Hey all! I am new here, new to Cougars as well, so forgive any ignorance. I have come into possession of a '71 Xr-7 that I am fixing up. I have been having a blast with what I have done so far, but I had a couple questions.
My main question for now (with definite future posts to come) is this: Is it typical to replace the rear drum brakes with discs? I can totally see the allure of doing it, but I was wondering if it was par for the course, so to speak.
As of right now, she runs like a dream. The main problems I have are the electronics, including brake lights and head lights, The roof is completely rusted through ( I do have a new roof and have seen the WCCC vid of them replacing the roof), and there are no brakes. I have checked the brakes and it seems all the lines are good. I am replacing the whole front end disc brake system, but was wondering if I should plan to do the same on the rear.
Thanks! I look forward to being more active in this forum as I revive this beast!
Unless you’re going to make the car high horsepower and drive it fast, I wouldn’t worry about converting to discs on the rear. It’s very doable, but a pretty involved process. A large percentage of the braking is done with the front brakes, so rebuilding the fronts with new components will improve things quite a bit relative to worn parts. I don’t have any links to kits, but swapping out to Explorer, Lincoln Versailles, or any number of aftermarket systems are pretty common. One of the complications with the swap is dealing with the master cylinder. It takes a completely different setup to work 4-wheel discs relative to the stock setup. I would just rebuild the rear drums with fresh parts including new brake lines and not deal with the hassle. That being said, I’m sure I’ll switch my car over to 4-wheel disc brakes when I switch from a 289 to a 428.
Thank you so much. The problem I am running into, it seems, is that most rotors don’t have the connected nuts/ bearings. Honestly, I am new to restoring classics, so maybe I am missing something. Ive only really done basic repairs like hubs, wiring, lights and such.
I agree with Steve68Cougar. Rear discs are one of those “nice” things to have, but except for a track car or other extreme performance build, not a priority. If the car has front drums, converting those to discs would be a priority for a car that’s going to see much driving in modern traffic. But the factory front disc/rear drum system is actually pretty good. Just get it working correctly. Then focus on the roof, electrics, and getting the rest of the mechanical systems up to snuff before diverting time and resources to rear discs. Just my two cents.