If it has drums on the front then you have the four-bolt spindles and as SA69 says the '70-73 spindles are stronger than prior year spindles. The four bolt '70-73 spindles are actually becoming hard to find as they've been a desirable upgrade for earlier year cars for many years, especially for racers because of their greater strength.

If the spindles are in good shape you can use them with adapters to install non-original disc brakes, either late-model Ford type (Mustang Steve's brackets, etc. are a good choice for this) or aftermarket stuff from companies like SSBC. Personally I like having Ford factory brakes on the car because you can always get parts at any auto store. I have the late model GT brakes on my '66 (which also has the stronger '70-73 spindles like yours on it) and the install was pretty straight-forward and they work great. The only real issue with these later model brakes is that they won't fit behind older style wheels and need at least a 17" diameter wheel to clear the bigger parts. I think a nice set of new 17" wheels would look great on your '70 though . . . You can email Steve from his mustangsteve.com page for details on exactly what you'd need to put newer brakes on the car.

If originality is important to you or you want to keep the older, smaller diameter wheels, you can get a complete original disc brake conversion kit from CSRP for a very fair price (http://www.discbrakeswap.com/Mustang%20Disc%20Brake%20Conversion%20Kits%20SWAP3.html). The kits Dennis sells are very complete and include a new pair of disc brake style spindles (three hole mounting). I would recommend using the original style proportioning valve that Mustang Steve sells vs. the adjustable valve that is included with the CSRP kit if you go this route though - http://www.mustangsteve.com/BRAKES.html - see "Part # PV-70 Proportioning Valve" about 3/4s of the way down the page. Long story short is that adjustable valves are not easy to adjust correctly and having this part of the system work correctly is a very important safety issue, best to stick with the factory part which is designed specifically for your vehicle. If you go with the original style kit from CSRP you can sell those 4 bolt spindles as-is, assuming they are in good shape, for at least $300 - inspected and cleaned up parts sell for $400-500/pair or more these days.

The thought of sending a classic...or any other car for that matter...to most shops gives me the "shudders".  I've just seen so much crappy work from so-called experts.  Contact MS or if you live anywhere near Houston I would recommend you call Glen Buzek at Rose Hill Performance.  Glen is a regular on this forum, a very good guy, and he and bro. Steve do some nice early Mustang work.

Oh...and welcome to the best place on the web.  Get that thing going and drive it to the bash.  You'll meet the best bunch of ladies and guys there are and you'll have a great time.

BB

Last edited by Bullet Bob (3/19/2015 3:33 PM)

We need to know what spindles are on the car.  Drum brake spindles have a four bolt pattern where the brakes bolted to the spindles.  70 disc brake spindles have three apparent bolts, but two other larger bolts where the brackets bolt to the spindles.

Next need to know what wheels you intend to use on the car.  If smaller than 17", then stick with the original disc brake spindles.  I have some reproduction 70 disc brake caliper mounting brackets that work if you have the disc brake spindles.  You can buy rebuilt calipers, new pads and hardware kits and rotors at any auto parts store.  They are not very expensive.  The factory 11" rotors will work just great.  Add my 70 Mustang disc brake proportioning valve (exact copy of original disc brake valve) and 70 disc/drum master cylinder and you will have the parts you need.

If running 17" or larger wheels, and if you have the drum brake spindles original to your car, you can use my GT2008-FT brackets and some take-off 2005 or newer 12.5" front discs.  Use same proportioning valve and master as described above..

Now...just need to know the answer to those two questions.  Then decide if you also want to add power assist in the process.  I carry origina style boosters and power brake pedals. DO NOT buy anything from SSBC or others selling a power brake kit, because they just don't use the right stuff.  Mine will put it exactly as the factory would have done it.

birdlady2u wrote:

I know drums are on the front of the car that is all I know for sure. How can I look at the car and be able to tell what spindles are on it? I'm not able to the brake assembly off that car. I want to put the cragar wheels on the car not sure they come in17" which is a little bigger than I want to go. I was really looking at the 16" wheels. Jo

OK, lets ge the basics.  Does your front wheels have 5 lug nuts, or four? (V8 factory cars have 5 bolt front, 6 cylinder have the 4 lug pattern.)
Do you have a power booster brake system?  (The booster is a large round metal unit bolted between the firewall and the brake master cylinder) 
It is very likely you have 1970 drum brake spindles. (The best candidate for a disc brake upgrade)  

Is there anything wrong with your brakes now?  Why are you wanting to change them out to discs?  

