Switching ABS to Conventional.

I removed both fuses, the relays on the passengers side firewall ( I think this is what turned out the light), and the ABS computer, and I have no lights.

7birdslater said:

I removed both fuses, the relays on the passengers side firewall ( I think this is what turned out the light), and the ABS computer, and I have no lights.

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Thanks for the info!

How many relays are there, and are they bolted to the firewall, or just near?

Thanks,

They slide onto a small bracket on the firewall. There are two, one for the ABS pump and the other turned off my light. No tools needed.

Well, I removed both relays (I only had two there, some years might of had 3). Still the light comes on... Both fuses are disconnected. Looking at the wiring diagram I found, the trigger for the light goes to that relay and the other goes to the ABS Computer. I'm thinking maybe I should just remove the computer and hopefully that will take care of my light.

All ideas welcome

91_SC_BIRD said:

Well, I removed both relays (I only had two there, some years might of had 3). Still the light comes on... Both fuses are disconnected. Looking at the wiring diagram I found, the trigger for the light goes to that relay and the other goes to the ABS Computer. I'm thinking maybe I should just remove the computer and hopefully that will take care of my light.

All ideas welcome

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I cut all the wires that were connected to the ABS unit. I also cut out the ABS computer and I had no lights on the dash.

add me to the list of a non abs '89 supercoupe. got all my parts from the junkyard and it costs me a whopping $23. i took it for a spin around the block this morning and the brakes feel great. now i'm going to clean up the install a bit because i just pieced it together and it looks kinda ugly but it works great!! my hats off to "jvo" and others in figuring out how to get rid of this nightmare called abs brakes, thanks keith

that took alot longer to read than i thought! , i have a few questions . my cat is a 89 ls, that i did a rear disc conversion on and the spindle swap with the mustang pbrs. here the question i still have the cross flow system on the car. i have not been happy with my brakes performance. when i did the conversion a 91 s/c was the donor for the rear parts. and i just plugged the t in the block in the lh rear line . my car stops OK , but not as good as i think it should be it has fade and i know it shouldnt being 4 wheel disc. i would like to address this issue while the engine is still out and have easier access. the booster is being changed for good measure as its original with 200 k on it . i need to know if i need to add the lower , frame mounted s/c prop valve and changed to a 2 line master like what you guys did with this? being the crown master already has a prop valve on it isnt that overkill? let me know what ya'll think , justin

jk89cat said:

that took alot longer to read than i thought! , i have a few questions . my cat is a 89 ls, that i did a rear disc conversion on and the spindle swap with the mustang pbrs. here the question i still have the cross flow system on the car. i have not been happy with my brakes performance. when i did the conversion a 91 s/c was the donor for the rear parts. and i just plugged the t in the block in the lh rear line . my car stops OK , but not as good as i think it should be it has fade and i know it shouldnt being 4 wheel disc. i would like to address this issue while the engine is still out and have easier access. the booster is being changed for good measure as its original with 200 k on it . i need to know if i need to add the lower , frame mounted s/c prop valve and changed to a 2 line master like what you guys did with this? being the crown master already has a prop valve on it isnt that overkill? let me know what ya'll think , justin

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I'm having the same issue with my 35th. I swapped to the 99+ Mustang spindles, and my issues sound just like yours. I went ahead and re-replaced the booster and master, and still have what I assume is fade, particularly when comming down from high speeds quickly.

I was wondering if my time during the adjustment of the booster pushrod length, if I may have glazed the pads, I just haven't gotten around to it; but I plan on removing the pads and scuffing them up with some sandpaper to see if it has any effects. I was also thinking of trying some of those greenstuff pads...

Please let us know if you find an answer, becasue I have been fighting htis issue for some time. Juat haven't bene driving the car much...

Thank You

This has been the most helpful thread I have read to date, I just want to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.
1) 1993 Crown Vic Master Cylinder (non police intercepter)
2) 1989 T-bird ( non ABS) Booster- 3.8 or 5.0?
and I am ready to roll
what if I want to switch to the 13 inch cobra fronts and cobra 11.65 rear rotors and calipers?
Will this conversion affect my peddle feel?

sizemoremk, after i get my car on the road i will address my issue . one of mine i found out , one fo the brillant engineers at ford decided for the 1989 only model year it was going to get a 15/16 master, , so thats my 1st step, to install a later model 1 inch bore master

