Discs For Sixes: Upgrading from Drum to Disc Brakes

If you own a six-cylinder Ford or Mercurycompact, you understand what it means to want nice upgrades to make your ride safer and more pleasurable to drive. When we think about increasing driving pleasure, we think about power and infusing more of it into your 144, 170, or 200ci inline-six. Companies like Clifford Performance have been a great help there, offering us high-performance engine parts and kits for these lightweight sixes.

When you hop up a little Ford six, thoughts are eventually bound to turn to how to stop the darned thing when the fun's over. Jump on the binders in a Ford six-cylinder compact and you're going to learn something about control or the absence of it. With those tiny manual drum brakes, your Falcon, Comet, or Mustang is going to pull like crazy until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. No matter what you do with those pancake binders, they're still going to pull to one side, making for a dangerous driving experience.

Stainless Steel Brakes understands what it means to be driving an unsafe classic automobile and the frustration of being able to do little about it. This is why they're introducing power front disc brakes for six-cylinder Ford and Mercury compacts.

To help us get you started (or, in this case, stopped), David Toth pulled his Mustang onto John Da Luz's lift and we went to work.

We like this easy-to-install conversion kit from Stainless Steel Brakes. It comes equipped with a dual master cylinder, brake lines, and a power booster for easy pedal effort. New hubs, rotors, spacers, and single-piston calipers with high-performance pads are also included in the kit.