Will you be wanting to retain the choice of using stock 14 or 15 inch wheels?  Stock disc brakes will allow for that.  Bigger Wilwood, or Baer systems (13 inch brake rotors)  will NOT allow the stock wheels to fit.

Last question - Why do you not want to buy a complete kit?  Your choice, and I have no problem with that, But there are so many small and odd parts included in the kits, it may be very difficult to know what size bolts and threats etc when assembling a 'home made' list of needed parts.


 

Forgot, the brakes worked back around 1996, my ex dismantled quite a few pieces off the car prior to us moving to nc. Then we divorced I dont know what he did to it after that, all I know is he took many parts too many to list imcluding the paperwork. It took 3 yrs to get the title back in my name. So, I'm basically starting all over and since I have to go through the whole car I decided it was best to changeover certain areas since I had to do it anyways. Shed a little more light? Jo

The fact it was a parts car could mean factory original parts were taken from it, and no telling what was replaced, making the marti report not relevant to existing conditions.  BUT, the fact there is no power brake booster tells me it was a manual drum brake car.  All 70 disc brake cars had power brakes.  So let's assume that part is still the way it was factory equipped. Since it was an F code 302 car, it probably did not have alot of options on it.

I have some 70 disc brake spindles and brackets that will bolt right on.  Then I can direct you as to the calipers, pads, hoses, hardware and rotors, etc to buy at an auto parts store.  I think your best bet is to do it this way so you have the option of using the factory wheels or any others of your choosing.  And, you will be doing it with original type parts so no one will be able to tell it did not come this way from the factory.  You also need the 70 proportoning valve and master cylinder, which I have. The only thing missing is the splash shields.  Maybe someone reproduces those, but they are not absolutely necessary in order to have disc brakes.   If you want to do it where it has the complete appearance of a factory disc brake installation, I have a Bendix booster and power brake booster to complete the job.

Another option is to install a take-off set of 70 disc brakes.  I have people want to trade these in on a new bigger brake setup all the time, since the big brakes require a drum brake spindle.  If you are not in a hurry, a set such as that can be found for under $400 complete.  And in return, the guy that needs to 70 drum brake spindles will be willing to pay you for your old spindles and drum brake hubs.  So, that greatly offsets the price of buying the brakes.  We would just have to wait until another Mustanger comes along wanting to remove his 70 disc brakes.

Another option is to install 75-80 Granada front disc brakes.  They would perform well on the car, and the spindles are nearly identical to the 70 disc brake spindles.  You would have to use the larger Granada outer tie rods.  These can usually be found as complete take-offs for a reasonable price, and selling your old spindles and hubs will offset a big chunk of that.
 

You do not need to buy disc brake spindles and then sell your drum brake spindles.  Too much trouble to achieve your goal.
The "kit" is basically an adapter ring that bolts onto the oles your drums normally do, and then you simply bolt on the calipers, rotors, etc etc, as explained by Steve above.  But the easiets way to put disc brakes on your car is the adapter, not changing spindles.  The 70 drum spindles are the strongest spindles ever put on the early Mustangs.  Keep them if you can.
You will also have no need to buy any extra tie rods, and will be guaranteed of correct steering geometry.

Are you planning on new springs, ball joints, etc - basically are you rebuilding the front end as well as disc brake conversion?