Switching ABS to conventional

Wow, two years and a lot of you have used this thread to change over your brakes. When I originally started this switch (in the planning stages), a friend of mine that builds hot rods helped me with the engineering aspect of it. He had a manual (Wagner brake book, but don't quote me on that) that listed the bore and stroke sizes of the master cylinders. All we did was to look through it till we found the same bore and stroke master cylinder on the Crown Vic as what the original Thunderbird had, if I remember correctly. Thus, we knew that when you pushed on the brake pedal with your foot, you were displacing the same amount of brake fluid to the calipers as the ABS system used to. You guys that are comtemplating using Mustang brakes and aftermarket brakes need to keep that in mind. The brakes are a simple hydraulic system. If you change the sizes of some of the pistons, in either the calipers, or the master cylinder, it will not necessarily work properly. A good brake shop ( one that is conducive to listening to a hot rodder) should be able to help you out with this. Looks like you guys that own super coupes are still having a lot of fun. Wish I still did. John V.O.

vacum line

I have a 35th so therefore no egr valve. Is that fitting capped off that is on the intake plentum a sutable sourse for the vacum needed for the booster? I got done with the rebuild and reinstall of the motor and fired up to find out that i have no breaks. IM going to replace the relay and double check the low pressure line for sediment and if that doesnt work that "abortion" is out of there. just wondering if that place will for the vaccum. aslo if someone that is doing this conversion could get me a few pics where all the vac lines go normally while they have the wiper cowel off that would be great since i talked to the previous owner today and he mentiond that he messed hevily with the vacum system and i dont know that i have it back correct. I was also told that the source of my passenger side cat glowing red like a coke can might be a vac problem but the non break related vac questions are for another thread, or a pm. feel free to email pics to koopa169@hotmail.com Im so close to being able to drive this after almost 2 years of fixing im going insaine. She needs to be back on the road.
Also i want to thank John V.O. for all the info at the start of this great thread 2 years ago and im sorry that you dont have your bird anymore but alot of us will be stopping better because you had one.

Just put a T fitting in one of the hoses on the back of the inlet plenum. They're the easiest to access (were for me at the time). You can pull the vacuum from anywhere in the intake tract before the blower. Mine has worked great since the swap. When your in high vacuum like coasting on the highway the brakes will put you through the windshield. I'd say I've come close to locking them up for emergency stops maybe twice in the last year and I do a lot of driving. I'll take some pics of my vacuum lines this evening and put them up for ya.

-Jeremy

Thanks thats what i will do then. On the hose going from the intake plentum to the other side across the top there is a t fitting there. in the fisrt pic you cant really see the back. Where does that hose go because my t fitting on the back side is capped off. Just wondering if its supposed to be capped off or if that line goes somewhere.

darriantbird said:

How did you guys get the holes in between the inner and outer firewall to stay lined up? This is a major pain in the A$$!!

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Lot's of kind words a a beer or 2 LOL.

Jay

THE BIRDMAN said:

Lot's of kind words a a beer or 2 LOL.

Jay

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That's a 2 man job for sure. Lining those studs up through the holes was one of the biggest challenges.

I want to know if anyone else who has doe this mod also has the late model 99ish dual piston PBR brake calipers?

I have messed with this thing long enough, it just don't stop right...

I might just say the heck with it and put some stock calipers back on...

i have , but i guess mine doesnt count as it does have a different line settup than the sc's do .

All Done

Well i got the conversion done late last sat night. I must say that it wasnt nearly as bad as i expected. I have the hood off and the cowels off from the engine rebuild so that made that part alot eaiser. I also took out the drivers side seat (20 mins total in and out WELL worth the time) and that make that part go alot smoother than it could have. I am also 6'3" so i need more room than some shorter people. Another thing that i did that i havent read on here is to take a 3/8 drill bit and go through the blind hole thats plugged. Its just rubber thats plugging in and after carefull drilling it still has some seal around the stud of the booster. I tried before i Drilled it to get the booster on and it was not nice. After i drillled that hole out though it went in real smooth. I think that if i would have had to remove the hood and the cowels it would have been a 3 to 4 hour project. I used a new master from a 1993 vicky, new booster from a 1990 bird, the brass block from a 92 grand maques(doner car),the proportioning valve from the 92, and the green hose from the abs. Ive got just a hair under $150.00 and its good to go. Much better than spending 100 on the accumulator and than might not fix it. I do have to get the 1/4-28 bolt because the adjustor in the bootster is not long enough to get rid of the short pedal. I brakes great just would like a little more pedal. Thanks for all the tips this is a great thread and a great idea that works.

Make sure you pay attention to what your brakes are doing after you get that longer pushrod. Mine was a real fine adjustment so that my brakes weren't dragging and heating up super fast.