfield is the only one that makes both pads and shoes, and the R4-S is their street friction.
I’m running Hawk HPS pads and a set of NORS Raybestos semi-metallic shoes on my 71 XR7, which has the same basic brake system as your 68. No fancy rotors or drums, just regular 'ol stock replacements. The car stops extremely well and you can feel the increased braking as they warm up.
For your intended use, the rear discs would be a waste of money.
I don’t see any real benefit to an aftermarket disc front setup when you already have front discs. The four piston calipers are nice, but again, wasted on your intended use. You are also not really gaining anything when you replace an 11.3" rotor with another 11.3" rotor.
Agree on the factory parts with a better pad. Should be all you need for your intended purpose and it will be cheap. Dont bother with drilled and slotted rotors, They will not give you much if any benefit
Personally I went with a wilwood kit but I had a botched granda disc conversion from the previous owner. Its paired with a factory booster and disc/drum master. Adjustable prop valve for the rear drums. works just fine for my application.
My 69 XR 7 was originally equipped with manual drum brakes. I converted to Granada spindles and front disc brakes. At the time I did the conversion, the local pick-yer-part yards had lots of Granadas and Monarchs to pick from.
Granada calipers are easier to service than the original-style calipers and pads and other parts have lower cost.
Best place to get Granada conversions and parts is diskbrakeswap.com
They also have calipers and parts for the OEM Cougar brakes.
I considered converting my rear brakes to a disc setup but decided that the original drum brakes are sufficient.
Thanks for the input guys. Do appreciate. Im feeling the same. I’ll get some good pads and shoes.
One interesting side note. I have rear 13" drums and back plate from a mid to late 60’s Galaxy 500. It has same bolt pattern as stock back plate. So I do gain some brake shoe surface area in the rear.
4 years ago, the cost of the kit and MC weren’t as high as the prices I listed in the post. I figured I would quote current market value. Nonetheless, I am happy with the conversion. My Cougar has been bulletproof for the last twenty years but I know that OE parts will eventually wear and fail. I took the opportunity to go with a kit instead of piece it together. Brakes would be the last thing I would want to fail. It’s a personal preference. I am sure you will find the best option for you. There has been a lot of great input from other forum members
Agree 100% Jayhawk. Its a tough decision because I really want newer stuff. My big hang up is will I get the performance value for the money. DieselD and Hemikiller make some good points as you do as well. Nothing is easy with a hot rod or cheap :). I have a set of EBC reds and slotted rotors. I’ll give them a try and see. Really my big concern are my OEM calipers. They been on my car for along time. They done good. I just want better. I’ll see. But I do appreciate your input and if I go with the upgrade kit Im getting the same as you have.
or cheap :). I have a set of EBC reds and slotted rotors. I’ll give them a try and see. Really my big concern are my OEM calipers. They been on my car for along time. They done good. I just want better. I’ll see. But I do appreciate your input and if I go with the upgrade kit Im getting the same as you have.