Went thru 3 yards this week, can't find any Granadas, I imagine if I keep looking they'll pop up, also some bolt-0n aftermarket kits. Is there a list of which spindle units will work, or is it just Granada and some Lincolns. Thanx, Gary

       

Gary, 55 Vicky, St. Germain, Wisconsin

 

Are you looking for lowering as well as disc brakes? or does it matter? The Grananda / Versailles set-up lowers the car (and helps get the upper ball joint away from the tire sidewall) - but other "rear steer" big car parts will go on there. There is another thread running on here with some info about using a later model "Cougar" upright - and the year is late enough that they must be the Torino sized parts - not the Mustang size.

The typical (maybe standard) inward inclination angle of all of the Ford uprights is right at 8° (axis through the ball joints) - and basic "pin" size of the ball joint taper is 5/8 upper and 5/8-7/8 lower. Tapers are all 1-1/2 inches per foot (just slighly over 7°). Some of the "Country Squire" wagons and later "big" thunderbirds had huge Kelsey-Hayes disc brakes that could stop a dump truck. 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Lowering isn't essential as I'm thinking of doing the Aerostar coils...unless it gives me to much of a drop. I've already got the coils whacked one coil so the Granada would be about ideal....just lining up ideas for the winter.

       

Gary, 55 Vicky, St. Germain, Wisconsin

 

Gary! Maverick and Comet 75-77 with V-8 are the same.The yard guy should have an interchange book to tell what else will interchange.I don't know if the Merc Monarch was sold in the US but its the same.Lincoln Versaille is a direct fit with no mods because they used a bigger balljoint.They wont work on a Mustang for that reason.As I pointed out these spindles are very popular with the Mustang crowd for the same reason we want them.Easy to upgrade to disc brakes.

  

This is the old "lower the spring pan" technique - where the spring is simply dropped relative to the A-arm and no coils are cut.

Those one inch square bar spacers are sandwiched in - held there by replacing the factory rivets with Grade 8 capscrews. This will definitely put her down there a bit. You can order the square bars (preferably aluminum) from someone like http://www.onlinemetals.com/ , drill your own holes, and you won't even have to leave the house..... 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Gary, I have a set of Granada stuff in good condition that I don't have any plans for. I went with Torino. $150, but shipping will be high and a pain in the butt. Maybe you can find something local, but if not and you are interested let me know and I'll see what we can work out.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

Steve, I also have those lowering bars on my '55, work great with Granada spindles, lowers front ~3". I had to trim the 'rubber snubbers' to have clearance.



Just curious though, what year car is your picture of, looks pre-ball joint??? And is the sway bar a stock item.



Oh, and thanks for the link to On Line Metals. I used to have a scrap metal place just down the street but like so many places these days they have closed their doors.



Thanks,

BOB

A guy sent me the picture as an illustration  - didn't ID the year - the spring pans just happened to look like the '56 and fit the same way. It has to be an earlier chassis though, like maybe a '49 / '50 / '51 or something like that.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Glen, what do you mean by Granada STUFF, what all is entailed. Gary

       

Gary, 55 Vicky, St. Germain, Wisconsin

 

Like I said in one of my post on here. I was having a hard time locating a set of Granada spindles, but I later found a set from a Maverick. When I got back to my shop I desided not to use them because they have a small caliper so I went back to the bone yard and found a 1975 Cougar set with calipers and new brakes. I made a set of sleeves at a 7 deg. taper to slide over the lower ball joint. It dropped the front end 1" and with the front already dropped 3", it made it 4" overall. I don't get any rub from the tires in forward or reverse, even when I turned it as far as it would go. This setup works great and with the larger calipers, I am pleased with the stopping power.

Jeff Leydig
Stallions Auto Interiors
Stearns, Ky. USA