Cobra rear brake conversion caliper relocation brackets

[fast Ed]

Hey guys

I've got my friend who made the rear caliper relocation brackets for the Cobra brakes on my SC, making up some more sets.

These are brackets made from the plans off Doug Fraleigh's site, http://home.comcast.net/~dlfraleigh/Article.html . Pretty straightfoward design, they have worked well for two years on my SC, and that's with some open-track days on race tires stressing the brakes too.

I'm not looking to make my fortune from these. These are just to provide an item to fellow MN-12 owners wanting to do the Cobra brake upgrade, that do not have access to a person or a shop who can do the fabrication.

The price for 2006 is $80 US for the pair, with the needed hardware, including shipping in the lower 48. E-mail or private message me if you're interested ... fastedn2001@yahoo.ca Extra $5 for air mail. Price has gone up $5 this year because of the strength of the Canadian dollar vs. the U.S. greenback.

We also looking have available centering rings for the rotors, for people who don't want to change to the Mustang hubs with 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern ... there is a size difference in the diameter of the T-Bird hub face compared to the hub hole on the Mustang rotors. $25 for the pair when purchased with the brackets.

PLEASE NOTE ... people who have purchased these brackets, and prospective buyers. If you have the original rear calipers on an 89 - 92 car, it is important to make sure that you DO NOT let the brake pads wear down excessively when running those calipers over the Cobra rotors. Due to the difference in thickness between the early MN-12 rear rotors, compared to the later MN-12 and Cobra rotors, the potential exists for the caliper piston to come out of the housing bore, creating a severe loss of fluid, if the pad material becomes too thin. My apologies for not being aware of this sooner, it was just brought to my attention by Richard at North Race Cars, who produce brake adapters for various Ford applications.

cheers,
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO

[quick35th]

I'm interested but will have to see about other things first.

Shane

[fast Ed]

New batch now available, please p.m. or e-mail me if interested in a set.


thanks,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

We're doing another batch in January, anyone else interested?

Price is now $75 shipped, due to the strength of the Canuck dollar vs. the greenback.


thx,
Ed N.

[quick35th]

Ed

I am interseted in these relocation brackets that you are offering. I guess I need to know if I need to use them. Here is what I plan to run. I am planning on running 13in Cobra front brakes and 12in Cobra rear brakes. I am switching to the SN95 bolt pattern too. Do I need to use these brackets to mount the rear Cobra calipers on my 90 SC?

Shane

[fast Ed]

From what I understand, Cobra calipers will bolt directly on to an MN-12 car with the 11.65" rotors ... BUT ... the emergency brake cables hook up quite differently, and some fabbing is needed to make that work. The brackets I'm selling are made to relocate the original SC calipers to work with the 11.65" Cobra rotors.

The main reason to stay with the SC calipers is that they have larger pistons, and use pads with a larger surface area, than the Cobra calipers. Plus, you already have SC calipers ... less parts to buy. ;) And no issues with hooking up the lines or cables, since you're keeping the same clampers.


cheers,
Ed N.

[quick35th]

Hmm I will have to keep this in mind Ed. I guess I have to deside on what I want. All I know is I want the car to stop and consistantly stop without brake fade.

Shane

[fast Ed]

Shane, as you probably know, I do some open-track events in my SC. A few of the tracks I've run at have been very tight circuits with some hard braking zones. Since we did the Cobra brake conversion on my car, I've never encountered any brake fade on the track or the street. This is running OE Ford pads as well, not even aftermarket stuff. And the car gets run at the track events on Hoosier Grand-Am Cup race radials, probably one of the grippiest DOT track tires available.

As an example, at Watkins Glen in New York, I would see around 120 mph on the back straight, and be able to get it down for the chicane entrance at approx. 60 mph, in less than 250 feet ... with a consistent hard pedal, and never any rotor issues either. I have gone through a few sets of the front pads, and one set of rears, since the spring of 2002 when the swap was made on my car. If it was run only on street tires, I'm guessing that I would have gone through maybe one or two sets of front pads, at the most.