Jo, I have a better idea of your situation now, thanks.  Now you have title, you are assessing your car and getting it to driving condition.  At some point in the near future (perhaps after you have decided on your path forward with your brakes, post a question on what to do for your car, with some pics.  Plenty of folks here have restored cars, from a wide range of starting conditions, and will have some good information and suggestions for you.  It is always interesting helping a fellow Mustang enthusiest succeed.  Even better if you have a garage space and are willing to work on it some.

It would be fair to say this brake issue is the first of many decisions where experience and choices will help you.  The dic brake conversion is a very common upgrade and many folks here have already done it, know the problems and costs.   The first question to answer is "What do you want to end up with?  Daily driver, mild resto-mod?  Autocrosser. track car?  Show queen?  Lots of good people on the various Mustang Forums.  You might want to look at Vintage Mustang Forums, and since you have a 70, also try 69 Stangnet (more focussed on 69 and 70 cars)

SA69Mach wrote:

You do not need to buy disc brake spindles and then sell your drum brake spindles.  Too much trouble to achieve your goal.

This is true to a degree I suppose but it isn't that much trouble to swap spindles since you'll most likely be replacing ball joints and everything else that'll be worn out. If you convert to factory style front disc brakes (which would require changing the spindles to the disc brake style) then all you ever have to know when you need parts is that it's a 1970 Mustang with disc brakes. It sounds to me like you're more likely to be cruising in this car vs. racing. If so, then the factory discs will get the job done with no problems. Adding the power booster would be a good upgrade too.
 

Last edited by McStang (3/20/2015 3:43 PM)

Excellent pics McStang.  Perfect way to show why the OP should hold on to what she has, and why the 70 drum spindle is the strongest option for Mustang spindles.

I remember when I got my first Mustang (70 coupe with 302) and was asking all the same questions about this topic.  I did the Kelsey Hayes disc conversion with a kit, and a front end rebuild, and Bilstein shock, new coils, big anti-roll bar, and WOW,  huge improvement.  Best money I spent on any Mustang.  I am in process of changing over my Mach1 disc brakes to 70 disc spindles right now.  I think of it as good insurance. 

For the OP, Jo, here is a youtube video that gives you an idea of the kit and the whole process.  This should enable you to decide if you will do it yourself, or at least keep an eye on your mechanics work
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=installing+1970+Mustang+disc+brakes&fr=mkg028

Without going to much further down the rabbit hole I think that it's important to note that for the average restoration, cruiser or street-rod the spindle strength discussion is a bit of a moot point and between 70-73 disc and drum spindles the difference in toughness is minor. Both of these later model parts have the larger pin and it's the skinny end of the pin that fails when the earlier small pin spindles are over-stressed which is really something that would only ever happen on a road race car with big sticky tires being pushed through corners on a track in ways that are rarely acheivable on the street.

What might happen in an extreme case - not likely on the grocery getter, weekend cruiser:

MustangSteve wrote:

Just for accuracy to correct someone's previous post.  There are no 65-69 spindles as a single spindle.  There are 65-66 I-6 and different 65-66 V8 spindles, then there are 67-69 drum spindles, same used on I-6 and V8 cars, which have major differences from the 65-66 V8 spindles.  The beefier 70 spindles were accurately described.

The 65-66 V8 spindles were used for both disc and drum brakes. I-6 cars used a different spindle and only came with drums.

The 67 spindles were used for both disc and drum brakes.  No difference in I-6 or V8 drum brake spindles.  I-6 cars could not get disc brakes.

In 68 and 69, there were different spindles for drum and disc, but no difference in I-6 or V8 drum brake spindles.  I-6 cars could not get disc brakes.

In 70 - 73, there were different spindles for drum and disc, but no difference in I-6 or V8 drum brake spindles.  I do not know if I-6 cars could get disc brakes.  Anyone know for sure on that one?
 

 
On the 70-73 i6 note I was at the autorama today here in SLC and a huge mustang collector here had a 70 i6 with factory four lug disc brakes. It's a rare rare option it was neat to see them.  He has us mags on the car.

SA69MACH yeah I definitely plan to put a  booster on the master cylinder. Jo