1967 Ford Fairlane Ranchero Brake Upgrade

Always a fun part of the job, the new inner wheel bearings are packed with grease by hand (someday we'll get a bearing packer! -Ed.), forcing the grease in between the edges of the bearings directly onto the rollers. Grease up the races as well and put a little extra inside the hub.

With the inner wheel bearings dropped into place, the grease seals are installed by gently tapping around its whole circumference until the seal is completely seated. A block of wood, an extra large socket, or a seal installer are all good options for a successful seal installation. Once installed, be sure to rub a little grease around the rubber inner edge of the seal.

The seals will hold the inner bearings in position while the rotors are being installed on the spindles, as seen here. Rotate the rotors as the edge of the seal slides over the machined surface at the base of the spindles to ease the installation and protect the seals.

Grease the outer bearings in the same fashion as the inner and press them into place, seating them into the races. Replace the factory keyed wheel bearing washers and install the nuts to 15 ft-lb to seat the bearings completely and then back off the nut 1/8 of a turn before reinstalling the castle washers and the new cotter pins included in the kit. Finally, install the new dust caps.

The next step is to install the calipers onto their mounting brackets. Be sure to orient the calipers with the bleeders up and inlet port inboard. You'll also want to make sure to not to lose track of the solid copper brake hose sealing washer held in place underneath a red plastic port plug on each new brake hose.

This view shows the installation of the caliper mounting bolts. Unlike the other fasteners in the kit, these cap screws use conventional split lock washers for a secure fit. We tightened them to a torque value of 70 ft-lb.

Back under the hood, it's time to complete the new master cylinder installation. First, we installed the adjustable pushrod in its fully collapsed position and found that it was still slightly longer than the OE pushrod. When the master cylinder was seated against the firewall, the pedal height was higher than desired so we reinstalled the OE pushrod and achieved the original pedal height. Extracting the pushrod from the old master cylinder can be a challenge. On an OE master cylinder the retaining clip holding the pushrod inside the plunger is metal and difficult to overcome. We clamped the old master cylinder in a vise and put a metal bar through the pushrod eye and hit the bar outward with a hammer. After a few whacks the pushrod came free. If the master you're working with is a rebuilt unit, the clip is usually nylon and is much easier to remove. No new clip is required as long as the pushrod doesn't come out of the plunger with the pedal arm raised to its highest extent.

Moving into the home stretch, we next created the various hard brake line connections. This is the front junction block inlet line coming from the master. The two remaining outlets go to each of the front wheels. We used standard bulk pre-flared parts-store brake line to create these connections, using the old lines as a pattern. The rear brake line connected directly to the forward reservoir of the new master cylinder and we didn't need to install a rear proportioning valve.

Next, we're ready to connect the brake hoses to the caliper inlet ports. Notice the copper washer already in place. Omit the washer and leaks are guaranteed. Use a line wrench to firmly seat the lines onto the calipers

Here, we accomplish the last of the brake line connections-attaching the brake hoses to the hard lines. To completely tighten the juncture we also supported the brake hoses with a wrench. Next, we reinstalled the factory brake line retaining clips removed earlier, making sure the lines were not in the way of any suspension travel.

All that remains is to thoroughly bleed the entire brake system. Before connecting up the newly formed lines at the master cylinder we bled the master cylinder into the reservoirs until no more bubbles were apparent. During the bleeding process, the cover to the master cylinder should be on but you'll need to refill the master frequently to make sure the reservoir doesn't run dry, which would induce air back into the system. When bleeding the rear brakes we persisted until new, clean fluid emerged from the bleeders running clear and free of bubbles, resulting in a rock-hard pedal.

This close-up of the wheel and tire assembly shows how great the new equipment looks with the disc brake system showing between the spokes of the Vintage 40 wheels. Our tires are BFGoodrich G-Sport TAs sized at P245/50R16. To purchase the tires and have them mounted and balanced cost us about $600. We were prepared to install a rear proportioning valve if we had any trouble with the correct balance between the front and rear brakes, but in the end, the front and rear balance on our vehicle came out spot on. With the bed empty, the rear brakes lock up for about the last 5 feet before a perfectly straight dead stop. With any load or pulling a trailer, the adjustment should indeed be perfect.