[quick35th]

Ed, do you have the Cobra brakes in the rear as well or just the front?

Shane

[fast Ed]

Yup, as I mentioned in the original post, these are the same brackets as I'm running on my SC. Had them on since spring 2002 with no problems. I know that Doug Fraleigh has had them on his 95 for a few years longer than I have.

cheers,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

We have a new batch of these ready now, if anyone is interested.

Still $75 with the hardware, including shipping to the lower 48 states.


cheers
Ed N.

[DirtySouthBird]

let me get this strait, its the stuff to use the rotors only right? not the calipers? are these available at this time?
thanks,
fred

[rzibilske77]

yea what is exactly included here....have any pics also? :)

[jc91sc]

I remember this buy...is it on again???? :D

James E.
AdrenalineTuning@excite.com

[fast Ed]

The brackets will look like the ones pictured off Doug Fraleigh's site:

http://www.patmedia.net/fraleigh/Picture4.jpg

http://www.patmedia.net/fraleigh/Article.html has the tech article with all the info about completing this swap. What I'm selling is the pair of fabricated adapter brackets, including hardware, that allow you to install Cobra 11.65" rotors on the rear of an MN-12 car, reusing your original calipers.

As noted in my original post to this thread, these work better with the 93 - 97 MN-12 calipers, because the Cobra rotors are thinner like the later MN-12 rotors. Otherwise, with the early calipers and pads, you have to keep an eye on the pad wear, and not let them get worn down too much ... the potential is there for the pistons to come out of the caliper bores, if the pads wear down to the minimum, with the 89 - 92 calipers.

I have 6 sets available now, ready to ship.


thanks,
Ed N.

[Micahdogg]

Ed...I want a set. Lemme know what I gotz ta do...

Micah

[jc91sc]

Ed...I want a set. Lemme know what I gotz ta do...

Micah


ME TOO.... tell me whagwan!

James E.
AdrenalineTuning@excite.com

[fast Ed]

Guys, you can either send me payment through PayPal (fastedn2001@yahoo.ca), or an international money order. PayPal has to be from your bank account or existing balance, I only have a Basic account. So it doesn't allow me to accept payments made with a credit card.

Send me a message if you need my address, for mailing a money order.

These will ship out within 24 hours of receving payment (weekdays of course). I send them through the postal service, they generally take 7 - 10 business days to arrive.


cheers
Ed N.

[quick35th]

Ed,

With the bigger rotor on the back can you still use that factory 16" wheels? I may be interested in a set of these here shortly. I'll let you know.

Shane

[fast Ed]

Shane, 16" wheels will clear the Cobra brakes. I have a set of Mustang GT 16" wheels that I use for drag tires, they go over no problem.


cheers
Ed N.

[jc91sc]

Payment Sent!

Just refresh my memory on how these things work. I know they relocate your caliper on the spindle to allow for a large rotor on the rear, but my question is concerning whether it allows clearance for the Cobra FRONT rotor, or the REAR rotor. Let me know.
Looking forward to gettin them.

Thanks. :D

James E.
AdrenalineTuning@excite.com

[fast Ed]

Micah, James, I've rec'd your payments, thank you. They'll be sent out the first of next week.

James, these brackets are made to work with the factory 94 - 04 Cobra rear 11.65" diameter rotors.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

A few sets left still from the last batch. Anyone else looking for a set???


thx
Ed N.

[T-bird4vr]

Ed, just wanted to say mine worked great. It does take some time with a grinding wheel, but that's expected.

-Miller

[KTris]

With the bigger rotor on the back can you still use that factory 16" wheels? I may be interested in a set of these here shortly. I'll let you know.
Possibly a stupid question, but where have you found 11.65" rotors drilled in the MN12 pattern? Or are you just going to get Cobra rotors re-drilled? I also have the stock wheels and I don't intend to change them, so I didn't think I could do this rotor swap.

