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1967 Fastback spindles??

67stang

Active Member
Can anyone tell me what spindles I have? Do you think they are stock 1967 or Granadas?

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Back in the day when I did race car chassis and rear end narrowing, the Versailles swap was a common and inexpensive change to the early Mustangs. We'd go to PickAPart and strip a Versailles front and rear and adapt everything. This was long before all the mass produced parts and cheap axles/spindles/brakes for Mustangs.

Dating from an earlier period, my race car used a narrowed '57 Fairlane 9" housing. It had been converted in the early 70's. I ended up machining McPherson struts for it instead of adapting the much heavier stock components.

Of course, in '67, some Mustangs came with 9" rears OEM. My remembrance was the big block cars all had them but it's been awhile. If your data plate doesn't have the 9" axle code, then it was swapped in and could be Versailles. If it has disc brakes on it, likely.
 
If it is a Versailles rear end and brakes plan on switching out to another brake set-up some day when the calipers give it up. They aren't the greatest to begin with and replacement parts are now very scarce. I tossed a full set-up earlier this spring. Heavy and antiquated.
 
Interesting: my FB did not come with a 9 but it did come with front disc. My brakes seem to be in good condition. I actually just took the drum off to take a look at things and my rear drums looked good. I guess in the future I will probably have to just go to disc all the way around, but I assume I might have to get new spindles too?? If they don’t match up??


Well I just purchased the manual Unisteer Rack and it comes with two different rod ends: so hopefully one of them will work.




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Oh, yeah, those things were tanks. Back in the day for drag racing I put the OEM drums back on. Heck the race car had drums all around until some point in the 80's when making the struts for the front. Still stopped just fine from 120mph, though at that point the car was only 2300 or so wet. The OP looks like he has a solid setup for the front, just a matter of figuring out the parts, presuming that's what he's wanting the information for. I took a quick look at Autozone for a '79 and the major parts are still available for front and rear. Not bad on prices either, 25 (plus core) for calipers and 54 for rotors.
 
So the calipers are still available?

Because I’m dropping a few dollars on the rack and putting in an electric steering as well. So that got my thinking on what kind of spindles I have, and what to do if I need to replace the front disc (because they look old) but they do work.


I do have a new master cylinder and brake booster.




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Interesting: my FB did not come with a 9 but it did come with front disc. My brakes seem to be in good condition. I actually just took the drum off to take a look at things and my rear drums looked good.
If you don't drive a lot, that stuff should last essentially forever. I think I've done one brake job on the car in my signature and that was nearly 20 years ago. I've had it for around 30.
I guess in the future I will probably have to just go to disc all the way around, but I assume I might have to get new spindles too?? If they don’t match up??
Your setup is fine, just a matter of picking the right aftermarket disc setup to fit your spindles. Those should last the life of the car.


Well I just purchased the manual Unisteer Rack and it comes with two different rod ends: so hopefully one of them will work.

You can compare the OEM tie rod ends to what you received with the rack. I know, back in the day, I'd often make tapered adapter bushings for some swaps that a correct tie rod end wasn't available for. Easy to check though with the new end in the spindle or with calipers. If wrong, document and work it out with the rack people. They've dealt with all this stuff.
 
So the calipers are still available?
Because I’m dropping a few dollars on the rack and putting in an electric steering as well. So that got my thinking on what kind of spindles I have, and what to do if I need to replace the front disc (because they look old) but they do work.
I do have a new master cylinder and brake booster.

If it works fine and stops the car well, I'd leave it. The steering upgrade is a nice one; can't complain about racks. Adapted a Pinto unit for the race car, reversing the spindles right for left. That was in '74, so long before aftermarket stuff. Else, the front end that I can see in your pictures is great. Do the usual maintenance checks on the hoses, fittings, brake pads, suspension stuff etc. and if it's good, it's good. Drive it.
 
Thank you so much for the info. I Love during the beast. Honestly I put 5k on it last year!! I love driving this thing, so I pretty much
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drive it if it’s not down for maintenance/upgrades or if it’s not raining, it’s on the road!!




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Here's a good thread discussing the Versailles rear brake set-up. I did quite a bit of reading across the web when I picked up a used rearend, one originally intended to go into my car. I can tell you all the negative things written are, in my opinion true. Big, bulky and heavy yet deliver much less braking performance than other much smaller, simpler systems. I never got the point of hooking it all up to confirm but the parking brake gripes are abundant enough it must be real.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/versailles-rear-discs-worth-it.940946/
 
Hmm. Not sure what brakes I have, but I do have a 9 inch with possi.

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That came to light earlier, I was just following up on part of the previous discussion for anyone who might have interest.

By the way, if you have a Ford rear you don't have POSI (posi-traction the GM term). You likely have the Ford system called Traction-Lok or Trac-Lok. Both manufacture's systems are basically the same and provide limited slip function so both rear wheels can be driven. Just so you know the names. Lots of Ford guys will look at you cross-eyed if you say you have a posi.
 
I must be the exception, I have the Granada spindles and Versailles 9" on my 67 since the 90's. Before there were other options. I agree they are big and heavy but I can tell you they have worked for me for nearly 30 years. Now I wouldn't go out and source the stuff with today's options that are available and I wouldn't say they are the best option but they do work much better than the original four wheel drum brakes! And as I stated before, yours do NOT look like Granada calipers. I think Bruno is correct, they look like 68 and later calipers. Granada/Versailles calipers do not bolt on. They have a slide/wedge device that locks them to the mounting bracket like the picture I posted. Yours appear to have bolts.
 
Craig, the real "performance" issue most complain about on the old rear calipers was the e-brake portion. Since your car has up until now always been an automatic (i think anyway) I am curious if you ever even hooked that part up. And if not, will you now? I presume you would have to, right?
 
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