[fast Ed]

I'm not sure if any of the vendors like KVR or DiscBrakesRUs have them. Probably not, I believe that they sell a more involved rear upgrade kit with different rotors and calipers. It's a pretty simple operation to get the Cobra rotors drilled for the 4.25" pattern, any competent machine shop can handle it. Some people have even done it themselves.

You will also need the hub rings mentioned in the first post as well. The Cobra rotors have a larger hub hole than the pilot on the rear MN-12 hubs, so there is almost a quarter inch of slop in there if centering rings aren't used. Otherwise, you're centering the rotors on the wheel studs only.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

New batch ready now, can be shipped at the beginning of next week. :)


thanks,
Ed N.

[T-bird4vr]

Possibly a stupid question, but where have you found 11.65" rotors drilled in the MN12 pattern? Or are you just going to get Cobra rotors re-drilled? I also have the stock wheels and I don't intend to change them, so I didn't think I could do this rotor swap.

The disc brake r us guys will redrill their rotors to fit. That is what I did, it was the easiest solution.

[KTris]

The disc brake r us guys will redrill their rotors to fit. That is what I did, it was the easiest solution.
Thanks, Julian and Ed. I've spent this year's car budget already, but this looks like something I'll want to do when I change out my rotors next summer. Hope there are enough people to justify another batch by then.

Did DiscBrakesRUs supply the centering ring, or did you just go and get that machined? Do you remember about how much the rotors cost for the pair after drilling?

--KTris

[fast Ed]

I can supply the centering rings as well. I'm sure that by next spring we'll have some more brackets available.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Hey guys

I have orders for 3 pairs, so we're going to be doing another batch of 6 pairs, to be ready for mid-January roughly.

Anyone else interested in a set?

Price will be going up to $80 after this batch, because of the CAN vs. US dollar value.


thanks,
Ed N.

[supercatxr7]

I would like a set as well. Please let me know what I need to do. You can PM me.

thanks,
mark

[fast Ed]

P.m. sent, Mark.


thx,
Ed N.

[PearlBird]

I need a set of the rings that allow the use of the cobra rear rotor with the tbird hub Ed. What the price and best way to get you the money.

[fast Ed]

PearlBird, you have a p.m. :)


thx,
Ed N.

[Quickerthanu]

E-mail send out Ed. Interested in a set.

Thanks

[fast Ed]

Thanks Andy. I rec'd your email.


cheers
Ed N.

[jasonLmarsh]

I'd like to make a comment on these after having them on my car for an extended period of time. I highly recommend painting or powdercoating these before installation. Mine were pretty rusty when I transferred them to my new car last night. It's not a big deal, just put a coat of paint on them and they are fine. Still a great buy!

[fast Ed]

Hey Jason

Thanks for the heads-up. Yours were the first set we did (other than the ones on my own car). I don't recall if there was any paint applied to your set originally or not. In any case, we now put a decent cover of semi-gloss black paint on them before they get sent out.


cheers
Ed N.

[jasonLmarsh]

Ahh very good. They should hold up great then.

[darkstar_one]

hey are these still available.? ima order a set by the beginning of feb! trying to get completely out of debt this month! HSN, COURT, VERIZON! and im out of debt! thanks let me know if around feb you will still have a set! im in the process of converting to mustang hubs and brake upgrades!

[fast Ed]

Well, between here and TCCoA, the 6 sets from this current batch being made are spoken for.

I can't promise that I'll have more available in February, but hopefully by March I'll have enough orders again to do another batch. I like to get orders for at least 2 or 3 sets ahead of time, before starting another batch of 6 sets.


thanks,
Ed N.

[83GT460]

Hey Jason

Thanks for the heads-up. Yours were the first set we did (other than the ones on my own car). I don't recall if there was any paint applied to your set originally or not. In any case, we now put a decent cover of semi-gloss black paint on them before they get sent out.


cheers
Ed N.

Ed I installed mine a week or two after you brought them to me at the Shootout and so far the black paint that you put on them is holding up just fine and I drive my car every day.

Charles

[fast Ed]

Excellent, thanks for the feedback Charles. :)


cheers
Ed N.

[ThunderGodRacin]

Guys,

This is all great information and much appreciated. I want to know when I switch to the cobra rear hub and use the bracket that is offered (thanks for that) could I also switch to cobra calipers as well.

Side note and I think I read this already but can we use the cobra knuckle as well I thought I read no just wanted to be sure.

Didn't someone here have a set of SS breaklines madefor the rear? I think I found a set online at diskbrakesrus.com

You guys rock thats for all the information.:)

[fast Ed]

Cobra calipers use a different parking brake attachment, that's why many people are using these fabricated brackets to relocate the originals instead. The brackets I'm selling are not made to work with Cobra calipers, only MN-12 units.

Cobra knuckles won't work, the design of their suspension is very different than the T-Bird / Cougar IRS.


cheers
Ed N.

[Micahdogg]

It should also be noted that our rear calipers are bigger than cobra rear calipers....so if you did fabricate a way to use Cobra rears....it would be a downgrade.

Micah

[ThunderGodRacin]

Thanks guys I will stay with the T-Bird calipers

[darkstar_one]

Cobra knuckles won't work, the design of their suspension is very different than the T-Bird / Cougar IRS.


cheers
Ed N.


i think u must of mean better than the TBIRD/COUGAR IRS...

so when are they next available. put me down for a set.

[fast Ed]

They are available now, if you would like to get a set. Just send me a p.m. or email.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

January's batch of 6 sets sold out pretty quickly.

I have requests for a few more sets now, is anyone else looking for some of these?


thanks,
Ed N.

[richk]

Got mine this week and they look fine. Now to track down all the other pieces I need.
RichK

[fast Ed]

Guys, we have another batch (actually a double batch of 12 sets) ready to go, they can ship on Monday.

Price this year is $80 with hardware, including shipping by expedited postal service. The Canadian dollar is up to 88 cents U.S. now, so with that, and slightly increased postal rates, I had to go up the $5 to $80.


Please send me an email or p.m. if you are interested in getting a set of these. To recap, since this a huge thread now, these brackets are made to relocate factory MN-12 rear calipers to go over the SN-95 Mustang Cobra 11.65" rear rotors. Some minor filing and grinding on your original knuckles and caliper anchors will be needed. Details available in Doug Fraleigh's excellent tech write-up here:

http://www.patmedia.net/fraleigh/Article.html

Also, please note that Cobra rotors are the same thickness as the 93 - 97 MN-12 rotors, but are thinner than the 89 - 92 MN-12 rotors. So you either have to keep an eye on pad wear, put some shims behind the pads to move them out a bit, or, if you need new calipers anyway, replace the originals with the 93 - 97 style, along with their corresponding anchors and brake pads.

Parking brake cable hookup is not an issue with this swap, since the original calipers are retained. Great match-up for the 13" Cobra front brake swap.


thanks,
Ed N.

[darkstar_one]

mr FAST ED.... do u know the thickness of the shims? Also put me down for a set. send me ur paypal address through PM so i can paypal you el DINERO right away... thanks again bro.

[DLF]

... here's the new link to my Article http://home.comcast.net/~dlfraleigh/Article.html

:)

[fast Ed]

Thanks for being kind enough to update us, Doug. Your old page is still active for now, but I guess it will be gone soon enough.


As for the shim thickness needed, I'll have to take a look at the brake spec book when I'm back at the dealership on Monday. Off the top of my head, there is roughly .200" difference in the rotor thicnkess, so .100" shims on each pad would be needed. I'll get the exact number next week.


My PayPal is the same as my email, fastedn2001 AT yahoo DOT ca. I just have a Basic PayPal account though, so I can't accept credit card payments, only from your bank account. International money order is the other payment form that will work just fine.


thanks,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Lots of brackets now, ready to ship.

Please p.m. or email if you need a set.


thanks,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

mr FAST ED.... do u know the thickness of the shims?

The earlier rotors are .950" nominal thickness, the 93 - up style are .709" nominal. So shims between .100 - .120" thickness would do the job. :)


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Bump. :)


Lots of brackets still available. P.m. or email me if you need any more details.


thx
Ed N.

[darkstar_one]

hey ed i just sent you payment via paypal... send em to me as soon as possible... RUN THERE IS NO TIME!

[fast Ed]

Rec'd your PayPal funds, thanks Jonathan.

I'll get them in the mail tomorrow. :)


thx,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Still have 4 sets available from the last double batch that was made up.

Anyone ?? :)


thanks,
Ed N.

[supercatxr7]

Finally put my brackets on the other day and they work great. Thanks!

[darkstar_one]

yeah im waiting to put mine in, im heading to the junk yard next weekend for the half off sale to get me some 93 later rear calipers, i dont feel like shimming up original ones, they are crap already, the pins on the caliper bracket pins are seized i think due to me sand blasting them, ohh well, caliper brackets and calipers are cheaper for 93 late models, so yeah. ill write a review after i install mines, im waiting for my rotors also.

[quick35th]

Ed,

I want a set of them for my road race SC. I'll PM you or something for some info so we can get this rolling.

Shane

[fast Ed]

Making a new batch in the next few weeks. A few sets already spoken for, but there are still 3 or 4 sets that will be available.

$80 including shipping. Please p.m. or e-mail me if you need to get a pair.


thanks,
Ed N.

[KTris]

I'm in on the next batch, and I'm hoping to install the relocation brackets and 11.65" discs along with my stock wheels/hubs/calipers. I'm concerned about the warning regarding using early-style calipers; unfortunately, I'm not sure what year calipers I have since I installed rebuilt ones. I think I remember noticing that they looked a little different from my original '90 calipers when I replaced them, but I returned the 90's for core refund so I can't double-check to see if the rebuild company cross-purposed them. So:

Does anybody know an easy way to tell if I have the 89-92 or the later style calipers? A picture, some kind of telltale nubbin, a difference in gap between pads, anything?

[darkstar_one]

its really hard to tell... you would have to compare them side by side only and see that the 89-92 are wider and the 93-newer are thinner... do your calipers have a part number on them? if so let me know so i can double check for ya.

[KTris]

... do your calipers have a part number on them? if so let me know so i can double check for ya.
That's a good idea...I don't remember there being stamped numbers or anything, and it'll be a while before I have a chance to get the wheels off, but if something's there I can check fordpartsnetwork.com or whatever and see if it matches for my year.

[fast Ed]

Another batch of these brackets has just been completed.

$80.00 USD with hardware, including shipping by expedited mail, 7 - 9 business days for delivery.


Please send me a p.m. or e-mail if interested.



thanks,
Ed N.

[Tazer999]

Any available currently?

[fast Ed]

This past week I've sold 3 or 4 sets, I have none left now. I'll have to get going on another batch, it will likely be about 2 - 3 weeks before they're available to ship out. Please send me a p.m. or e-mail if you want to be on the list for a set out of the next run.


thx,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Guys, I have 5 more sets of these available to go now.

Please send me a p.m. or e-mail if you need a set.


thx,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Haven't bumped this thread for a while, the brackets usually sell out as soon as I have them ready to go.

However I'm a bit ahead right now, there are about half a dozen sets not spoken for.

To recap:

Payment by international money order ($80) or PayPal ($85), I now have a Premier account, so I can take any type of PayPal payment. That price includes the hardware, and shipping by expedited mail service, which normally takes 7 - 9 business days to arrive. I've held the line on the price this year, even though the Canadian dollar is now higher than the U.S. dollar. If it continues up, I will have to raise the price $5 again.

Full instructions for installation available from Doug Fraleigh's site:

http://home.comcast.net/~dlfraleigh/Article.html

Some minor grinding and filing is required on the knuckles and caliper anchors to fit. On 89 - 92 cars you need to keep an eye on pad depth, due to the change in rotor thickness, or you can go with 93 - 97 calipers, brackets, rotors, and pads, if those pieces need replacing anyway.

Please send me a p.m. or e-mail if interested in a set. fastedn2001 AT yahoo DOT ca


thanks,

Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Still have a few sets of these brackets left from the last batch. Anyone interested?


thanks,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Hey guys, just had a new batch completed.

Any takers?


thx,
Ed N.

[rhermanstein]

I see that Super Coupe Unlimited is selling a 11.65 re drilled rear brake kit that looks to be this same set up. So This will still accept my 16" wheels right?

I want to buy a pair of brackets from you. On the rotors what need to be done other than re drilling the 5 x 4.5 to 5 x 4.25? Does the hub bore stay the same?

What year Cobra disks work?

Reid M Herman

email me @

rhermanstein@hotmail.com

[fast Ed]

Yes, 16" wheels will fit over Cobra rear brakes. But there isn't much point in doing the rear upgrade, unless you plan to do the front as well, which are 13" rotors, and require 17" or larger wheels to clear.

Having said that, if you are doing this upgrade, but wish to stay with the original T-Bird rear hubs, you should also install some centering rings for the Cobra rotors. They have a larger hub hole than the pilot on the MN12 hubs, and potentially could slop around a bit. I also sell these rings for $30 for the pair, when ordered with the brackets. Any of the 94 - 04 Cobra rear rotors will work, they did not change for the SN95 model run.


thanks,
Ed N.

[quick35th]

Well after almost two years of having these brackets laying around I finally installed them on my road racer yesterday. I have to admit I did not read the article on how to install them and got frustrated when I could not figure out how they went together. So I came on here, read up on how to do it and it was easy after that. The bigger brakes in the back look really good. Excellent product you have here Ed. We'll see how the car performs this sunday at the local autoX.

Shane
Glynn Motorsports

[fast Ed]

Men don't like to admit it, but most stuff is easier if you read the instructions beforehand. :D

Good luck at the auto-X, Shane.


cheers
Ed N.

[quick35th]

Here are pics of the swap

Stock vs Cobra rotors
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k114/quick35th/img11310.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k114/quick35th/img1100.jpg

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k114/quick35th/img11501.jpg

Shane
Glynn Motorsports

[fast Ed]

Several more sets of these available to ship out now. Please p.m. or e-mail me if you need a set.


thanks,
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Last bunch sold out, new batch available now. :)


thanks,
Ed N.

[rbrown]

Here are pics of the swap

Stock vs Cobra rotors
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k114/quick35th/img11310.jpg


Shane
Glynn Motorsports

I never pictured just how much bigger these are.

I might have to look into doing the whole swap.

[fast Ed]

It is a worthwhile upgrade to do along with the 13" front swap. Our cars are heavy enough to need all the rotor mass that can reasonably be used. Thanks to Shane for posting up the comparison pics.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Special price of $225 shipped when combined with the OEM Cobra rear hubs I also have left.


thanks,
Ed N.

[Flex]

Ed,

You answered this but I can't find where. These are for a rear cobra hub swap but what about the front?

[fast Ed]

Fronts you can buy from local sources, either Ford or aftermarket.


thx,
Ed N.

[Flex]

Ed,

Does this include the centering rings if required?

[fast Ed]

The rings are extra, they are $30 for a pair if shipped at the same time as the brackets.


thx,
Ed N.

[Icarus]

I forgot to post this up here, but thank you Ed for the brackets and rings for the Cobra brake upgrade on my Lincoln :D
It was great meeting you. The install went well, I'll have to put up some pictures of it all done now. It is a great improvement over the new stock stuff I had on there. I bought some Porterfield R4S pads all the way around like I had on the stock stuff and it's even more amazing now...
Thanks again Ed!
J.